Trees in the Pavement (Flamingo Fiction 9-13s)

They were cutting the branches off the trees again.

When Zari first arrived in East London, she had wondered about the trees. She had never seen any fields and farms in London, like there were at home in Kosovo. But there were more trees. Or at least you noticed them here. In Kosovo, there were entire forests, but no one thought about them because they were, well, just there.

In London, the trees look uncomfortable growing out of the pavement - as if they were refugees in a foreign country, too.

Zari's story takes you from the fighting in Kosovo to the concrete streets of the city of London - but there is conflict here too. You can't leave problems behind just because you leave your country as a refugee in the back of a lorry full of cheese! Making friends is a minefield in itself - and the secrets she discovers in the family just add to the trouble.

War, peace, faith, and nationality - everything is changing in Zari's life.

It's not just the trees that are feeling uncomfortable.