{"id":5474,"date":"2026-01-26T14:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5474"},"modified":"2026-01-26T14:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:56:00","slug":"if-i-must-go-you-must-stay-by-hazem-nassar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5474","title":{"rendered":"If I Must Go, You Must Stay by Hazem Nassar"},"content":{"rendered":"

A heartbreaking story of loss in a war-torn landscape<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Salma finds herself alone under the rubble. She\u2019s calling out for her family but is receiving no response. Set against a dark backdrop, the opening of If I Must Go, You Must Stay<\/em> mirrors the heaviness and fear Salma must be feeling. Loss is lingering in the air, and readers can feel it.<\/p>\n

But soon enough, her brother Ahmad calls back. A small yellow bird finds her in the rubble, and he\u2019s carrying Ahmad\u2019s voice. He tells Salma that he and the rest of her family are on their way \u201cup.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are your wings, Salma?\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Butit isn\u2019t Salma\u2019s time. She\u2019s given a tearjerking moment to say goodbye, but she can\u2019t quite say it. It\u2019s special that she gets this magical going away moment, as not every child in these harrowing circumstances is given the chance. It\u2019s a sort of dream sequence, an unbelievably sad but meaningful dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I must go, you must stay. To tell my story, come what may.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After Ahmad flies away, Salma gives herself time and space to cry, and she suddenly finds herself much lighter. Levitating. Rising out of the rubble. But she does it without wings, ready to begin again.<\/p>\n

If I Must Go, You Must Stay <\/em>by Hazem Nassar is about as emotional as kids\u2019 books get. This is a good conversation piece to share with your little one about loss\u2014the biggest loss, of losing your whole family\u2014and of war. Nassar doesn\u2019t utter the word \u201cdeath\u201d but doesn\u2019t have to. It\u2019s clear the family is gone and Salma is left here alone. If your little one is ready to broach a topic such as this, whether because of their experiences or because of their growing curiosity about what other kids have to go through, this book is an artful rendering told with a big, heavy heart. It\u2019s about how trauma and tragedy shape people and how your roots will always be in the ground no matter where you go from there.<\/p>\n

In addition to telling this thoughtful, painful story, Nassar illustrates the book, and the illustrations are quite powerful. Not only is the emotion apparent in the subtleties of sweet little Salma\u2019s face and eyes, but the color contrasts in emotionally resonant ways. The representation of Ahmad, a small yellow songbird, contrasts with the darkness surrounding Salma in the rubble, and the darkness is ever-present in the saddest of Salma\u2019s moments. Sometimes the page is only black, and his voice is the only thing peeking through the darkness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is an emotionally heavy story with content that you will want to be aware of before reading it aloud to your small child, aimed likely between ages four and six. It\u2019s inevitable to stop mid-read to discuss death, war, and the unfairness of life with your young one. The ending approaches and leaves without much transition, but the concept still lands. Tackle this one only if you and your child are ready for a cry.<\/p>\n

But if you are ready, it\u2019s done tastefully and with the promise of a new beginning. Nassar adeptly illustrates how life can go on after unspeakable loss as long as we hold tight to where we come from and share the story of those we\u2019ve left behind.<\/p>\n

The post If I Must Go, You Must Stay by Hazem Nassar<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A heartbreaking story of loss in a war-torn landscape Salma finds herself alone under the rubble. She\u2019s calling out for her family but is receiving no response. Set against a dark backdrop, the opening of If I Must Go, You Must Stay mirrors the heaviness and fear Salma must be feeling. Loss is lingering in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5474\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}