Award-winning performance poet and novelist Benjamin Zephaniah tells the story of a young refugee left behind in London with honesty, deadpan humor, and poignancy. This story is even more powerful and relevant today than when it was first published. Life is unsafe for Alem; his father is Ethiopian, his mother Eritrean. Their countries are at war, and Alem is not welcome anywhere. So he is excited to go on holiday to London with his father – until he wakes up to find his father gone. What seems like a betrayal, however, turns out to be an act of love, and now Alem finds himself alone in a strange land, finding his own way... The book is brilliantly written and demonstrates a keen ear for dialogue. Fans of Angie Thomas and Malorie Blackman will enjoy Benjamin Zephaniah's young adult novels Refugee Boy , Face , Gangsta Rap , and Teacher's Dead .