A Little Piece of Ground

A Little Piece of Ground is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Laird.This book is about a young twelve year old boy and his family struggling under the oppression of war. The main character-Karim Aboudi longs to break the curfew that was set, and play football outside with his friends. Karim does that, read the book to find out this exciting yet chilling story of war curfews and a new friends story. It was first published by Macmillan Publishers in 2003 and later republished by Haymarket Books in 2006. In 2003 it was a nominee for the Carnegie Medal and in 2004 won the Hampshire Book Award.

Plot introduction

Karim Aboudi, a Palestinian youth, has made a list of what he wants in life. He wants to be a champion football (soccer) player like Zinedine Zidane , a great computer game creator, an inventor of an acid that would dissolve the steel in Israeli tanks, stronger than his older brother, good looking, famous actor or at least famous and other things. However, it isn’t until a close encounter with Israeli troops that he discovers what he wants the most in life - a normal life.

Characters

Karim Aboudi- Main character- wants a normal life, Hopper- Karim's close friend, a 'rebel', Jamal- Karim's brother, Violet- a girl who Jamal likes, his best friend's sister

Inspiration for the Novel

The idea for this particular novel is Elizabeth Laird's life in Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war.

External links

• Teaching Guide at Haymarket Books.