Author: Ele Fountain
Publisher: Pushkin Children’s Books
Shif is just an ordinary boy who likes chess, maths and racing his best friend home from school. But one day, soldiers with guns come to his door – and he knows that he is no longer safe.
Shif is forced to leave his mother and little sister, and embark on a dangerous journey; a journey through imprisonment and escape, new lands and strange voices, and a perilous crossing by land and sea. He will encounter cruelty and kindness; he will become separated from the people he loves.
Southwark Book Awards 
This book had a very good start as it did not go straight into the action (exept for the first chapter which creates supense) but when you get board of school the milatary come. After Shif and Bini leave there homes it is an exciting change of scenes however after they are put in the container ( chapter Hell 1 2 3 4 ) it gets a bit boring with the same description of murmering. When Shif gets to the city there is alot of description about lentils.
I think it is a good book 7/10
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I totally agree with you
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The start to the book is rather slow but gradually gets into the action.This book is about a young boy travelling with his best friend who have been separated from their families by military officials.The story includes friendship, love,and courage.This book is truly fabulous but there are occasional sad moments which I could easily picture in my head.I feel like I am with Shif on his adventure and the author must be very innovative when making the prisons as large box containers in the middle of a desert.The book is truly amazing! 9/10
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Boy 87 is an original and beautifully written page-turner of a novel about love, survival and the strength that can be found in a hopeful human spirit. Shof is sich as brave boy who is scared and anxious on his exciting journey.
I will give it a good 8/10
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I really liked the the book. The beginning though was plain and made me bored but otherwise the rest of the story hooked me in. The end was fantastic leaving me full of different emotions and I was sorry it had to end. Shif was a well thought through character whose story was unique. In conclusion I would rate this book: 8.5 out of 10.
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I have quite a lot to say.
The book has a really BORING ending.i feel like it could have more to it. there aren’t many characters mentioned. IT NEEDS MORE TO IT. thats it
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This is an interesting book full of twists and turns.The book is about a boy who needs to escape from military school but is caught along with Bini. The ending is disappointing and should be improved.Overall I give this book a 7.5 out of 10!
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(7/10)
I thought this book was good. It wasn’t my absolute favourite book, as it got a bit boring when the author kept describing lentils and the containers, but I thought the bit where Shif and Bini get out of the containers very entertaining and thrilling. At the start, I found that I felt like we had similar lives to Shif and Bini, although it was obviously set in a different continent, so has the story moved on, I felt more and more sympathy for the protaginists.
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Boy 87 is a gripping novel by Ele Fountain, about a young boy, Shif, and his best friend, Bini. One day their lives are changed forever when deep secrets are unearthed and their world falls apart around them.
Boy 87 has some quite slow sections alternating with some more fast-paced page-turning chapters. The author’s use of descriptive writing builds a clear image in your mind of places you’ve never been to, which helps to immerse you in the story.
I found the book really enjoyable. It was interesting to read about a child whose life is so different from my own, and the subject matter is very relevant. Overall Boy 87 is a ‘must read’ and I would give it 9/10.
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Boy 87 is a relentless page turner. The entire plot can flip in the process of one page, showing how frail life can truly be. It did take some time for the book to pick up, but overall the wait was worth it for the action that followed it. The second the action started, I couldn’t put this book down for hours on end. This book really paints a picture showing how horrendous the refugee crisis can really be. The book had a slow beginning, a thrilling middle and a poignant end that makes you think about how easily life as you know it can change.
8.5/10
Ollie H from Dulwich Prep London
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I enjoyed Boy 87 for a wide range of reasons. Firstly, the book displays the problems we have in our world: governments have too much control over the people and don’t do enough for the people-even killing them! It also bases itself around the lives of the many people who have had to leave their countries. I would rate this book a whopping 8.75 out of 10.
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I thought the book was pretty amazing because of the trilling and the excitement. Also it made me relies anyone can be captured and have to run away even a normal boy. I agree that for me it is 9/10 why you ask? Because when Shif was resting with a swollen leg it kept on talking about barrels and lentils also bread and water that is why. So my rating is 9/10
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ALIALI (HBAED)
In boy 87 there is a lot of guard and buying is bread.
The main characters in the book live in a prison cell or house
THE MAIN CHARACTER:
SHIF & Bini
I think that you should read boy 87 because it is a brilliant book, i think that you’l love/enjoy this book
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Have you ever wondered how people in less developed countries live their lives? Then read this.This book accurately shows how some people must live around the world, their hardships, injustices and losses they must face.
Shif (the main character) sees the military near his home, bringing people away from their homes under the cover story that they will be in military school for two years, not telling them the dark truth that they may spend their entire lives in war. Shif, the son of a supposed traitor, is severely punished and must trek across the desert and travel across a raging sea, whilst starving.
I like Boy 87 because it spreads the message that the world is still full of injustice, and that we should try and help those who face it. It taught me that I should be happy with what I have because these characters are grateful for what little they have. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was that lentils was mentioned a lot. Overall I’d rate this:
9 \ 10 (4 and a half stars)
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Boy87 is amazing!!! Like am I right? I liked Shif and Bini and how they have to depend on each other to survive and that built their relationship which went from pretty good to amazing. It also teaches you that in other countries people suffer so much but can still live a happy life.
Spoiler alert it is great!!!
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Boy 87 is a book about modern society in the eyes and perspective of a refugee. It is a book about friendship, pain, and survival. This is a book that also touches into the pain of losing someone and the kindness when you gain someone else.
I think that this book was a very exciting read. My favorite part was in the shipping container when all the prisoners shared their stories. The pain of not knowing what has happened to a loved one. The relief knowing they might find out. The agony of not knowing if you will succeed or not.
This book was written well and with good language but i don’t think it was structured well and so, while a great book, I have down-graded it because of this.
8/10
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I loved Boy 87 because it was realistic and honest: it told the truth about the world and didn’t hide anything even though it was a children’s book. As well as this the story was realistic ; it felt like a story you could see on the news. The ending was realistic too, however, i felt that it could have been better because a lot could still have happened and there were many loose ends which could have been tied up.
The story began immediately and from then on there was always something happening and a problem to solve. From when the truth about his father was revealed and his world crumbled around him to when he escapes the container, there is always something happening and it is never boring. It immediately hooked me in and it was easy to care about the characters and want them to have happy endings.
I loved this book because it i learned about how different my life is from so many others and it shows how much a person can do with just hope and the kindness of strangers. Overall, i would give it an 8.5/10 because it was gripping but the ending could have been better.
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I think boy 87 was one of the best books because it had lots of action and suspense, especially in the shipping container and escaping.
I woukd give it an 8/ 10
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(9/10)
This was a pretty good book, it has alot of things that i like about it. The Drama of trying to stay alive and get out, the death of shif’s friend and him trying to survive and make a new life out of what he got. It is pretty driven by emotion and is really hard to not feel sorry for shif from all he has gone through, it also shows how the government can be corrupted and the reality of slavery. The only downside is that once we hear about how his father could be alive it was never built on or shif never wondered where his father was. If there is another book i would love it to be about his father’s story. Would recommend the story still. Have a nice one!
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Boy 87 echos a voices of many refugees in the world who have to leave their countries to escape war and famine. The book itself was a fantastic book to read and there were some really touching parts like when Shif had to to leave his family.
all in all i think this was a fantastic book so that’s why i’m giving it 9.5/10
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Melancholy was the book main feeling as Shif see an aray of darkness but as the book progresses the light saves the day. Repetition did kick in at times when Shif was in one place so boredom took control.I can comprehend this though as if you are in one place ideas fade away.I rate this book a 9 and hope for part 2.
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Firstly, I thought it was a bit boring with the action and all that but i like the idea how the two friends have to support each other and how one has to sacrifice himself for the other. However it was too quick of a read and not that descriptive for me because i like long and interesting books that want me to keep on reading like Orphan Monster Spy.
I give it 5/10
probably wouldn’t read again
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In my opinion, Boy 87 is an admirable book that grabs you in from the first page and doesn’t let go of you until you love it so much that you don’t want to put it down. When I saw the cover for the first time, I felt like it was just going to be the same old story of a boy that goes on an adventure and then learns a lesson. But I was wrong. I was quick to realize that this book was unique, there has not a single book out of the hundreds that I have read that was like this. I could feel the same feelings as Shif and Bini. I felt as if I was inside their heads throughout the whole story. In the same way that I could feel the anguish that Shif must have been feeling when he had to leave his best friend behind knowing that he would never come back.
On the other hand, I see why some people would have thought that the book didn’t have enough detail in it. This might have been the case for parts such as when Shif and Bini were in the container. I understand why the writer might have wanted to make it sound like the place was boring. But I do think that Fountain could have used some more descriptive language to make us feel like we were inside the container ourselves. This part of the story made me feel like I was inside Shif’s head but I couldn’t quite get an idea of what the actual experience of being inside the container was like.
Overall, I give this book a 9.5/10 and I think that this book was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who likes to read books that teach you a lesson that you could apply to your daily life. There are many reasons why I think that this book was the best book that I have ever read. My first reason is that it gives you clear images of places where you have never been to before. My second reason is that it made you go deep inside into Shif’s head and let you look around to see what it would feel like to be a refugee who has lost everything and only has himself. My third reason is that this book has really made me think about the things that are going on around the world, like this story, that we are not aware of. My last and biggest reason is that this book was the thing that made me rethink about all of the things that I could do to help refugees around the world just like Shif and Bini.
I really hope that a sequel for this book comes out. If it does, I will make sure that I can get my hands on it as quick as possible!
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I really enjoyed that 2 friends set out together but one has to sacrifice themselves . it could’ve been longer
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