The Last Resort by Sumayyah Hussein illustrated by Rania Hasan
Once I got over my disappointment that the no parking sign on the bottom left of the cover was a deer and not a unicorn (clearly it is a deer, no shade to the illustrator), the 149 page early chapter book with illustrations was a decent read. The messaging about family time was a little didactic, but the twist of having the child want it, opens it up to be both reflective for kids also craving family routine, and those that don’t appreciate what they have. I do wish that the climax of the “noise” was amplified and built upon to add some urgency and tension. And the resolution a little more explained as I don’t know that most target readers will quite grasp what was going on in the resolution. I know I would probably complain if it was over explained, but here we are. The book is not preachy in its portrayal of faith, the family is Muslim and they pray and worship as part of their daily routine. The text and spacing, along with the full page black and white illustrations that present once nearly every chapter, make the book accessible and inviting for 2nd and 3rd graders. I know I sound like a broken record, but the book really just needed a bit more polishing to truly shine, it isn’t a bad read, but based on my own kids interaction with the book, once they put it down, they forgot about it, and just weren’t motivated to pick it back up.
SYNOPSIS:
Mahmoud’s family has recently moved to Edmonton, and everyone is busy. It is summer vacation and he is already bored. When he finds out his one friend is going away all summer, he devises a plan to force his family to come together. He finds a hotel near Banff, marks the calendar, and hopes for the best. The family comes together, but the hotel has broken beds, toilets that don’t flush, roaches in the kitchen, and an elevator that they are told is out of order, but is still in use. The family starts to turn on Mahmoud, but when he explains how everyone is too busy to spend together, they decide to make the best of the situation. Weird noises and details that don’t add up, send Mahmoud exploring and ultimately make it a vacation to remember.
WHY I LIKE IT:
The story is sweet, and I am always a sucker for kids that solve problems. I hope that one day, self sufficiency in fictional characters will rub off on readers, but alas it hasn’t happened to mine yet. The book is fine, the pieces are there, the writing is decent, it just needs a bolt of energy to make this a book that kids really would gravitate to and read over and over again.
FLAGS:
None: maybe a little anxiety and gross factors, and a kid books a hotel without permission.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
The book should be on shelves in libraries (I wish Ruqaya’s Bookshelf Books were in public libraries), but definitely in school libraries, classrooms, and homes. I don’t think it has enough to discuss in a book club setting as it is a simple linear story with only one plot line. SPOILER kids may need a bit of help understanding what a front is and what was being done with the animals, and why a hotel in Canada outside of a National Park all came together to make it an ideal criminal headquarters for such activities.
