The Illegal by Lawrence Hill

The Illegal by Lawrence Hill is set primarily in Freedom State and neighboring Zantoroland, two fictitious locales in the Ortiz Sea, south of India and off the coast of Africa.  Sadly, the exploitation and political corruption which the book describes is all too frighteningly paralleled in daily headlines.  As this novel begins, Keita and Charity have a happy childhood, but their father, an internationally known reporter, offends the government and circumstances suddenly change dramatically for the siblings. 

Keita is a world class marathon runner and through his travels he eventually meets John Falconer, a young documentarian from AfricTown, essentially a slum in Freedom State.  Also involved in the story is Viola, a young women trying to break into the news business, plus an elderly benefactor, a sports agent with anger management issues, and a vicious dictator who condones kidnapping and murders.  I found Hill’s descriptions of the limited options and oppression which these characters faced to be effective and moving and I certainly cared about them as they were forced to make desperate choices.  I especially liked the development of the story and was curious to see how their lives would all ultimately intersect.  After a while, though, the action seemed to slow before finally reaching the ending. Lawrence Hill is an award-winning author and The Illegal received a starred review from Library Journal. 

I do believe that students would read this book and then want to learn more about the plight of undocumented people and refugees. In fact, I wish we could find a way to do an entire unit (literature circles?) around the theme of immigration/assimilation, displaced persons, refugees and political and social justice responses.  Another recent title which might possibly fit is City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence, a non-fiction work detailing the plight of nine individuals who live in the world’s largest refugee camp. If you have other titles to suggest, please let me know.