No Refuge
Patrice Aggs and Joe Brady
David Fickling Books

Following straight on from No Country, the situation for the escaping children of the family is dire and having put their trust in the rogues with illegal boats, they huddle together in a very flimsy powered dinghy.

We’re shown in flashback their terrible, scary journey across open country with Hannah in charge, dragging her siblings Bea and little Dom for days. They’re unaware that both Free Kingdom and New Army are searching for them, Bea insists on leaving dangerous, revealing pictorial messages for their Dad, whom she’s certain is following them. She also pushes Hannah to allow a large dog to join them; wise yes but also devastating.

Starving, freezing cold, constantly anxious and hunted, they suffer horrendously, eventually being forced, when Dom is overcome by exhaustion and fever, to give themselves up and find medical help.
Their initial relief and gratefulness then turn to fury and panic as little Dom ‘disappears’ and they have to escape from the harsh girls’ boarding establishment to search for him.

Their quest leads them to the capital, a place where the privileged have created a calm oasis away from the rest of the country and its troubles. Undaunted, the girls are ready to face any risk; they make some unlikely allies including a people trafficker and never give up until something seemingly miraculous takes place.

An absolutely compelling, moving graphic novel wherein Patrice Aggs and Joe Brady explore the on-going real-world refugee crisis using the UK as its setting rather than numerous other countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan and south Sudan. Highly recommended for upper KS2/KS3 readers.