Children of Refuge

4.3

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Author(s)

Margaret Peterson Haddix

Publisher

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

10+

Release Date

September 12, 2017

ISBN

978-1442450066

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After Edwy is smuggled off to Refuge City to stay with his brother and sister, Rosi, Bobo, and Cana are stuck alone—and in danger—in Cursed Town in the thrilling follow-up to Children of Exile from New York Times bestselling author, Margaret Peterson Haddix.

It’s been barely a day since Edwy left Fredtown to be with his parents and, already, he is being sent away. He’s smuggled off to boarding school in Refuge City, where he will be with his brother and sister, who don’t even like him very much. The boarding school is nothing like the school that he knew, there’s no one around looking up to him now, and he’s still not allowed to ask questions!

Alone and confused, Edwy seeks out other children brought back from Fredtown and soon discovers that Rosi and the others—still stuck in the Cursed Town—might be in danger. Can Edwy find his way back to his friends before it’s too late?

Editor reviews

2 reviews

A Great Second Book in a Series

February 25, 2018

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

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Characters

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CHILDREN OF REFUGE is the second in a series by Margaret Peterson Haddix in which the main characters, Rosi and Edwy, have spent the first twelve years of their lives being fostered in Fredtown (along with the other children of Earth their age and younger) by Freds--a peace-loving community whose goal it is to raise the kids in their care to be non-violent, thoughtful, and sympathetic to others. The series starts as the children are being returned to their birth parents, and the first book, CHILDREN OF EXILE, which I reviewed here, http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/22358-children-of-exile, chronicles Rosi's struggles to adapt as she returns to her parents in Cursed City. In CHILDREN OF REFUGE, Edwy is the narrator, and he has been relocated to Refuge City where he tries to adapt to life without parental supervision and with siblings that he didn't know existed until he was packed up to move into their home.

During his time in Fredtown, Edwy was always questioning the Freds and he was something of a troublemaker, but his brief time in Cursed City taught him that the Freds' way of living might not be worthy of the number of eye rolls he dished out. Edwy has also learned that the traits that caused trouble for him in Fredtown might be the very things that keep him and others alive as their world is turned up-side-down.

CHILDREN OF REFUGE continues the themes of peace and acceptance introduced in CHILDREN OF EXILE, and I found Edwy's perspective to be even more engrossing than Rosi's. The action in CHILDREN OF REFUGE is constant, and Edwy's persistence in seeking answers leads to a lot more revelations for the characters--and readers. As with the first in the series, CHILDREN OF REFUGE ends with a cliff-hanger, and the next book in the series cannot come fast enough! Haddix masterfully builds tension while telling Edwy's story in an approachable way that will have middle grade readers enthralled.

My thanks to the publisher and YA Books Central for a copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Good Points

Constant action
Great second book in a series