Review: Oranges in No Man's Land by Elizabeth Laird

Synopsis from book cover:

Ayesha doesn't know why they're fighting. But she does know that war has ripped her city in two- and that the enemy lives on the other side of no man's land.

Since her mother died in a shell attack and her father left the counry to find work, Ayesha has lived in a battle-scarred building with her granny and her two little brothers. Now Granny has run out of medicine and it looks like she's going to die too.

But Ayesha won't let that happen. She'll do anything to find a doctor, even make the forbidden journey across the dangerous and desolate no man's land...

Background:

Set in Lebanon during the civil war, this story is told by award-winning author Elizabeth Laird and is based on personal, real-life events. Elizabeth stayed on the green line in Beirut in 1977 in a war-damaged flat with her husband and six-month-old son. Memories of her son sleeping in a suitcase on the floor, taking his first steps on the bullet-riddled balcony, playing with the soldiers on the checkpoint, and her husband racing through no man's land in the buildup to a battle have all inspired this gripping and moving story.

Elizabeth Laird says, "When I wrote Oranges in No Man's Land, I didn't know that Lebanon would be plunged back so soon into a nightmare. Caught up in that nightmare are children like Ayesha and Samar, whose lives political leaders so easily throw away."

Review:

Oranges In No Man's Land is a poignant, thought-provoking story. I picked it up because I have read loads of books by Elizabeth Laird and they have been consistently great. As well as this, the title made me curious.

As it is aimed at young children, the plot was quite simple. Ayesha, the main character, is a young girl who just about escapes a shell attack along with her grandmother and her two brothers. Unfortunately, her mother was not so lucky.

They then live in a building with many other homeless people trying to escape the dangers of the civil war. Food is scarce; Ayesha and her grandmother go down to the checkpoint to get what they can when the food truck comes. Ayesha makes friends with a deaf girl called Samar and tries to learn sign language. The problem arises when her grandmother runs out of medicine. Ayesha will do everything that she can to find her the medicine that she needs, even cross no man's land to find a doctor.

Ayesha's daring decison to cross no man's land and the outcome of that only takes place over a couple of hours. She was very brave as she put her own life at risk to find medicine for her grandmother even though no one asked her to. The reason for the civil war isn't explained in detail in the book due to the fact that it is narrated from Ayesha's point of view and she is very young.

The main point of the story is to show how nice people can be even in times of hardship, even though they are on opposing sides of enemy lines. Also, it shows how brave people can be during times of war. I liked Ayesha and believe that young readers would be able to relate to her. In the end, the story wraps up without leaving any questions unanswered. Oranges In No Man's Land is a short, strong story with a clear message and I would recommend it to younger readers.    

Rating: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Concept: 5/5
Author: Elizabeth Laird