Dave and Kek’s cousin Ganwar tell Kek that his mother is probably dead. People search the refugee camps, but they cannot find her. This reminds him of the work he had done with his father.ĭuring this time, Kek believes his mother is still alive even though he has not seen her since they fled into the forest. Kek finds a little happiness when he gets to take care of a cow he names Gol, which means “family”. He finds another friend in an old woman named Lou that gives Kek a job on the farm. Although Kek has a new family, he is slow in making friends until he meets a girl named Hannah. All of them have trouble speaking English.

At school, he meets other immigrants from different countries. Ganwar helps Kek around the house and takes him to school. Kek doesn’t know how he will be able to live in this new country.Īs he opens the door to his new home, Kek is relieved to see his Aunt and Cousin Ganwar. He thinks the cold is “like claws” on his skin. America is much colder than his home in the Southern Sudan. They travel to Minnesota and Kek sees snow for the first time. In America, Kek meets Dave, his first friend. Ultimately, Kek is put on a “flying boat” to America. They flee into the forest but Kek ends up in a refugee camp, and his mother goes missing. But when men with guns and knives attack his village, only Kek and his mother survive. Kek loved helping his father milk and feed their cows. Using poetry, the author, Katherine Applegate, tells this story of sadness, loneliness, discovery, and a new chance at life through Kek’s prospective.Prior to living in America, Kek lived in the Southern Sudan with his mother, father and brother.

He moves to Minnesota after being in a refugee camp.

What would you do if in one year your father and brother die, your mom becomes missing, and you have to live in a new country where you can’t speak the language? In Home of the Brave, we learn about the hardest year in the life of Kek, an immigrant from Africa.

Home of the brave katherine applegate