The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle - by Victoria Williamson (Paperback)

About the Book

Heartfelt and full of hope, this uplifting story about the power of friendship and belonging was inspired by debut novelist Williamson's work with young asylum seekers--a stunning story of displacement and discovery will speak to anyone who has ever asked "where do I belong?"

Book Synopsis

A lyrical story about refugees and friendship akin to The Bone Sparrow and The Turtle of Oman.

Reema runs to remember the life she left behind in Syria.
Caylin runs to find what she's lost.

Under the gray Glasgow skies, twelve-year-old refugee Reema is struggling to find her place in a new country, with a new language and without her brother. But she isn't the only one feeling lost. Her Glasgwegian neighbor Caylin is lonely and lashing out.

When they discover an injured fox and her cubs hiding on their estate, the girls form a wary friendship. And they are more alike than they could have imagined: they both love to run.

As Reema and Caylin learn to believe again, in themselves and in others, they find friendship, freedom and the discovery that home isn't a place, it's the people you love.

Heartfelt and full of hope, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle is an uplifting story about the power of friendship and belonging. Inspired by her work with young asylum seekers, debut novelist Victoria Williamson's stunning story of displacement and discovery will speak to anyone who has ever asked 'where do I belong?'

Review Quotes

'I love both these girls. They are so different, yet so alike. They both have struggles which are compounded by not having a soul to share them with. Once they decide to lower their walls, they end up helping each other rise to make their struggles more bearable and become a better person.'
- Kiss the Book

'This is the most wonderful story of survival, courage, and a developing friendship between two very different girls... Woven over the ''issues'' is a terrific story of a developing friendship, and by the final chapters I was on the edge of my seat and breathless to find out how the various strands of the narrative would end... A must-have.'
- View From the Bookshelves

'Victoria shapes her story chapter by chapter like cleaving, sawing, bruting and polishing a rough diamond. Every chapter outshines the previous one. Please don't miss The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle... A very special book by a very special person who embraces cultures and beliefs that are not hers and most importantly has chosen to give voice to the vulnerable through her debut children's novel.'
- Books and Beyond

'Told from alternating perspectives the author does an excellent job of creating believable characters that demonstrate realistic pre-teen behaviors... Victoria Williamson has created a book in which everyone can see a piece of themselves in each character, a mark of a very gifted story teller.'
- The Children's Book Review

'A really nice story of friendship, belonging, freedom, and hope. Very well done.'
- Reading by the Pond

'Williamson allows readers to quickly relate to both white Glaswegian Caylin and Syrian-immigrant Reema, seeing in them reflections of the many problems children face around the world today. Her writing is culturally sensitive [�] With her two characters, Williamson movingly makes it clear that working-class solidarity traverses borders, race, ethnicity, and religion.' (Fiction. 10-15)
- Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

'This story is a delightfully nuanced, diverse, thoughtful and even fun/cute story of friendship and learning to be a good person. The ending works with the rest of the feel-good story. Really great for anyone who loves a great story of friendship.'
- Youth Services Book Review, starred review

'An inherently entertaining and compelling read from first page to last, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to elementary school and community library General Fiction collections for young readers ages 10 to 12.'
- Midwest Book Review

A very special book by a very special person who embraces cultures and beliefs that are not hers and most importantly has chosen to give voice to the vulnerable through her debut children's novel.'
- Books and Beyond

'Difficult themes (war, death, bigotry, alcoholism, bullying) are treated honestly, in a manner appropriate for the� Target age (10-12). It's a moving story told in alternating perspectives.'
- Monika Durbin, Edelweiss

'I was really impressed with this novel and taken on quite an emotional ride throughout the course of it. [This] is a story of friendship and of the healing that it can bring and it is definitely one worth reading.'
- NetGalley Reviewer

'Relevant, moving and quite extraordinary.'
- Lucy Coates, author of the Beasts of Olympus series

About the Author

Victoria Williamson is a primary school teacher with a Master's degree in special needs education. She has worked as a science teacher and teacher trainer in Cameroon and Malawi, an English as a foreign language teacher in China, and as a special needs teacher in the UK. Victoria's experiences teaching young children in a school where many families were seeking asylum, inspired her debut novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, an uplifting tale of friendship between Glasgow girl Caylin and Syrian refugee Reema.