Students were inspired by a talk from a best-selling author when she visited Derby High School and gave them an insight into the refugee crisis.
Cathy Cassidy visited the school to talk about her latest book, ‘Sami’s Silver Lining’, and she told students how seeing families fleeing war-torn countries inspired her to write it.
The book is about a young boy from Syria who lost his parents and sister in the Mediterranean as they tried to reach Europe.
Cathy said the theme of the book is how we deal with change.
She said: “Sami’s story is sad, he had to leave war-torn Syria and make his way to safety in the UK, where he makes friends. I knew I wanted to write about a boy who found safety after seeing images of the refugee exodus.”
Cathy writes young adult fiction and has penned more than 20 books. She visited Derby High School as part of a national book tour and gave a talk to students from Derby High and Littleover Community School.
She said: “I loved daydreaming and on my school reports it would often say ‘Cathy could do well but she daydreams too much’. Imagine if daydreaming was on the school timetable – during a couple of daydreaming lessons you might come up with the most amazing ideas for stories.”
