Why No Goodbye? Purchase to Support Our Program

Based on true events, Pamela L. Laskin captures the anguished survival of a 13-year-old boy after he is abandoned by his refugee family in war-torn Myanmar…. In breathtaking free verse, Laskin explores the heart of this uneducated, desperate man-child as he struggles with feelings of betrayal and rage, all while experiencing the aching confusion of new love. Informed by her own daughter’s on-location aid work with refugees from Myanmar, Laskin goes beyond the headlines to create a stunningly poignant tale of grief, struggle, and emotional redemption.
–Suzanne Weyn, author of The Bar Code Tattoo trilogy

Why No Goodbye?

Written by Pamela Laskin
Published by Leapfrog Press

What happens to the child left behind? Jubair’s family is stuck in Myanmar, until his mother escapes–with three out of four children. On the cusp of adolescence, the young boy–interned to a farmer–is filled with rage. Jubair is left to sleep in the woods and fend for himself. He does not know how to read and write, so why does his mother even bother smuggling in these letters? Jubair begins to express this anger in his own letters, as he develops a level of literacy, eventually becoming a reader and writer. An epistolary novel, Why No Goodbye? explores loss, grief and transcendence.

Primary ISBN:
Available As: Paperback
Young Adult, Age 13 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , ,

Setting: Myanmar

Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: In Home Country, Refugee

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