Nikolai's Walls - Paperback

It is the summer of 1951 and Nikolai, a thirteen-year-old Ukrainian refugee, arrives in America with his father and grandmother. His new home is in a neighborhood of drab row houses on narrow alleys weaving around the New Jersey State Prison. Nikolai cringes at the sight of the prison walls and wonders whether he will really be safe and free in America.

The prison walls magnify his haunting memories of Soviet soldiers and refugee camps. He thinks of his mother, and of their mountain village which the soldiers burned. Nikolai's broken English and his appearance make him a target for the bully in his new neighborhood. He tries to fit in and act more like an American boy, but his behavior angers his domineering father. As he begins to make friends across racial boundaries, he continues to question safety and freedom in America. When he learns that Danny, the eighteen-year-old brother of a classmate, is imprisoned in the neighborhood prison, Nikolai writes him letters to learn more about his circumstances. With the help of a lawyer, he embarks upon a quest for justice that will forever alter the course of his and Danny's lives.

Nikolai's Walls is an intriguing story of a teenage refugee, troubled by losses and fears, as he struggles to survive in his new world with determination, faith, and the love of his family and friends.