"Sensitively told story, full of warmth and hope despite the subject matter - the experiences of two young Afghan boys as they make their way to England as refugees."
July 2025 Debut of the Month
After their families are killed by the Taliban, Samim and his best friend Zayn first flee their village in Afghanistan with their uncle and then they leave their country too. They travel across continents, by bus, lorry, boat, train, car and finally an overcrowded dinghy to arrive in England. Their journey takes two years, ten months and 26 days – numbers are an important support to Samim – and along the way they lose their uncle, and another good friend too.
Indeed, when we first meet Samim, finally placed in a foster home in the UK, Zayn is there only as a ghost, though the same lively, optimistic, funny friend he’s always been. Their journey is long and difficult, but the boys meet lots of people who are kind and who help them, as well as those who are and do the opposite. And they meet people like them too, escaping intolerable conditions and terrible danger, desperate for the chance to live ordinary lives again.
Samim’s narrative moves back and forward in time, as he describes the stages of their journey to the UK authorities, and life at his new school to Zayn. Terrible as things get, their story is always filled with hope, and told with warmth and humour; after all, Samim and Zayn are normal eleven-year-olds, who joke and mess about whenever they can. At a time when refugees are regularly demonised, described as less than human, or regarded with fear and suspicion, one of the many strengths of Fidan Meikle’s immensely moving and sensitively written story, is the way it lets us see through Samim’s eyes, as he and Zayn make their journey, forced onto a road they didn’t choose.
"I must make it. I will make it. And I will tell their stories."
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"I must make it. I will make it.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed My Name Is Samim and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
My Name Is Samim features in the following genres: Featured Books for 11+ readers, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Adventure Stories, PSHE: Multiculturalism, Diversity and Inclusion, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children’s / Teenage social topics: Migration / refugees, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage: Social issues / topics
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
My Name Is Samim was written by Fidan Meikle and published by Kelpies an imprint of Floris Books
My Name Is Samim has 296 pages
Yes it is part of Kelpies series
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
