The Day of the Pelican

Katherine Paterson's 'The Day of the Pelican' tells the powerful story of Meli Lleshi, a thirteen-year-old Albanian girl whose family is forced to flee their home during the Kosovo War in 1998. The narrative follows their harrowing journey through refugee camps, marked by hardship, hunger, and illness, until a church group helps them immigrate to a small town in Vermont. Just as Meli begins to adapt to her new life and school, the events of September 11, 2001, cast a shadow of anti-Muslim prejudice over her family, challenging their sense of belonging and safety. This book offers a poignant look at the refugee experience, cultural identity, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity and discrimination.

In 1998 when the Kosovo hostilities escalate, thirteen-year-old Meli's life as an ethnic Albanian, changes forever after her brother escapes his Serbian captors and the entire family flees from one refugee camp to another until they are able to immigrate to America.