by N. H. Senzai
When Muzoon was seventeen, her family immigrated to England, where she continued her education. She found school much different than in Syria. Muzoon had to adjust to carrying her books around in a backpack, changing classrooms, and the strange food in the school cafeteria. The English her classmates spoke was different from textbook English. They spoke faster and with accents. There was much to learn, but Muzoon was up to the challenge.
Two years after moving to Newcastle, Muzoon was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF. She said in a PopSugar interview, “I feel lucky to go to school every day, but I cannot be completely happy until every child all over the world can have access to the same right.”
When she completes her education, Muzoon hopes to become a journalist, and someday, to return to Syria.
Yusra Mardini is from the Syrian city of Damascus. She represented Syria in the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships.
During the civil war, Yusra’s home was destroyed. She then fled Syria with her sister, Sarah. They boarded an overcrowded boat bound for the island of Lesbos. When the boat started to sink, Yusra, Sarah, and two others climbed into the water and swam for three hours. They pulled the boat to safety, saving the lives of twenty people.
The Mardini sisters then immigrated to Germany. There Yusra began training for the Olympics. She competed on the first ever refugee team in Rio de Janeiro. Yusra said, “The most important thing in my life is swimming. Then speaking and doing things to help refugees.”
Today, Yusra is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She hopes to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
It required all hands on deck to make Flying Over Water a reality. We would especially like to acknowledge early readers Whitney Smitherman, Aimee Reed, Saba Taylor, Nancy Stewart, Lorin Oberweger, Hena Khan, Imtiaz Ghori, Razan Asbahi, and Erum Khan; Dr. Tori Kelley for lending her expertise to Jordyn’s counseling sessions; Dr. Ahsan Sheikh, a child psychiatrist who provided insight into PTSD and trauma; Hickory High swim coach Cathy Hitchcock for sharing her knowledge of competitive swimming; the Reverend Vicki Walker, who connected us with Janet Blair, the Community Liaison for Refugee Services, Suncoast Region; Janet Blair for answering our questions about the resettlement process; and Rhonda Sibilia, former broadcast journalist and public education activist for her help with the school board meeting.
Flying Over Water landed at the perfect publishing house. Thanks to our editor, Andrea Pinkney, and the entire team at Scholastic for taking a chance on our collaboration.
And finally, our deepest gratitude to our agents, Deborah Warren and Michael Bourret, who made the initial contact between us and always believed this book was possible.
N. H. SENZAI is the award-winning author of Escape from Aleppo, Ticket to India, and Saving Kabul Corner. Her first novel for young readers, Shooting Kabul, was the winner of the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, was an NPR Backseat Book Club pick, and appeared on numerous awards lists. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Visit her online at NHSenzai.com.
SHANNON HITCHCOCK is the author of One True Way, Ruby Lee & Me, and The Ballad of Jessie Pearl. Her books have been featured on many state awards lists and have received acclaimed reviews. Shannon divides her time between Florida and North Carolina. For more, visit her at her website at shannonhitchcock.com
Copyright © 2020 by N. H. Senzai and Shannon Hitchcock
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
First edition, October 2020
Cover illustration © 2020 by Yuta Onoda
Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi
e-ISBN 978-1-338-61768-9
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