Shadow by Michael Morpurgo

ISBN: 9780007339617

Shadow is a story told from the perspective of three main characters – Matt, his Grandpa, and Aman, Matt’s best friend.

After his Grandpa informs Matt that he won’t be able to visit him for the summer because of his concern for Matt’s Grandma’s cherry tree, Matt finds himself visiting his Grandpa in Bedfordshire, England, and it is their conversation one night about the stars that leads to talk about Aman, who came to England from Afghanistan with his mom as asylum seekers 6 years before, but was currently facing deportation back to Afghanistan.

Grandpa realizes that the camp where Aman and his mom were kept, called Yarl’s Wood, was near where he stayed, and together they decide to pay Aman a visit. Grandpa is a retired journalist, and investigates Aman’s interesting yet devastating story about how they came to be in England, and why it is so hard for them, why they refuse with all their might, to return to Afghanistan.

Grandpa and Matt decide to do something to try help Aman and his mom so they don’t have to return to Afghanistan, and it is when all seems lost when Shadow, a Springer Spaniel, turns up with her owner and everything changes. Shadow became a constant companion to Aman in Afghanistan, and her courage and perseverance impacted their lives forever.

Shadow is a very gripping and inspiring story about how one person’s (seemingly insignificant) action can influence the lives of others; how one person’s small contribution can save a life.

Yarl’s Wood is a real place, an “Immigration Removal Centre” or “detention centre” for foreign nationals prior to deportation from the UK, and a “fully contained residential centre” for those (women and adult family groups) awaiting immigration clearance. It is located in Bedfordshire, England. Yarl’s Wood opened on 19 November 2001 with a capacity for just over 400 people, and even after all the incidents, including the building being burnt down by detainees in 2002, is currently still operating, and is one of 10 such centres in the UK.

Shadow was inspired by true events, and is brilliantly told by Michael Morpurgo.