Own Voices: fictionalized look at Jamal Saeed's lived experience during the Arab Spring Debut + veteran author duo: Jamal Saeed worked with bestselling author Sharon McKay to bring this story to life.  Powerful backstory: Jamal Saeed spent 12 years as a Prisoner of Consciousness before escaping to Dubai and eventually moving to Canada. He shared his own experiences and worked with Canadian writer Sharon McKay on this book, hoping that it would help young readers understand the kind of life many Syrian children and teens face today. He shares a deeply personal author’s note outlining his history at the end of Yara’s Spring. Syrian conflict continues: The Syrian Civil War began in 2011 and the story of Syrian conflict and refugees is not new… but it is ongoing and in fact escalating so it is important that people not forget about it. Nearly one million people have been displaced by bombing and shelling in northwest Syria just since December according to the UN, adding to the estimated 6 million of people already displaced. Nearly 60% of these displaced people are children. It is hard to grasp the reality of what those figures mean to individual people. Yara’s Spring helps to personalize this information, in a story with great impact and immediacy. Spot illustrations: Nahid Kazemi's beautiful interior spot illustrations add visual appearl. Nahid has received awards for her illustrations and has published more than sixty children's books. She lives in Montreal.