War Kids - A Syrian Story

Guest Article by Hayley Lawson

War Kids – A Syrian Story deals with the very real crisis of the ongoing Syrian Civil War through the eyes of young children as they try to stay strong despite the overwhelming presence of death. The novel provides a number of perspectives from young characters as they deal with the deaths of their families, the destruction of their villages and their ongoing need to survive.

“It really is heartbreaking what is happening in Syria. As I watched TV and folded up my laundry, an image of a young girl appeared. She was older than my daughter by a few years,” said Hayley J. Lawson, author of the book War Kids – A Syrian Story. “The look of horror on her face clearly showed that she was in shock. She had been poisoned with nerve gas. The news reporter stated that the girl’s family had died in a chemical attack and that she was alone. The image of the child was burned into my mind, lingering there like the sun at midday. I wondered what would happen to this girl. I was touched by this image so much and was moved to tell her story, hence the birth of my novel. I have since launched this Kickstarter campaign so that I can cover the costs of both professionally editing the novel and having it mass-produced. I am sure there are many people out there like me that felt moved by the scenes we saw on the TV of the Syrian children that were killed and the many that were left orphaned and homeless. I was moved to write a novel about it and I hope many are moved to help see my novel come to life.”

War Kids – A Syrian Story Background

When a fourteen-year-old Jada wakes up in a hospital, the last thing she thinks is that her life has completely changed forever. But when the very real civil war forces her to flee from every open space, she must use the firearm skills her father taught her to reunite with him and protect herself.

Armed with a single gun and a key to an unknown locker, Jada crosses Syria on a journey with a group of children called the Fearless Freedom Fighters. With the leader, Zak, they mount a plan to rescue their fathers while they try to cope with the merciless murders of their families. As Jada and Zak lead the group together, but with soldiers hot on their tail, they need to stay vigilant in the face of war.
 

To help fund the contemporary young adult novel War Kids - A Syrian Story, visit the Kickstarter Campaign page here

www.kickstarter.com/profile/warkids

Hayley J. Lawson is the author of the young adult contemporary novel War Kids – The Syrian Story. On August 21^st 2013, she was moved by the images of the Syrian conflict and embarked on an unlikely journey of writing her first novel. The novel is set in Syria and encapsulates the Syrian Civil War as seen through the eyes of children.