A House Without Walls - by Elizabeth Laird (Paperback)

About the Book

The moving story of a family's fight to reunite after their lives are torn apart by war in Syria, from Elizabeth Laird, award-winning author of A Little Piece of Ground and Welcome to Nowhere.

Book Synopsis

From award-winning and beloved childrens author Elizabeth Laird comes a stunning edition of A House Without Walls, with a cover illustration by Maria Brzozowska. A must-read and a modern classic, this is the powerful story of family, hope and redemption amidst the refugee crisis in Syria, illustrated in black and white by Lucy Eldridge.

Thirteen-year-old Safiya and her family have been driven out of Syria by civil war. Safiya knows how lucky she is - lucky not to be living in a refugee camp, and lucky to be alive. But it's hard to feel grateful when she's living in a tent in her cousin's yard, forced to look after her father and brother rather than go back to school. And, now that she's lost her home, she's lonelier than ever.

As the family struggle to rebuild their lives, Safiya realizes that her family has always been incomplete, and with her own future in the balance, it's time to uncover the secrets that war has kept buried.

This edition includes brilliant extra material, such as:
- An introduction by Elizabeth Laird
- Extra content from the author, including reading group questions

Review Quotes

"[H]umane and empathetic . . . Not only eye-opening, important and topical, but a vivid, emotionally involving, nail-biting read . . .an effective call to action." --Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times Book of the Week on Welcome to Nowhere

"A muscular, moving, thought-provoking book from an award-winning writer" --Guardian on Welcome to Nowhere

"Not only does it explain how the war in Syria began in as clear a way as I have ever heard but [Elizabeth Laird] makes her characters lovable, loathable - and believable. They are children of war but not defined by it . . . fascinating and sing[s] with truth." --Alex O'Connell, The Times Book of the Week on Welcome to Nowhere

About the Author

Elizabeth Laird is the multi-award-winning author of many much-loved children's books, including The Garbage King, The Prince Who Walked with Lions, The Fastest Boy in the World and A House Without Walls. She has been shortlisted for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal six times and her novel based on time spent in refugee camps in Jordan, Welcome to Nowhere, was the winner of the UKLA Award. She lives in Britain now, but still likes to travel as much as she can.