The Stray Cats of Homs: A powerful, moving novel inspired by a true story

What an absolutely awesome book! Not one to forget in a hurry - if ever. Sami lives in Homs, Syria, with his parents and siblings. They do all the things we all do growing up, but most of us don't have a war zone moving closer to our home town. Sami hopes their are better days to come - and this is his story. I hadn't realised that this was a biographical tale until I read on at the end of the novel - and I would urge everyone else to continue and find out where the story came from. I cannot begin to describe the effect this one has had on me; I feel quite ashamed that I didn't know more about this conflict. This is an astonishing, compelling and magnetic book which touched me in more ways than I can explain and I don't doubt that it's headed for the very top of the best sellers list! For a debut novel, it's astounding but I now understand that it's been written as a passion and, in my opinion, that always produces the very best reads. Beautifully-written and quite spell-binding, I couldn't put it down until I reached the very last and haven't stopped thinking about it since. I have dreamt about this book and I suspect I will again. The Stray Cats of Homs earns every one of the five glittering stars that I have to give it - anything else would be a travesty.