When Stars Are Scattered is a nonfiction young adult graphic novel written by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and Iman Geddy, and published April 14, 2020, by Dial Books. Alongside other honors, the book won the Walter Dean Myers Award for Young Readers and Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Josette Frank Award.
Premise Now apparently orphaned, Omar and his younger brother Hassan, have relocated to a refugee camp in Kenya, where an older woman adopts them, but they face difficult conditions. Omar faces the dilemma of whether to attend school, which would entail leaving his brother.
Reception
Reviews When Stars Are Scattered was well-received, including starred reviews from Booklist, The Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.
Writing for School Library Journal, Steven Engelfried said, "The writing is intriguing and easy to understand. The graphics are beautiful and really bring the characters to the page. Omar’s story is important, relevant, and relatable."
Kirkus Reviews wrote, "This engaging, heartwarming story does everything one can ask of a book, and then some."
The audiobook, which has 12 narrators, received a starred review from Booklist, who said, the audiobook "offers listeners an experience of perfection in its storytelling, format shifting, and performance."
When Stars Are Scattered was named one of the best books of 2020 by the Chicago Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, the New York Public Library, The New York Times, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.
Awards and honors Both the book and audiobook editions of When Stars Are Scattered are Junior Library Guild selections. +Awards and honors for When Stars Are ScatteredYearAward/honorResultRef.2020Booklist Editors' Choice: Youth AudioSelectionCharlotte Huck AwardHonorGoodreads Choice Award for Graphic Novels & ComicsNomineeJane Addams Children's Book AwardFinalistNational Book Award for Young People's LiteratureFinalist2021ALSC Notable Children's Books for Middle ReadersSelectionALSC Notable Children's RecordingsSelectionChildren's Africana Book Award for Older ReadersHonorEisner Award for Best Publication for TeensNomineeHeavy Medal AwardFinalistILA Notable Books for a Global SocietySelectionJosette Frank AwardWinnerJudy Lopez Memorial AwardHonorOdyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook ProductionHonorSchneider Family Book AwardHonorWalter Dean Myers Award for Younger ReadersWinnerYALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsTop 10YALSA Award for Excellence in NonfictionNomineeYALSA Great Graphic Novels for TeensSelectionYALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult ReadersSelection
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