Sea Prayer

"Intensely moving . . . Powerfully evocative of the plight in which displaced populations find themselves . . . The book reads like an emotional gut-punch. . . It is impossible to read without feeling intense compassion for those—and there are thousands—whose lives resemble those of the characters in the book. Powerful." —Kirkus, STARRED Review

"Hosseini’s story, aimed at readers of all ages, does not dwell on nightmarish fates; instead, its emotional power flows from the love of a father for his son . . . In Williams’s loosely stroked ink-and-wash spreads, the corals and greens of the Syrian countryside give way to war’s gray shadows and the sea’s blue hues. Expansive views of sky and water both temper the text’s emotional build and render the figures in them small and fragile. Together, the evocative illustrations and graceful, compelling prose make it clear that Marwan and his parents have no choice but to trust the sea." —Publishers Weekly, STARRED BOX Review

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed responds to the heartbreak of the current refugee crisis with this deeply moving, beautifully illustrated short work of fiction for people of all ages, all over the world.

On a moonlit beach, a father cradles his sleeping son as they wait for dawn to break and a boat to arrive. He speaks to his boy of the long summers of his childhood, recalling his grandfather's house in Syria, the stirring of olive trees in the breeze, the bleating of his grandmother's goat, the clanking of the cooking pots. And he remembers, too, the bustling city of Homs, with its crowded lanes, its mosque and grand souk, in the days before the sky spat bombs and they had to flee.

When the sun rises, they and those around them will gather their possessions and embark on a perilous sea journey in search of a new home.

Khaled Hosseini will donate author proceeds from this book to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and to The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund life-saving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe.

To learn more about UNHCR, please visit: unhcr.org/Khaled-hosseini

To learn more about The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, please visit: khaledhosseinifoundation.org