The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson
Reviewed by ChrisRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Ratings Explanation
Language: Maybe 1 or 2 swear words.
Violence: Meli’s teenage brother is held and beaten by the police, but there is no description. People are thrown out of their house, yelled at, and their home is burned. We hear a shot and later find that a man is dead. A teen is yelled at, another has a bloody nose although we do not see the fight. People just disappear in the village, we know there is a war, but no details of the violence.
Adult Themes: Ethnic cleansing, war.
Synopsis
Meli had a happy life with her four siblings and parents who ran a store in Kosovo. But they were Albanians, and the Serbs under Milosevic wanted them, and all others like them, out of the country. One day Meli’s teenage brother disappears and the police will not admit they are holding him. For weeks the family waits, not knowing if they will ever see him again. Then he shows up. He had been beaten and left for dead. Meli’s family and their neighbors are forced to leave their homes, never to return. After a difficult time traveling to the border and staying in a refuge camp, they travel to America. Finally, after starting to find a life with a new language, new country, and new high school, Meli’s peace is threatened when the 9/11 attacks cause others to make bigoted attacks against her family. The themes of war, ethnic cleansing, family unity, and strength of character are well drawn in this story of the Lleshi family.
This story is targeted at 5-8 grade, and as such was a fairly simple story. Older readers might also enjoy learning about the Kosovo conflict through the story, which I found engaging.