A Little Piece of Ground

My 12-year-old son and I just finished reading this book together, and it left a lasting impression on both of us. Although it is presented as a work of fiction, the story feels incredibly real and authentic. Elizabeth Laird masterfully captures the harsh realities of life under occupation and the deeply entrenched system of apartheid. Through her vivid storytelling, she brings to life the struggles, resilience, and complexities faced by those living in such oppressive conditions. It’s not just a story—it’s a powerful reflection of a difficult reality.

An important story demonstrating the frustrating lives of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, something the rest of the world knows little about. This important book enables readers to understand why living continuously under occupation and threat from settlers, youngsters are hopeless and frustrated and what then stems from these feelings. This book is an excellent insight into the struggles in the lives of ordinary Palestinian youth. Both YA and adults in America should read this story and get an understanding of the Middle-East conflict from a different perspective, a perspective we overlook or that is hidden. This is a very important and unique. There is very little literature on the stories and feelings of Palestinian lives. I hope more books will be published teaching us more about this race. Because every race matters!

Imagine being a kid on the verge of teenagehood trapped in a small apartment for days on end with an angry older brother, a depressed father worried about his business, a mother fearful for your safety and two younger sisters, one of them sick. You can't go out of your front door or else you'll get shot by the soldiers manning the tanks and jeeps that patrol the streets of your city. You get two hours once or twice a week to go see your friends, buy anything you need, run to school to turn in assignments and get new ones. Imagine the stifling anger, frustration and helplessness. That's where Elizabeth Laird's "A Little Piece of Ground" begins.From this claustrophobic opening, the story opens up a little bit with glimmers of hope and happiness, but each such glimmer is marred by the brutality and uncertainty of the occupation. A trip to the countryside village is marred by humiliation at a checkpoint along the way and the discovery that the family's olive groves have been confiscated by settlers. The discovery of "Hopper's ground" is shadowed by the destruction and rubble of the buildings which once stood on the site.Laird has created a fictionalized account of life in an occupied land, which in the story happens to be Palestine. Having little knowledge and no direct experience with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I have no idea how accurate her portrayal of life in Palestine really is (although my gut tells me "very accurate"). But in many ways, it doesn't matter what country we're talking about. The horrors of war and occupation are universal and the damage done - to both the occupied and the occupiers - is profound. The occupied people live in fear and rage at their occupiers and they react aggressively, instinctively trying to assert their need for freedom. The occupiers (who know, in their heart of hearts what they are doing) react by fearing the occupied people - projecting onto them their own aggression. 'Round and 'round it goes, where it stops, who knows?Elizabeth Laird does an excellent job of depicting the crucible of escalating tensions - fear and anger on both sides - which leads to the deadlocked confrontation of the occupation. At the same time, she deftly portrays both sides as humans caught up in an overarching struggle that neither side understands. They share commonalities (one soldier looks like Karim's brother, for instance), but they are worlds away. Karim and his friends come of age amidst this complex backdrop, guided, wearily and warily, by the generation which has gone before them and learned how to navigate this fearful landscape with dignity intact. The soccer field Karim and his friends create at Hopper's ground, destroyed by Israeli tanks, and hopefully to be redeveloped in the future, symbolizes the strength and persistent endurance of the Palestinian peoples in the face of the adversity of the unending Israeli occupation.With one exception, Laird has created believable characters with whom the reader can identify and understand. The one exception is the youngest daughter Sireen who is supposed to be four-years-old, but the way she is depicted seems much closer to two. For instance, a four-year-old who has grown up in an occupied land would know better than to open her door and get out at a checkpoint. Sireen is a very minor character, so this flaw doesn't unduly mar the book, but I did find it annoying every time she appeared. But otherwise, Laird does an good job of presenting her characters' motivations and emotions, actions and re-actions, whether simply in "ordinary" family life (as ordinary as life can be in such a tense situation) or in the extraordinary confrontation with the occupying force that the family must deal with.The combination of rich and realistic characters and a well-paced plot make this book an engaging read for kids and adults alike. Most Americans, young and old (myself included), have little conception of what life is like outside the confines of our safe homes and neighborhoods. War has not touched our soil in so long that few have any conception what it is like to live day after day in a war zone. This book will open many eyes.

This is an extraordinary book about war and peace as seen through the eyes of a young Palestinian boy. It is beautifully written and is certain to hold the attention of any reader, though it is intended for our upper elementary and middle school students.Elizabeth Laird is the award-winning author of Kiss the Dust and The Garbage King. She received the 2004 Hampshire Award in the UK for A Little Piece of Ground, but we had to wait for a US publisher with the courage to pick it up. It has since received the MEOC Award here in the US for the category "Youth Literature".Teachers/Librarians: 5th-9th grade - social studies/language arts. SPECIAL ONLINE - FREE TEACHER'S GUIDE - just go to [...] to download a detailed, 57 page teacher's guide to A Little Piece of Ground

I liked this book because it explaned about a person’s life and experince during the Palestine war. I also like this book because it also explains how the Iraelans and the Palestinians are both similar in ways that are very important.

What I like most about this very simply written book is that it really makes the suffering of Palestinians real to young and old readers alike. I never really thought what it's like for a 14-year old to be cooped up all day in an apartment because there's a day and night curfew imposed by the Israeli army. And then the joy of having just a few minutes out of doors in the sun. Elizabeth Laird has an uncany ability to capture the feelings of the children affected by the Israeli occupation of Palestine. She keeps the book free of polemics. Very readable and very honest. I've recommended to several people already.