Fourteen year old Ahmed Nasser, a Syrian refugee, is stranded in Brussels, Belgium, separated from his family, no papers, no money, and no plan. Thirteen year old Max Howard, an American diplomat’s son, is stranded, too, in a way. His parents have transported him to Brussels and enrolled him in a French-speaking school, all because they want to give him a “new start” after an unfortunate sixth grade school year back in Washington, D.C. Now, Max feels like a failure and a stranger, and his parents just want him to repeat sixth grade and learn French and get his act together.

It’s an unlikely story of how two misfit boys meet and find a way to help each other. The story itself is very pro-refugee and sympathetic to the plight of Syrian refugees in particular. And the boys do break the law in their attempts to safeguard and legitimize Ahmed. The lone spokesperson for law and order, Police Inspector Fontaine, is not very effective in his argument that “the law is important. Society cannot function without it.” (He reminds one a bit of Inspector Javert.)

Although it’s quite obvious where the author’s sympathies lie, I would not say that the book is didactic. The story is exciting and intriguing enough to keep the pages flipping, and the characters, even the ones who disagree with what Max and Ahmed are trying to do, are well-drawn and interesting, experiencing growth and development to some extent. Max’s parents seem a bit oblivious to the obvious, but they are likable and present and engaged in Max’s life.

Near the end of the book, in a clear reference to our current American president, someone tells Ahmed, “America is only accepting ten thousand Syrians. There is even a candidate for president who wants to ban all Muslim immigrants.” In the first ten months of 2018, the United States admitted only fifty-six Syrian refugees.