A powerful story about a young girl, Mina, and how she copes when her family take in a refugee boy and give away what was meant to be her first very-own bedroom. Mina wants her own bedroom more than anything else in the whole wide world. And it's almost ready! Just one more lick of sunny yellow paint and it's hers. But when Mina's parents take in an unexpected guest, they give her room away. At first, Mina is too upset to speak. She doesn't care that this new kid, Azzami, needs a place to stay. At school, the other kids call Azzami names, and Mina wishes he'd stand up for himself. Then she sees his drawings, and for the first time really thinks about the life of the quiet boy in front of her. Told in candid verse, here is a story about finding friendship where you least expect it and making room for everyone across this big wide world.
Author
Some of my first short stories were crime fiction, and although in the last 20 years I have focused a lot more on writing children's and YA books, I've kept going with my crime writing. The first two novels are now stowed somewhere in the back of my filing cabinet! But "Trust Me, I'm Dead", first draft written in 2009, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger and then published by Verve Books in the UK. What a journey with that novel. I love the character, a grumpy woman (secretly modelled on a young Judi Dench), and couldn't let go of the story. Nine drafts later ... More about my crime writing and books at www.sherrylclarkcrimewriter.com I have been writing poems and stories for over twenty-five years, and have two collections of poetry published. Perseverance really does count, I think, for all kinds of writing. In 1996 I wrote my first children’s book, "The Too-Tight Tutu", which was published in 1997 by Penguin Australia. I have since written over 60 children's and YA books, which are published around the world. My verse novel "Farm Kid" won the 2005 NSW Premier’s Literary Award for Children’s Books. "Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!)" was a 2008 CBCA Honour Book. My YA novel "Dying to Tell Me", published in the USA by KaneMiller, has also been published in Australia by me. I'm a teacher in creative writing at Victoria University TAFE. My author website is at www.sherrylclark.com. I also work as a freelance editor, manuscript development editor and mentor - information on these at www.sherrylclarkwritingcoach.com. And yes, I also teach people how to develop their own blogs and websites!
