An Ordinary Courage: Naomi in Indonesia

Susan Kemp is an instructor at the Queen’s School of English,
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

Karmel Schreyer was born in Winnipeg. She currently lives in Hong Kong
and works as an editor and writer of educational materials.

An Ordinary Courage is the third and final instalment in her Naomi
series. Naomi’s adventures growing up in Japan and Hong Kong have been
chronicled in Naomi: The Strawberry Blonde of Pippu Town (1999) and A
Singing Bird Will Come: Naomi in Hong Kong (2002).

Naomi is now 17 and living in Lombok, Indonesia, when extremists bomb
the nearby tourist resort of Bali. On the heels of the 911 attacks in
the United States, Naomi once again must struggle with the cultural
divide that exists between Asia and the West. This time, however, the
divide is made much more personal because of her relationship with a
young Muslim man.

Schreyer captures Naomi’s loneliness and wonder in a strange land far
from home perfectly. One might speculate that travelling around the
world as she has could have provided her with experience that underpins
Naomi’s excitement and apprehension at living in a foreign country.
The book is redolent with local colour and insightful details.

It transcends the ordinary, however, in the author’s treatment of an
act of terrorism that has become part of our global experience.
Young-adult readers will enjoy this story of a young girl who discovers
her own courage and the courage in all of us. Recommended.