Road to Chlifa (Northern Lights Books for Children) [Paperback]

Michele Marineau (Author), Susan Ouriou (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Northern Lights Books for Children

This hard-hitting novel won, in its original French edition:

• The Governor General's Award,
• The Alvine Bélisle Award, and
• The Brive/Montréal Award.

Nominee, Governor General's Literary Award for Translation (from French to English)

Karim has journeyed a long way from his home in war-torn Beirut to his new high school in Quebec. Now he must travel the difficult road to a life without war. There is contempt and racism here, too. But there is also My-Lan, a new companion in a new and challenging country. It is an adventure behind the headlines and a lesson in life you couldn't learn in the classroom.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A tour de force . . . the work of an accomplished writer whose work has been brought to a new audience by an equally accomplished translator."
-- Globe and Mail

"The climax is truly poignant and the resolution thoughtful."
-- Books in Canada

"Deftly portrays the cultural conflicts within the high school classroom. . . . The writing style evokes an immediate response from readers with its expressive language, clarity of word choice, and changing point of view."
-- International Reading Association, Newark, Delaware

"A powerful, thought-provoking story that handles discrimination, compromise, uprooting and friendship meaningfully."
-- Kliatt

About the Author

Michèle Marineau is the award-winning author of Cassiopée - L'Eté polonais, which earned her the 1988 Governor General's Award. She earned a second Governor General's Award and an International Board on Books for Young People Honour Citation for her novel La Route de Chlifa, or The Road to Chlifa. Michèle's books have received numerous awards in Quebec, France and Belgium, and have been translated into several languages.

Susan Ouriou is a Calgary-based translator and writer who has translated from both French and Spanish. She has been nominated for two Governor General's Literary Awards for her translations of The Road to Chlifa and Necessary Betrayals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Red Deer Press; 1 edition (January 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889951292
• ISBN-13: 978-0889951297
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,019,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the road to chlifa, April 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Road to Chlifa (Northern Lights Books for Children) (Paperback)

i loved this book. It was one of the best book i ever red in my whole life. I hated reading books but when my english teacher ask the class to read it I thought it is going to be like other book but it was the best book ever. I liked the book because it was about the immegrant people, they all have hard time in first few years. The book is about a Lebnonies teenager name Karim. He is handsome good loking. He stadies in a high school in Motreal and all the girls in his class are after him, and all the boys hate him because of that. this young boy had a hard to get to Canada and he also had lots of problem when he got to Canada.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pulls you in from the beginning, March 26, 2001

By 

Marie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road to Chlifa (Northern Lights Books for Children) (Paperback)

I was assigned to read this book in my French class at school. I didn't think much of it, in fact I only chose it because I thought the cover was nice. But once I opened it and started reading the first pages, I was hooked. It's an incredible story about a young boy and a young girl who have both lost everything in the war. They part on an adventure that will change their lives forever. As we read on, we witness a strong and very emotional relationship developing between the two characters. We come to share the character's emotions and experience all the things they do. The ending, although I will keep it secret, is very harsh if you have come to develop a kind of relationship with the characters, you are almost incapable of accepting it. In resume, it's a fabulous book totally worth it's small price.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars the road to chlifa, December 8, 2004

By 

mike (irac) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road to Chlifa (Northern Lights Books for Children) (Paperback)

i am from irac and this is a good book but i hoped karim i wished that karim was gay and i hped dead lol