An Olympic Dream: The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar - Softcover

Reinhard Kleist is a renowned artist and graphic novelist. The Boxer, his depiction of Holocaust survivor Harry Haft, was nominated for an Ignatz Award and made the Young Adult Library Services Association’s 2014 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. His acclaimed biography Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness was nominated for an Eisner Award. Kleist lives in Germany. 

In stark black-and-white illustrations, young Somalian Samia Yusuf Omar finishes last in her 200-meter heat in the Beijing Olympics, but she is determined to improve for the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Training is difficult in Somalia because the strict militant Muslim government disapproves of women exercising outside of the home, even with a head covering. Omar is determined to flee to Europe for better facilities and food, but she must rely on unscrupulous human traffickers to take her across deserts and the Mediterranean Sea. Her journey is rough and dangerous, and there is no happy ending. German author Kleist used family interviews to re-create Omar's life in Mogadishu and interspersed panels with fictionalized Facebook posts to advance the story line. VERDICT While this tale of perseverance and needless death wasn't told by an actual refugee, it emphasizes the need for immigration reform and personalizes the plight of refugees. A welcome addition to current events discussions.—Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL