Quick Look
- The companion book to the Waterstones-longlisted My Name is Samim (part of the 2026 Read for Empathy Collection)
- Fans of Fidan Meikle's astonishing debut novel will be gripped to hear wise-cracking Zayn's side of the story
- Follow's Zayn's journey from when he and Samim were separated through the highs and lows of his own fight to build a life in the UK
- Inspired by real-life stories of hundreds of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who went missing from UK hotels, until the High Court ruled it was unlawful to house them there
- Shines a light on the hardships facing young asylum seekers in the UK, including racism, cultural barriers, lack of proper legal protections and a challenging immigration system
Thirteen-year-old Afghan refugee Zayn loses his best friend Samim on a perilous journey to the UK. Living in a hotel with other asylum seekers, can Zayn rebuild his life and find his missing friend? The highly anticipated follow-up to My Name is Samim.
Description
"I'll find you, Samim," I whispered again and again into the dark.
Thirteen-year-old Zayn is a loyal friend, a gifted football player -- and a refugee.
Zayn endures a long, dangerous journey from war-torn Afghanistan with his best friend Samim, only to lose him when their dinghy sinks in the English Channel. Zayn arrives in the UK, alone, but convinced Samim is alive -- somewhere.
Sent to live in a hotel with other asylum seekers, Zayn starts to find small pieces of normal life -- he goes to school, joins the football team and is making friends. Then children begin disappearing from the hotel, including Zayn's roommate. When the police struggle to find them, Zayn feels he's the only one who can.
Hounded by a local gang, as well as demons from his past, Zayn finds hope and help in unlikely places. But can he find his missing friends, old and new, as well as the safe home he's been searching for?
Readers will root for quick-witted, brave Zayn in the highly anticipated follow-up to My Name is Samim (Waterstones Children's Book Prize longlist and part of the Read for Empathy collection). This uplifting story of resilience and friendship was inspired by the real-life stories of hundreds of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who went missing from UK hotels, until the High Court ruled it was unlawful to house them there. Fidan Meikle's writing is heartfelt, wry and evocative, allowing older middle-grade readers to see through the eyes of an often-invisible minority.
Author
Fidan Meikle is an Azerbaijani-British writer, linguist and translator. Her debut middle-grade novel, My Name is Samim, was longlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and included in the 2026 Read for Empathy Collection. The sequel, My Name is Zayn, is inspired by the real-life stories of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK. Fidan lives in West Lothian, Scotland.
