Book review: Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

At Maquoit High School, Tom Bouchard has it made: captain and star of the soccer team, boyfriend to one of the prettiest, most popular girls, and third in his class, likely to have his pick of any college, if he ever bothers filling out his applications. But life in his idyllic small Maine town quickly gets turned upside down after the events of 9/11. 

Enniston has become a “secondary migration” location for Somali refugees, who are seeking a better life after their country was destroyed by war—they can no longer go home. Tom hasn’t thought much about his Somali classmates until four of them join the soccer team, including Saeed. He comes out of nowhere on the field to make impossible shots, and suddenly the team is winning, dominating even; but when Saeed’s eligibility is questioned and Tom screws up in a big way, he’s left to grapple with a culture he doesn’t understand and take responsibility for his actions. Saeed and his family came out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly. And Tom may find himself going nowhere, too, if he doesn’t start trying to get somewhere.

Out of Nowhere is one of those socially conscious books that was obviously written with a purpose, especially when you consider the ending.  It does get a bit heavy-handed at times, but I wouldn’t go anywhere near saying that it’s two-dimensional or unenjoyable just because it’s an ‘issues’ book.

Throughout the book, Tom is struggling with trying to figure out his stance on all the Somali refugees ending up in his town.  They’re what are known as “second-wave” because they had originally been put somewhere else, but had decided to move there after a while because the conditions were better.  If you’ve read previous reviews of mine, you’ll know that I hate plots that simply revolve in rehashing the same problem, to the point where it seems like the MC has amnesia for how many times they’ve had to learn the same lesson or make the same decision about something.  I didn’t feel like this happened with this, even though he does have to make decisions about things a lot.  And when he’s still feeling a bit like the Somali refugees are invading his town, it’s completely understandable; there are new kids there every week, ones who can barely speak English and have no idea how to do anything.  While he does feel bad for them, he’s frustrated, because it’s his home and they’re just coming in one after another.  The issue is treated well without being too preachy or trying to make Tom seem like the good guy when he still thinks the Somali refugees shouldn’t be there.  He’s human, is what I’m trying to say, and the book does well to go with that.

The book goes at a good pace, and the ending shows that not everything goes the way you hope it will, even if you try your best and realize the error of your ways.  Because of this, I’d say this is probably the best book Padian has put out so far.  Happy reading!