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SKRYPUCH, Marsha Forchuk. Dance of the Banished. 288p. Pajama Press. ISBN 9781927485651. JLG Level: PBH : Paperbacks High (Grades 10 & Up).
Ali leaves his village in Anatolia so that he can earn enough money to bring his fiancé, Zeynep, to Canada. Shortly after his departure, the Young Turk revolutionary forces turn on Zeynep’s Armenian Christian neighbors. While she struggles with trying to save the lives of her friends, Ali is captured and sent to an internment camp. Can they survive the war and reunite from an ocean apart?
For readers without prior knowledge of the Armenian genocide and Canadian internment camps from 1914, a visit to ArmenianGenocide.org provides background, while the Kapuskasing Internment Camp website sheds light on Canadian immigration fears. Fans may read the author’s blog. How do you pronounce her name? TeachingBooks.net has an audio file.
