 Thirteen-year-old Nikola and his fifteen-year-old sister Saida are members of a Romani family in Belgrade, Serbia in 2006-2009. They face discrimination at school and extreme poverty in their cardboard home under the Gazela Bridge – Cardboard City. They don’t have enough food or money, but they try to fill their lives with music, dance, stories, laughter, magic, and dreams for a hopeful future. Nikola is a gifted trumpet player who aspires to be a famous musician. The siblings live with their fortune-teller grandmother, they don’t know their true ages, and they cannot read or write. They separately run away to a festival in Guca but are reunited in the home of a generous couple. In May 2009, the City of Belgrade cleared Cardboard City, and all the Roma families were resettled in different Belgrade municipalities or in their former towns. This short book offers a fascinating view into the world of Romani people, a world likely unknown to YA readers. A historical note and four recipes round out this important book. mjw |
| Title: Cardboard City Author: Katarina Jovanovic Publisher: Tradewind Books. Vancouver and London Copyright: 2023 Original Language: Serbian Original Title: Kartonac Original Copyright: 2019 ISBN: 978-1-990598104 Hardcover pages: 128 Age range: 12-17 Genre: Fiction Book setting: Belgrade, Serbia Author’s ethnicity: Serbian Author’s residence: Vancouver Subjects: Discrimination, Eastern Europe, Injustice, Marginalized people, Music, Orphans, Persecution, Poverty, Racism, Refugee camps, Romani people, Survival, Trumpets |
Cardboard City
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