Book Review: “Mo Farah, the Boy Who Ran to Be Free” (Muslim Mavericks #2) by Seema Yasmin
“Mo Farah, the Boy Who Ran to Be Free” (Muslim Mavericks #2) by Seema Yasmin (Author), Noha Habaieb (Iluustrator)
Genre: Biography, Non-Fiction, Children
Page Length: 96 pages (paperback edition)
Synopsis:
From Somaliland to the Olympic arena, there’s no distance Mo can’t go!
At the age of eight, Mo Farah moved across the world from Somaliland to London. It was difficult starting over in a new country, especially since he spoke very little English. But fortunately for Mo, running was a language everyone understood.
Once he started, he never stopped—smashing records and winning championships. Now, with four Olympic gold medals and six World titles, he is considered one of the most successful male track distance runners ever!
Review:
This book two in the new Muslim Mavericks series which focuses Contemporary figures to educate and inspire young readers. I like that these books overall goal is to challenge stereotypes while sharing stories readers may not be familiar with. I enjoyed the first installment in this series which covered Maysoon Zayid.
This book focuses on Mo Farah’s story. Bornaas Hussein Abdi Kahin is a British former long-distance runner. He holds the record for the most global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles), making him the most successful male track distance runner in the history of the sport, and he is the most successful British track athlete in Olympic Games history.
I was a bit familiar with Farah’s time as a runner, but learned so much about his background and traumatic upbringing which ultimately shaped his story. This book does a great job incorporating culture and balancing it with Farah’s athlete journey. I appreciated how the story shows his successes in the Olympics and weaves in the themes of culture shock and belonging because of living in a brand new country.
Most importantly, this novel brings awareness to human trafficking as he was illegally trafficked to the United Kingdom where he was given the name Mohammed Farah and was forced to work as a domestic servant. His story shows us the realties of a dangerous system and how people overcome hardships that we can’t imagine.
This is a powerful and important read for young readers, and a great start for those who may want to learn more about Farah’s life.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
