A powerful and visually arresting fictional memoir of trauma, memory and hope in the aftermath of war, for readers 12 and up. For fans of Maus.

Even though Mila is no longer a child, she is overcome by memories — memories of a childhood halfway between reality and dreaming, and not knowing which is which.
 
In her dreams, Mila and her family leave their bombed village to stand in line for weeks on end, suitcases in hand, hoping to move on to better lives. But the memories of her uncle’s disappearance, and the approach of looming clouds, keep blurring the lines between past and present, real and unreal. How can Mila move forward? Perhaps if the clouds can remind her of where she’s from, they can also show her where to go . . .
 
Winner of a Governor General’s Award, Canada’s most prestigious literary prize, and the Bologna Ragazzi Award, this stunningly evocative book about experience, trauma and healing will stay with readers from beginning to end.

"Even though Mila is no longer 9 years old, her childhood memories sometimes overtake her. What happened there, halfway between dreaming and insomnia, continues in other forms here, twenty years later. Whether it's seeing a very old photo taken by her father, a red balloon rolling at her feet, or just lining up at a wicket, something still trembles in her. If the clouds sometimes remind her of where she came from, she guesses that they can also teach her where to go..."--