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Elizabeth Laird
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Kiss the Dust Kindle Edition

by Elizabeth Laird (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 112 ratings
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Kiss the Dust by Elizabeth Laird is an unforgettable, award-winning novel of conflict, persecution and the hardships faced by refugees.

Tara is an ordinary teenager. Although her country, Kurdistan, is caught up in a war, the fighting seems far away. It hasn't really touched her. Until now.

The secret police are closing in. Tara and her family must flee to the mountains with only the few things they can carry. It is a hard and dangerous journey - but their struggles have only just begun. Will anywhere feel like home again?

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  1. Reading age
    9 - 11 years
  2. Print length
    292 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Macmillan Children's Books
  5. Publication date
    September 4, 2008
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0230014312
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in Iraq, this novel "weaves compelling facts about the conflict between the Arabs and the Kurds into a gripping tale about one family's escape to freedom," said PW in a starred review. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Here, Laird, author of a poignant first novel about the effects of a hydrocephalic baby on his family (Loving Ben, 1989), portrays the journey of a Kurdish refugee family--a story based on the real experiences in the mid-80's of Iraqi Kurds now living in England. For Tara, 13, and her family, their ordeal is cruel and often life-threatening, yet they are among the lucky ones. Wealthy ``Baba'' (secretly a power in the Kurdish military) still has money even after repeated searches, while ``Daya'' manages to smuggle her jewels. Escaping the police as they leave their luxurious home in a city in northern Iraq, they take a taxi to their primitive vacation house in the mountains. For Tara, the return to village ways is almost as much of a shock as the bombs that eventually drive the family over the border into Iran, to a refugee camp infested with bedbugs and assaulted by deafening prayers rasped from a loudspeaker. Eventually, Baba makes contact with relatives in Teheran and passage to London is negotiated. Ever-present dangers maintain suspense--from a brutal street-killing Tara witnesses to her older brother's miraculous escape; meanwhile, Laird builds a sympathetic picture of the embattled Kurds and a compelling portrait of Tara and the sobering changes wrought in her and her family by the events, including her first startled response to a free society (``attractive and exciting...but frightening...as if things might suddenly get out of control''). An important contribution to the growing number of refugee stories. (Fiction. 10+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003GGSTJE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan Children's Books; Reprints edition (September 4, 2008)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 4, 2008
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2527 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 112 ratings

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Elizabeth Laird

Elizabeth Laird

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
112 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Global Prof
5.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough and compassionate story of Kurdish refugees in 1984-5
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is one of the best books I have read about the Kurdish diaspora experience. Simple and direct in style, it follows a teenage girl from Suleymaniya in Iraq as her family takes refuge in the Zagros mountains, then cross the border into Iran, then move through several refugee camps, until finally receiving asylum in England. The book is both sensitive and detailed, describing events (and their causes) that few other mainstream books have tacked. These include:

* Tensions between Kurds and Saddam's regime before the Iran/Iraq war

* Unwillingness of young Kurdish men to be conscripted into Saddam's army to fight Iran (joining one enemy to fight another)

* Bombing raids conducted against Kurdish villages by Saddam's army in 1984-5, even before the genocide of Al Anfal officially began in 1986

* Extreme danger and difficulty of fleeing by foot and horseback over the Zagros Mountains to Iran

* Horrible conditions of refugee camps in Iran (barely any food, bug-infested shacks to live in, and the mistrust of Persians towards Kurds)

* Genuine friendships between Kurds and Arabs in Kurdish Iraq, despite governmental pressure and unfairness

* Desperation of refugees seeking asylum, and the lack of reliable information given to them

* Prison-like conditions in UK detention camps for asylum seekers

I really admire Elizabeth Laird for the great job she did describing all these things while still writing an engaging story appropriate for young adult readers.
2 people found this helpful
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L. Strickler
5.0 out of 5 stars Kiss The Dust
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2013
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This book was very interesting from the moment I started. Those kinds of books always keep me reading them. I read this book for a reading group so I had to read the whole thing. I forgot that it was even necessary to read it. OK was transported transported into a new world.I very much enjoyed it. Please get this book and read it. You will go into a whole new world.
One person found this helpful
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Kmcknight
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2015
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I had to read this book for class. I couldn't put it down once I started.
One person found this helpful
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MJ
4.0 out of 5 stars Accurate
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2015
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Half-way through reading the book, it amazed me how accurate the depiction of what happened in Northern Iraq during that time was. I heard man stories of people who lived during that time and I felt like I was reading there's. But their stories didn't end as well as this one.
One person found this helpful
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Christianna Demars
3.0 out of 5 stars SCHOOL
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2014
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I have read this for a school project. As I have read this it felt like the world ended and a chance kept being born. Tara the main character was an amazing piece to the story. This book was great and I enjoyed reading it.
One person found this helpful
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School P.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2016
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Great!
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Daisy
5.0 out of 5 stars Kiss the Dust was very pleasing.
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2015
Kiss the Dust was very inspiring. It showed me other problems in the world that have been going on for many years. I loved Kiss the Dust, because it told me that their is hope for the Kurdistan's. That Tara's family was not going to give up and believed that their was something good to come out of all this. This book reminds me of the book Runaway author Wendelin Van Draanen, just because the police and social workers find Holly every time doesn't mean they will find her this time. That Holly would get away and find a new home- just like Tara did. My favorite part was how Ashti (Tara's older brother) came to the rescue to save Tara he didn't have to do that. He did it because he loved her. I'm very glad that my teacher gave me the opportunity to read this book. I was very pleased. Also, last but certainly not least I loved, absolutely loved how the book ended with a quote from the older brother, Ashti. And how he came back to his family not leaving them behind and forgetting about them. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. ~Olivia
One person found this helpful
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K. Puriri
4.0 out of 5 stars Hmmmm
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2014
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This was a very, truly inspiring book. This book demonstrates and tells the story many Kurds during the Iran-Iraq war.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

lucy
5.0 out of 5 stars Read before giving it to a child
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
I read this book to check the contents before giving it to my 9 year old daughter. She has read other books by this author and adored them, (also pre read by me) A Little Piece of Ground, Oranges in No Man’s Land. I loved it and I think she would love it but there are several parts I think she is not ready for. The opening has a reasonably graphic description of two boys being shot, there is a fairly graphic description of the village being bombed, including a direct hit on a group of people just in front of her, slipping on the blood, limbs flying etc. There is a reference to prostitutes, which she would likely just skim over but I don’t really want to chance having to explain that to her right now. It’s a great book and I know my school actually just read it as a class book in yr 6 but I will keep it away from my yr 4 girls for a while until she’s a little older. Amazon age range should be older, and I think also valuable for an adult. I would recommend A little Piece of Ground instead but still requires supervision and context particularly in the current climate
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Sadia
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely good book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2024
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It shows what's actually going around in the world while we are living a comfortable life in our homes. Like all other books by Elizabeth we love this book as well.Highly recommended to the children who wants to learn about the world.
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Nja
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful tale
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2016
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This was a wonderful tale recounting the adventure, trauma and struggle of a family being forced to leave their home and seek refuge from the terror caused by other human beings. Emotionally charged.
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Tiffin Scrace
5.0 out of 5 stars Bought as present
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2014
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I bought this as a present for a friend's daughter having read it myself. I enjoyed the story and following their journey. Life is not straight forward and the most ordinary people have to find ways just to live to the next day.
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Student of Life
5.0 out of 5 stars Page turner
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2013
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Really good read - deals with the difficult situation of war and refugees with humanity, showing vulnerability and courage. very well written; I read it in record time.
One person found this helpful
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