Adem's Cross (Hardcover)

by Alice Mead (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Set in 1993, Mead's (Junebug) timely novel examines the plight of the ethnic Albanians of the former Yugoslavian province of Kovoso, now occupied by Serb forces. Adem has witnessed the tyranny of Serb troops for over four years, and has been taught to "wait for things to get better and try to live life as normally as possible." But after his sister is killed during a peaceful demonstration and Serbian soldiers take over his grandmother's store, the 12-year-old is enraged by his elders' passivity. In an act of defiance, Adem breaks their rule of remaining inconspicuous and walks down a road alone. This apparently simple action puts him and his family in grave danger. Only after he is aided by a Gypsy with neutral views does Adem realize that his dreams and those of his enemies are remarkably similar. Blame for corruption is not necessarily placed on Serbs, but more generally on the desperation to survive and gain power. While graphic depictions of violence invite sympathy for the Albanians, the message of this riveting novel carries a wider meaning. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-The author of Junebug (Farrar, 1995) leaves the drug-infested projects for an even more harrowing setting: Kosovo, Yugoslavia. Fourteen-year-old Adem, an Albanian, tries to survive despite the day-to-day random violence and cruelty of the Serbians. American youngsters may have trouble imagining a school without chairs, books, or heat. They will have trouble visualizing that school's annual first day tradition: tear gas and beating up the principal. In this republic, Albanian children are not allowed to play organized sports. Personal freedom is an even more valuable commodity than nonexistent gasoline. When Adem's beloved older sister attempts to make a stand, she is cut down by Serbian bullets, and Adem is consumed by secret guilt that he might have prevented her death. His home life spirals down quickly as his family is crushed by the opposition. After Adem is mutilated by Serbian soldiers, he escapes, aided by a Serb and a gypsy, who is killed during the flight. Mead preps readers with a quick, efficient sketch of Yugoslavia's recent history before jumping into this disturbing society. She is not taking a political stance. She passionately defends children caught in cultural crossfire. One inconsistency is puzzling. Twice Adem mentions that Fatmira had spoken out and read her peace poem, but the text states that she was shot while waiting to read it. Setting that quibble aside, this book takes a distant and brutal conflict and makes it real. Recommend it to fans of Frances Temple and Suzanne Staples.
Marilyn Payne Phillips, University City Public Library, MO
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (October 22, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374300577
• ISBN-13: 978-0374300579
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,991,164 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, January 22, 2001

By	Kosovar (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adem's Cross (Laurel Leaf Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Believe me,this book is so beautifully written.As a Kosovar I've found it amazing how Alice could make such a great story which in fact most of it or perhaps all of it is true because these sort of things hapenned very often in Kosova. I would highly recommend this book to all of you - no matter what age you are...Well done Alice and Keep Writing as your books will always have a spare place on my library...The best of luck

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adem's Cross, April 17, 2000

By	James Koo (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

The author has traveled to Kosova/Kosovo, both before and after the NATO airstrikes there, and is currently active in attempts to release Kosovar Albanian prisoners held by the government in Belgrade. In Adem's Cross, the author attempts to depict rural life in Kosova/Kosovo during Serb rule, from the perspective of a Kosovar Albanian teenager, Adem(Adam). The humanity of individual Serbs and Roma(Gypsies), the ineffectiveness of several policies of the Democratic League of Kosova(LDK), the depictions of the city of Prizren and the nearby border with Albania, the views of Kosovar Albanians toward the then raging war in Bosnia-Hercegovina, and the prediction of future intervention over Kosova/Kosovo by the United States, make this book unique, in that it was published before the open emergence of organized armed resistance in Kosova/Kosovo, let alone the start of involvement by NATO.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars i would rate this a 2, February 3, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Adem's Cross (Laurel Leaf Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

In the story Adams cross there is a young boy named Adam. He is about 12 years old .he lives with his family in an old house. His family is discriminated because of there religion. He has a sister named Fatmaria. She is a little older the Adam. She goes to school and other stuff just like the family. She is the only one with a car in the family and she's the only one that can drive. In the story the Serbs shoot her. Her parents were told that she was at the hospital and told that she would be out and better the next day. The next day she came home dead and had never been taken to the hospital and she acutely came home dirtier and had stuff missing from her. They had decided to give her a proper funeral out in there back yard so when people drove past it they. When they had the funeral people came from different parts of the city and some people they didn't know. Adam was made because he thought that they were celebrating her death. That is most of the characters that have a main part in the book.