Eleven-year-old Aya has arrived in Britain from Syria. She has left her homeland behind, lost her father and is holding the rest of the fragile family together, responsible beyond her years. When she glimpses the dancers in the community centre's ballet class, she longs to dance again - ballet was one of the things she left behind.

Misty Copeland performs in Swan Lake for the American Ballet Theatre in 2014. Photograph: Darren Thomas/AP Wat een mooi, aangrijpend verhaal. En wat ga je snel en veel om Aya geven! Een ontroerend en gevoelig geschreven verhaal dat me nog lang zal bijblijven, zeker omdat het zo'n actueel thema is en het voor veel kinderen de orde van de dag is. Ik hoop dat Aya's verhaal een bron van hoop kan zijn voor de jongens en meisjes die hun thuis, hun land, moeten ontvluchten en ergens anders een bestaan op proberen te bouwen: voor elke negatieveling in je omgeving is er altijd iemand die je met open armen verwelkomt. Ofja, dat is mijn hoop!

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Aya must look after her mother and brother. Her father asked her to as they struggled to survive when their inflatable migrant boat was upturned in a storm off the coast of Greece.

I really enjoyed reading the Afterword at the end. The author explained there how she grew up addicted to books that made you focus on your dreams, etc, but as she got older she realised the value of books that broaden your mindset. The type of books that encourage empathy towards those who have experienced trials you personally know nothing of. So when she wrote this book, she intended to blend those two themes together. The story follows Aya on her new life in England with extracts written following her journey from Syria to England. The minute you start this book you have so much sympathy for Aya and want nothing but good things to happen to her but life isn’t that easy, which Aya soon realises. A shell from the beach reminds her of the boat trip across the Mediterranean in the storm, of the boat capsizing, of the last time she saw her father. Catherine Bruton empathetically tells the story of eleven-year-old Aya, who carries the trauma of having escaped the civil war in Aleppo with her mother and baby brother (having lost her father in the Mediterranean). The book cleverly and powerfully switches between the current story of Aya trying to audition for a prestigious ballet school, whilst her family appeals their rejected plea for asylum, and Aya’s memories of her home in Syria.A piece of rubble from her bombed out home in Aleppo reminds her of the war her family fled from, and of her friends who did not survive. No Ballet Shoes in Syria is a beautiful story of hope, belief and community spirit against the obstacles of ignorance, prejudice and a minefield of rules and regulations. Catherine Bruton creates a wonderful mix of emotions through Aya; her hopes, her frustrations, her sadness, her fears. By carefully unravelling the plight of one family of refugees, we see the reasons for leaving, the dangerous journey, the loss, the difficulties faced (en route and in situ); interleaved with the hopes and wishes of a young girl, the need to belong, the desires to be accepted, the injustice faced. This story takes the reader on an emotional journey. The pureness of Aya's voice is heart-wrenchingly honest and so utterly captivating.

One day, whilst waiting in the interminable queue in the community centre to fill in endless forms she doesn't really understand, Aya hears music and is drawn to the ballet class taking place in another room. When Aya is asked to join the class and audition for ballet school, she begins to believe that a better, more hopeful life might be possible. Maggie Walton’s father has dedicated his life to a single pursuit: hunting down the monster created by Victor Frankenstein. It has cost Maggie and her family everything – and now her father is staking everything on one last voyage to the Arctic, with Maggie secretly in tow, where he hopes to find the monster at last.But at the same time, Aya and her family must fight to be allowed to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves, and to find Aya’s father – separated from the rest of the family during the journey from Syria.