Shortlisted for the 2015 UKLA Book Awards 12-16 years Amina’s family is forced to flee as refuges from an obsessive regime. Even in a harsh refugee camp, Amina and her sister Jenna’s situation is enhanced by the power of the imagination and storytelling. Though Looking at the Stars certainly doesn’t avoid any depictions of the harshness of life for people in conflict zones, this beautifully written book leaves with a feeling of hope.
Amina's homeland has been ravaged by war for many months, but so far she and her family are safe, together. When a so-called liberating force arrives in the country, the family think their prayers for peace will soon be answered, but they are horribly wrong...The country is thrown into yet further turmoil and Amina's family is devastated...Through it all, Amina has her imagination to fall back on - of a better place and time. But can her stories get her through this?
Beautifully told in simple but elegant prose and it's a truthful story. It doesn't duck the truth of the terrible situations endured by refugees around the world but it doesn't leave you feeling that everything is hopeless. That's what imagination does, you see. Bookbag
Author
About Jo Cotterill
Before turning to writing full time, Jo was an English and drama teacher and previously, she toured the country as an actor and musician. Jo’s Sweet Hearts series has been very wellreceived and incredibly popular with pre-teen girls.
Her other Solo titles for Barrington Stoke are Take Two, Three’s a Crowd and Love Bites. She lives in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
