In a lot of books you have a connection with a certain character. This is called a mirror. If you do not have a connection, it is called a window. I do not have any mirrors with Kek. There are so many things that Kek has experienced but I haven’t. Have you ever been a refugee? Kek is a refugee from Sudan and had to flee his village because of a war. His immediate family is gone. His mom is missing and his dad and brother were killed. There is an incredible amount of windows between us but in all, two feel the most important. 

Kek and I are extremely different in many ways. But one of the windows we have is that I have never been to a refugee camp. I learned that the education in the camp is poor. That seems really awful. I learned that living in a refugee camp is very difficult. One example is considering the fact that he had no family members with him. This would make him feel really lonely and he wouldn’t be able to feel as safe as he would with his parents or brother. In addition, he had to learn English in the camps and it was very hard for him. I never felt what it is like to have to start from scratch with a new language. Furthermore, the education in the camps was terrible so Kek was so new to all the things in America. Lastly, Kek had to wait in a line for the entire day just to get a tiny portion of food rations. I can’t imagine waiting for an entire day and ending up with such a small amount of food. I eat three giant meals a day so comparing that with eating food rations seems insane. This is how I learned how very difficult a refugee camp can be

This window is incredibly awful so I have no idea how Kek went through this because I know I couldn’t. The window is that Kek was extremely lonely. I have never gone through this. I have always felt that I have an awesome family and awesome friends. One of Kek’s losses was his brother. He loved his brother even though he got scolded by his brother sometimes. Katherine Applegate says that Kek would do anything just to hear the scolding of Lual once again. He also misses his father and mother. Katherine Applegate also explains that Kek misses his old home. He said that he didn’t need a thermostat, he used his family’s laughter as warmth. He’s really upset about not having his immediate family with him. At first he was truly trying to sound certain that his mother was alive; though Ganwar is trying to push Kek into reality by telling him that he has to face the truth sometimes. This must have been really hard for Kek and I cannot imagine how he must feel.

In conclusion Kek has faced so many things that I have never experienced. It would be so hard for me to have to know that my parents aren’t with me. I would want to try and be like Kek and just think hopeful. Most of Kek’s life is a window for me but I think it’s pretty cool to read about his life.