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“The title is a critical piece of literature, contributing to the larger refugee narrative in a way that is complex and nuanced but still accessible for a YA audience.” –School Library Journal

How Dare The Sun Rise

Written by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
Published by Katherine Tegen Books

This profoundly moving memoir is the remarkable and inspiring true story of Sandra Uwiringiyimana, a girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who tells the tale of how she survived a massacre, immigrated to America, and overcame her trauma through art and activism. Sandra was just ten years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head. She had watched as rebels gunned down her mother and six-year-old sister in a refugee camp. Remarkably, the rebel didn’t pull the trigger, and Sandra escaped. Thus began a new life for her and her surviving family members. With no home and no money, they struggled to stay alive. Eventually, through a United Nations refugee program, they moved to America, only to face yet another ethnic disconnect. Sandra may have crossed an ocean, but there was now a much wider divide she had to overcome. And it started with middle school in New York. In this memoir, Sandra tells the story of her survival, of finding her place in a new country, of her hope for the future, and how she found a way to give voice to her people.

Primary ISBN: 9780062470140
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook
Nonfiction, Age 15 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , ,

Setting: Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, United States (Rochester NY)

Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: Refugee

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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