The Eleventh Trade

I've been hearing about this book for so long that I was ridiculously excited to finally be able to read it and fit all the little snippets I'd heard/read/seen about it together. I was not disappointed. I read the last third of this book on my train journey home from work with a wet face and a curious lady peering at me worriedly from the seat opposite me. When I finally stopped crying with sadness and cried with happiness, she actually wanted to know what the book was so that she could read it too. This book is thoughtful and poignant, important without ever losing sight of hope.

The Eleventh Trade begins with Sami, a lonely boy who's reluctant to make friends, recently come to Boston with his grandfather from Afghanistan. Travelling with them all the way from home and across Europe is a precious rebab, a traditional Afghan musical instrument beloved to them both. When it's stolen from Sami, he feels the loss is his fault and wants nothing more than to get it back for his grandfather. Then he discovers it for sale in a music store with a $700 price tag and a time limit: Sami has just one month to make the money, but how? Let the trades begin!

I've read a little of Alyssa's writing before, as well as devouring her blog for all its fantastic writing tips, but it was wonderful to read this book and really see how well she writes across a full novel. With a tight plot and nothing extraneous or unnecessary, the pacing flows with an ease and confidence it's hard to find in some books by authors who've been writing novels for decades already. I was hooked right from the start. It's is an utterly wonderful story, full of so much character and emotion, friendship, heart and hope. I loved every moment, every scene, every page. This is a story that perfectly balances plot-driven and character-driven storytelling with an arresting POV, lots of engaging twists and turns, thoughtful emotional depth, and one very satisfying ending.

Sami is of course my favourite character. He's introspective and determined, quiet, caring and curious. His voice is strong and immersive, engaging me quickly into his worldview and thoughts. I loved following Sami on his journey, not only to try and recover his grandfather's stolen rebab, but to find friends, community, safety, healing, and to settle in a new home. I felt so close to him and so much hope for him, I just wanted to wrap him up in a big hug. He's a character who I think will stay with me for a very long time. Every character felt real and important, though, with even secondary and background characters vibrant and leaping off the page with their own lives buzzing in the undercurrents of the story. No matter the age of the character, they always felt very real and grounded in their lives, cultures, and histories. I could really believe these characters were real, they were so sensitively drawn. This gave the novel a real sense of both place and community, especially in the times when they all come together.

I also didn't expect to enjoy reading about a children's football club as much as I did, but every scene involving football is purposeful and well-crafted, with detail that makes picturing exactly what's going on easy. And because Sami and his friends cared about it, I also found myself invested in it. Alyssa has a great ear for children's dialogue and I found myself snickering at how accurate some of the interactions between the kids were. The Pashto and Arabic phrases were also really well inserted into the narrative, and despite there being a glossary in the back of the book, it never really felt needed because the meanings were often explained alongside the phrases or inferred in the context, which made them very accessible.

A big part of The Eleventh Trade is the sobering truth of so many refugees and migrants around the world, escaping from war and persecution, trauma and loss. It's easy to see how much research and how many people's stories went into the small moments in this novel, something Alyssa talks a little about in her notes at the back of the book. Alyssa sensitively traverses Sami's complex repressed emotions, his anxieties, memories, trauma, culture shock, and social difficulties and makes them personal, accessible and impactful. There are a lot of important lessons about empathy in this book. And as well as addressing many other important themes, such as bullying and racism, honesty, respect, sensitivity and awareness of others, grief and loss, family and friendship, and fighting fears, it's also rich in subtle details about day-to-day Muslim life. This book takes place during Ramadan, and the difficulties of holding on to your own culture while also adjusting to the attitudes and ways of life in a new country were another layer to the narrative. I loved learning more about Ramadan and Eid, Afghan culture, and Islamic customs. I'd also love to one day see a rebab myself and hear one played.

I could probably out-gush the character limit about this book, there's just so much in it, and it was such a pleasure to read. It's so packed with themes and questions that would also make it a fantastic class book for schools. Seriously, when this book gets released, I'm buying it for every kid I know. While this book is important and moving, it's also full of hope and fun and is wonderfully compelling. It's an incredible debut, and I hope, a future children's classic.