Kek’s father and brother are dead and his mother is missing. He gazes out the window of the “flying boat” and wonders, “What is all the white?” Kek is an African refugee sent to live in Minnesota with his aunt and cousin while he waits for news of his mother. Frigid Minnesota is nothing like Africa, but Kek has a determined spirit and warm heart that lead him to new friends and new beginnings. Written in beautiful free verse, this quick read and is guaranteed to warm your heart even in the coldest months of winter.

posted Jan 4, 2008 at 8:43AM

This is a great book and it's written in free verse.

posted Jul 10, 2009 at 9:11PM

It was a pretty good story and taught me alot about welcoming the new kids in school and other places.

posted Jul 17, 2009 at 10:38AM

It was a pretty good story and taught me alot about welcoming the new kids in school and other places.

posted Jul 17, 2009 at 10:38AM

Katherine Applegate is best known for her juvenile science fiction series, The Animorphs, so this book was a complete surprise. It is a story, told in verse, of a gentle refugee named Kek. He’s a teenager from the Sudan. The culture shock of his arrival in Minnesota is both hysterically funny and really sad. Sometimes it achieves both emotions in the same scene. What finally grounds Kek to his new and baffling world is a cow. The Sudanese value cows highly. Kek’s people measure wealth in cows, and honor those who care for them. When Kek finds a job on a small farm caring for an elderly cow, he also finds himself. He is reborn in his own eyes (and in the eyes of everyone around him) as Kek, the cowboy. I loved, loved, loved this book. My daughter and I laughed and cried when we read it together, and we both cheered on Kek. I think that you’ll really enjoy it too. Read it for an alien cultural view point, brilliantly portrayed. Read it for the joy of a redemption story. Or read it for the cow. I don’t care, so long as you read it.

posted Jan 28, 2012 at 12:16AM

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