Customer Reviews

Samir and Yonatan

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just finished reading this book to my adolescent daughters to increase their awareness of the conflict in the Holy Land. The entire story takes place in an Israeli hospital, where Samir is the only Palestinian boy in the children's ward. As he waits for his operation to be performed by an American doctor, he observes the funny antics, the emotional traumas and the interactions of the other children in the room. Although the story deals with a serious subject... Samir reflects on the difficulties his family is going through due to his brother's death in the streets, and the chaos, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the Israeli-Palestinian fighting... there are many light moments that had us laughing. As the book progresses towards the end though, it becomes more serious as the children deal with their individual problems. Although we were losing our enthusiasm for the story as the funny parts faded, Yonatan takes Samir on a "trip to Mars" where there is some interesting, poetical imagery, and the story ends in a hopeful, upbeat mood.

Samir is a Palestinian boy who finds himself in a children's ward of an Israeli hospital. Injured in a childish accident that could have happened to any child anywhere, Samir awaits surgery to repair a shattered knee. In the interim, the author, Daniella Carmi, reveals aspects of each of the children's lives that connect them to each other. Momentary bonds form as vulnerability is exposed and spaces of safety are identified. Sometimes these spaces are tangible, like wrapped in a blanket or under a bed. Other times they are places in the mind where the familiarity of certain foods and family bring comfort. The character of Yonatan, an Israeli boy, whose father is an astronomer, brings these spaces together when he invites Samir to take a trip to Mars with him. It is on this trip that Samir realizes the potential for creating a space that is safe for all people.

Daniella Carmi's story provides insight into many aspects of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and points to children as the hope for resolution. The only drawback is that girls in the story are stereotypically portrayed as fearful and delicate: Razia hides under her bed to avoid seeing her father; Ludmilla wears her princess slippers. Nevertheless, the story is captivating and the characters believable.

this book was an interesting novel about a young boy named Samir who happens to accidentally break his leg and go to a jewish hospital which is the last thing he wants to do. At the hospital he is amazed at the new friendships and discoveries that he makes like planting on mars. 3 stars fun book . The reason i would rate this book a 3 out of 5 is because it lost me at points. Especially when Samir was in the hospital. The writing had too much description and was too lengthy. The book over all had a clear message and it was keep dreaming and friend will help you.I also do not understand why the author chose this title the book does not have too much info on Yonatan.






-Tomas Silva

SAMIR AND YONATON has just been honored with the prestigious Mildred Batchelder Award, given by the American Library Association for the most distinguished work of translated literature each year. SAMIR had previously been named an honor book for the UNESCO peace prize for literature in the service of peace. In these times of trouble in the Middle East, I can think of no better way to explore the issues than through this fine novel by Israeli author Daniella Carmi.

This book was by far one of the... WEIRDEST books I have ever read!! My fellow youth and I (a bunch of 14 year olds) all agree that we would never under any circumstances find joy in POKING someone else's pee bag! Nor would I find joy urinating with my enemy in a plant!
Also, they describe Mars like it was real. These kids were pretending, and really BELIEVEING that they were on the planet mars! I found it sad and a bit sickening! And heck, I'm only a few years older then this Samir character!
Aside from the main story plot, I found tons of grammatical errors. Lots of "Me and Yonatons"s were thrown in there, and many of the sentences were quite awkward. "Yes." IS NOT A SENTANCE. On the other hand "yes," would be correct! And yes, I do know that this was a translated book, and I understand that it's not going to be perfect, but at least TRY so that a 7th grader doesn't notice!?
So, for all of you adults saying that this is a great "Children/teen book" I really hope that I have made it clear in this review, that us youngin's DO NOT enjoy reading about pee-touching children! And the topic that it's focusing on is very important! (Arab/Jew conflict)
To sum it all up, this book was "Dumber than my shoes."