The Eleventh Trade

By Alyssa Hollingsworth

A boy must trade up from a keychain to reclaim his grandfather's stolen instrument.

4.4/5 Goodreads · 376 ratings

304 pages· 53,985 words· Est. 6 hour read

$16.99Save 6%

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Bookroo's summary

Sami, a young refugee, faces a daunting challenge when his grandfather's cherished rebab is stolen. With only a keychain and a dream, he embarks on a daring quest to trade up to $700. Each trade brings him closer to reclaiming the instrument and finding his place in a new world. Can Sami navigate the complexities of friendship and fear to achieve the impossible? Discover the heartwarming journey of resilience and hope in 'The Eleventh Trade.'

From the publisher

From debut author Alyssa Hollingsworth comes a story about living with fear, being a friend, and finding a new place to call home. They say you can’t get something for nothing, but nothing is all Sami has. When his grandfather’s most-prized possession—a traditional Afghan instrument called a rebab—is stolen, Sami resolves to get it back. He finds it at a music store, but it costs $700, and Sami doesn’t have even one penny. What he does have is a keychain that has caught the eye of his classmate. If he trades the keychain for something more valuable, could he keep trading until he has $700? Sami is about to find out. The Eleventh Trade is both a classic middle school story and a story about being a refugee. Like Katherine Applegate, author of Wishtree, Alyssa Hollingsworth tackles a big issue with a light touch.

At a glance

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Words: 53,985
Reading age: 10–14
Audience: Middle Grade
Lexile: 650L

Themes & topics

Books about problem solving Books about stealing Books about helping others Books about sports and recreation Books about music

Good to know

Stories behind the story

Where did you originally get the idea for The Eleventh Trade?

While I was getting my post-graduate degree, I was given an assignment to draft a short story for a book I'd never ever actually write. A book that would be soooooo far out of my comfort zone, I'd never do it. At the time, I was working on a Young Adult project about mermaids and magic -- so I figured the opposite of that would be a contemporary story for 8-12s! I thought about books I enjoyed reading in that age range, and then blended those ideas with themes I'm passionate about (like refugees and family) and topics I wanted to learn about (like trauma and healing). At the end of the assignment, I had the basic bones of the story that would become The Eleventh Trade!

What was the hardest part about creating The Eleventh Trade?

There were a lot of aspects of this book that were far out of my comfort zone, including but not limited to: I'm not Afghan, I'm not a Muslim, I didn't go to public school, I never played soccer, I'm not a boy, I've never lived in Boston... The list goes on and on. As I wrote, I had to constantly fight fear that I wouldn't be able to capture these experiences well. But in those places where I didn't have firsthand knowledge, I was able to reach out to a huge community of friends all around the world. They stepped in as the experts, and my job was merely to learn from them and work their knowledge into this story.

For readers who can't stop at one