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Selected for the prestigious 2024 White Ravens catalogue of international book recommendations, compiled by the International Youth Library.
Winner of the 2024 Singapore Book Awards (Best Young Person's, Fiction Title)
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Life is bustling on Bussorah Street, and yet, Zak is feeling restless. All he wants is to be a sepak raga trainer, but his father insists that he learn the family trade of tailoring. And he's not looking forward to the upcoming circumcision ritual, a rite of passage that all Muslim boys must go through to become a man...and Zak's definitely not ready to be a grownup. But when the war arrives on the street, it shakes up Zak's world at the core. It is through immense love and loss that Zak comes into his own.
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"This is the Peranakan story I have been waiting to read all my life. The nostalgic descriptions of time, people and place make you feel alive in history and immerse you in a confluence of cultures, languages and traditions that truly embodies what the word 'Peranakan' really means. The general confusion and agony brought about by war is mirrored very delicately in Zak's own confusion as his body goes through puberty, and in how his childhood is disrupted by forces beyond his control - something all children definitely can relate to growing up amidst the uncertainties of current global crises. But above all, this is a story about the tenacity of families and the bravery to ask for help even when society dictates otherwise."
— Erni Salleh, author of The Java Enigma
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A K Zai’s love for literature began in the 1970s at Crescent Girls’ Secondary School, where she was taught by an amazingly eloquent teacher, Mrs Wong, to think critically when reading and writing. Since then, Zai has been writing poetry, drama scripts and short stories for competitions and for pleasure. Escape from Bussorah Street is her first middle grade novel.
