Butterfly

April 1, 2018
The extraordinary tale of a Syrian woman's journey from her war-torn country all the way to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.In 2004, at the age of 6, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Mardini watched as American swimmer Michael Phelps won one gold medal after another at the Olympics. From that moment on, she wanted to do the same. It helped that her father was a swimming coach and that he pushed her and her sister, Sara, to swim daily at their local pool in Damascus. "Dad wants us to be the best swimmers. The very best. On earth. Ever," writes the author. "His expectations are astronomical, and we're expected to keep up....Dad has us both living like soldiers." As the years passed, Mardini won numerous competitions. Then the war began, and she and her family were forced to move multiple times to avoid the violence. As teens, the author and her sister fled the country, crossing from Turkey to Greece by sea, where they had to swim in rough seas when the boat engine failed, before making their way to Germany, where Mardini was able to begin training again. In this moving, action-packed first-person account, the author shares the details of her journey from novice swimmer to Olympian. She eloquently describes the physical, emotional, and psychological hardships of leaving her home country and entering a new realm with the label "refugee" on her back. She had very little money and no personal possessions except a few clothes and her phone. Mardini had to endure terror, extreme hunger, and deep despair, but she also celebrates the friendships forged during those moments and the inspiring drive that kept her focused on her childhood goal of being an Olympic swimmer and of being a voice for refugees everywhere.A rousing, exciting true story of remarkable resilience.

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Starred review from April 15, 2018
Syrian Mardini was passionate about swimming and dreamed of becoming an Olympian. Her dream came true, but, as she recounts in this moving memoir, to achieve it, she had to follow an unlikely path. Growing up, she was coached by her father, idolized Michael Phelps, and was inspired by Malala Yousafzai. Then everything changed when she learned from her girlfriend on the school bus that protests were erupting, and cities across Syria were under siege. In 2015, when Mardini was just 14 years old, she and her sister, Sarah, fled their homeland and embarked on a harrowing journey through Turkey, Greece, Hungary, Austria, and Germany, where they were granted asylum. Their ordeal included crossing the Mediterranean in a faulty boat, forcing them to jump overboard and swim for more than three hours in frigid water. With remarkable perseverance, the sisters navigated their journey, with the help of smugglers and a few journalists. In Germany, she renewed her focus on swimming and was named to the IOC Refugee Athletic Team for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Butterfly is a powerful story of survival, inspiration, and hope with a resounding message: no one chooses to be a refugee; rather, horrific circumstances force ordinary people to take extraordinary measures to save themselves. This unforgettable memoir shines a spotlight on the refugee experience and the role sports can play in giving a voice to those affected by conflict throughout the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)