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Gil Crookshank says...

The road from home is perhaps the best children's book I've ever read. The genocide of the Armenians is a period of history that is greatly overlooked. This book presents a chilling account of one girl's experience in that terrible time when the Turks decided to eliminate the Armenian population. The author does this in a way that is neither too depressing for children to grasp nor is it too flip to be meaningful. I could not recommend this book more highly. It is a must-read for anyone.

Posted on December 20, 2010

Kati Moten says...

This is one of the best first-hand accounts about the Genocide that I've read. FINALLY, a book was written about it for younger people. Once I start teaching, this will definitely be on my list of required reading.

Kherdian started off a bit slow--I wasn't sure I'd get through it. But once I hit page 20, I couldn't put it down! It was captivating, touching. I just wanted Veron to be okay--to be able to understand what was going on. For her to survive. Only two books have ever managed to bring tears to my eyes, and this was one of them.

Even though I'm not Armenian, I've read countless books about both Armenia and the Genocide. This definitely is one of the best. It's easy to understand (though the fact that it happened is still so difficult for me to comprehend).

If you're an Armenian parent (or grandparent!) struggling to tell your teen about it, this book will help greatly. I highly recommend it. Kherdian should be given high praises for having the courage to pen this book.

Posted on December 20, 2010

Elvis Hibner says...

The Road From Home is a wonderfully told account of a young Armenian girl, Veron, who was forced out of her home in Turkey. She and her family were sent into the desert by the Turkish government to die. The Armenian Genocide is an event in history that not many people know about. Reading this book will give a better understanding of this unspeakably horrible act in history. As an Armenian myself, I would like to recommend this book to everyone so they may be able to understand what the Armenian race in Turkey went through in the year 1915, and how the survivors dealt with losing their families.

Posted on December 21, 2010

Wendi Casal says...

I thought this was an excellent book.It gave me a better understanding on my Armenian backround.It's a true story about a young girl growing up in the 1900's.Everything was great until one day bombs went off and herfamily had to flee.Just imagine being a young woman and having to leaveyour life behind and run for your life, not knowing what will happen in thefuture.Seeing your family and friends be robbed, raped, starved, beaten,and worse killed.The Armenians did no crimes they were just hated.Thisis a very similar expierence that my family went through.I think youngadults and adults should read this book because, we can develop a deeperunderstanding of our past.

Posted on December 21, 2010

Wilburn Gaston says...

I really enjoyed The Road From Home. It was an interesting biography about an Armenian girl named Veron Dumehjian. She tells us of her life during the early 1900's when the Turkish government attempted to rid Turkey of its Armenian population. She and her family are torn from their quiet, wealthy lifestyle in Azizya. They are forced to march without being told where they are going. This is a beautiful story of Veron's strength and will to be alive.

As I was reading this book, I felt the intensity of Veron's emotions. She struggles to hold onto sanity as "the great dome of Heaven cracked and shattered" over her life. In some ways I can relate to Veron in the way that she cares for her family more than herself.

David Kherdian, the author, really does use an abstract way to describe the emotions of the characters. An example of this when he wrote, "Slowly, our lives fell into a pattern as we began to live with our sorrows and make a new life," to describe when Veron was getting used to her life after her parents and siblings had died. He uses descriptive words and has a clear plot line. There were very few moments during this book when I felt confused.

Over all, The Road from Home was a sad, but enjoyable book. It was sad because of the things that Veron must go through. It was enjoyable because of how well written and unique it is. This book really does show how someone's life can change in the blink of an eye.

Posted on December 22, 2010

Lisette Serviss says...

This was a very good book depicting the Armenian Genocide. It should be mandatory reading for children in every school system.The author's portrayal of the story is not one-sided or biased in my opinion, he tells the story 'as is' without exaggerating...there are NO graphic details of rape, murder, starvation, disease, etc.I also liked it because it portrayed the wrongful actions of the Turkish government and did not bash the Turks as people....so there is no teaching of hate or anger towards the Turkish people.

Posted on December 23, 2010

Margarito Lagerberg says...

THE ROAD FROM HOME, A True Story of Courage, Survival and Hope by David Kherdian, Beech Tree Books Reviewed by Y. Stephen BulbulianAlthough considered juvenile literature, poet David Kherdian's award-winning storyof his mother's young life is a story of silent determination, hope andultimately survival.This isfar more than juvenile literature.Throughunbelievable adversity and suffering, there is astounding good luck andgrace in the face of misfortune. "The Road From Home" is also asociological slice of life into the being and ways of the Armenians,historic inhabitants of Anatolia, now Turkish territory.Driven from theirhomes and massacred, this is a classic story of Armenian survival. Theyoung girl, Veron Dumehjian, lived a placid life in the home of herwell-to-do family.She loved her family home and the garden with "thepoppies that grew beyond [the] garden wall."Her desire to return tothe garden kept her hopes up during years of adversity.Kherdian describesthe customs, traditions, holidays, rituals, the Armenian words, and eventhe food, that immortalizes the life of the peaceful people, annihilated bythe Turkish genocide.This book is excellent sociology, written as nosociologist could.

In her eighth year, Veron's life, the Armenianhomes and countryside are darkened by the black cloud of Turkishrepression.In the latter-days of the previous century, and in 1909, inAdana, Armenians suffered barbarities at the hands of the Turks, under therule of Abdul Hamid..

Young Veron began hearing words like"deportation, massacres and annihilation."Her uncles wereconscripted into the Turkish army; World War One had broken out.Using thewar as an excuse, the Turks began a protracted annihilation of theArmenians.Given three days to prepare, the Dumehjian family began theirforced march from the family home into the Syrian desert.Veron slowlyloses all of her immediate family, brother, sister, mother, father,grandfather during the course of the journey.She becomes an orphan,nearly starved and survives with the help of deposed women (aunties) fromher village.Ending up in an orphanage in Aleppo, she becomes reacquaintedwith relatives.Miraculously, she returns to her beloved grandmother,still living in the family home in the old village, only to discover shecould not return to the idealized home she dreamed of.All things hadchanged, all lives were irreparably damaged by the lose of loved ones andthe destruction of the Armenians.Her own grandmother, with her familylost, becomes Veron's slave-master.

Relocated in Smyrna, on theMediterranean coast, Veron lives through yet another round of atrocities atthe hands of the Turks.With uncommon luck, she and an aunt are rescuedand sent to a refugee camp in Greece, where life begins again in thepursuit of normalcy.From there, she becomes a gracious and beautifulyoung women and a fiancee to a pre-arranged marriage in America.

"The Road From Home, " is the story of insurmountable hardshipand suffering inflicted on the soul of an innocent young girl.Her abilityto block the horror and tragedy from her thoughts, sublimating the pain anddeath she experienced daily during the darkest moments, summonsed herstrength and fortitude to live.Many souls were trampled, givingher lifebeauty and triumph.

An outstanding and award-winning book, it is thewinner of the Newbery Honor Book Award, the Jane Addams Peace Award andmany others.David Kherdian crafts his mother's story, a history similarto thousands of Armenian survivors in diaspora, a sad story filled withoverriding hope.The magnitude of the story and the young girl'sresilience, where strength and determination overcome adversity, makes thisa moving and memorable reading experience, and a story to be remembered andretold.

Posted on December 24, 2010

Clemencia Chaulklin says...

...I wanted to find a book about Armenians so I went to the library and typed it into the search computers.I found this book and it looked very good to read so I could learn more about the Genocide. I enjoyed the story of her life and how strong she stayed through the Genocide.It was a well balanced book, some of it was very sad and some of was funny at times.It really makes you feel how lucky you are.This is a great book that everyone should read.

Posted on December 27, 2010

Lenard Soehl says...

Although this book may have been written for children and young adults it can be enjoyed by all adult readers.It is a first person narrative in the voice of a girl, Veron Dumehjian.She is a survivor and her story includes many twists and turns which are part of the family history of many Armenian and Greek Americans.A description of the 1922 Catastrophe at Smyrna is included as well as the dreadful 1915 march.Veron Dumehjian is a real heroine for our time, worthy of emulation.This book, written by her son, is not a novel but is a smooth read and moves along quickly.(I would recommend "Zabelle" for a recent fictionalized comparable tale.)

Posted on December 28, 2010

Lianne Hogenson says...

The Road From Home
By David Kherdian

The Road From Home is about a girl named Veron Kherdian who lives in Turkey.She is a member of one of the wealthiest families. In 1915, the Turkish made all the Armenians who didn't have a son or husband in the army leave. Veron and her family had to leave and travel a dangerous journey in a wagon.When they reach Gatma, there is a cholera epidemic.All of her brothers and sisters are killed by this disease. Soon after, her mother also dies, but not because of cholera.Her mother dies because of a broken heart. She could not face life after the death of all of Veron's siblings. The Varjabeds, another family at Gatma, Veron, and her father escape one night to Birijik.Her father and Baron Varjabed go to Baghdad to work for the government.Sometime afterwards, Veron's father dies, so she goes to live with her relatives.When she can't attend school because her relatives won't pay for it, she decided to go to an orphanage.When she tells her relatives, she finds out that they don't even care about her.They only care about what their friends will think about Veron going to an orphanage.There she
makes many friends.One day her relatives came and brought her back to Azizya.She finds out that her favorite aunt, Aunt Lousapere, and cousin, Hrpsime,who lives in an orphanage in Smyrna, have moved to Smyrna.Veron decides to move there to live with her.When they are attacked, they moved to Athens.They live in a college with many other people.One of her friends who used to live at the college who lives close by, invites her to visit, where Veron finds a big surprise!

I don't think that I can relate to Veron, because she is so brave.She knows how to do so many things and she is so smart.I think that I could relate to Geulia, a girl who lives in the college too.She is really funny and she loves candy, which is why she works at a candy factory.

I really like The Road from Home.My favorite part of the book was the end because it was so much happier than most of the book.I like the family that her friend introduced her to.I didn't like when the people are stuck in a church during the attack.This part is when the people of Symrna are stuck in a church and if they go out, they will be killed.If I could change a part in the book, I would change that part because it was so sad and scary.

I would recommend this book because it is so inspiring.I love how Veron was so brave and can handle problems so well.She was grateful for everything and she is really helpful to everyone I the book.I couldn't put the book down.It was a really moving and touching book.

Posted on December 29, 2010