Runaway Rebels

Einaudi Ragazzi – 2013

Series: Carta Bianca

Recommended reading age: 12+

Cover by: Iacopo Bruno – The World of Dot

ISBN 978-8866560548

Third reprinting

Winner of the Gigante delle Langhe prize 2013

Finalist Premio Andersen 2013

Special mention Premio Cento 2014

Included in the list of 100 must-read books compiled by the AIE – the Association of Italian Editors (Amo Chi Legge)

Freedom is the most precious thing we have.

It’s 1926 in a small village in the Apennine Mountains. A fascist law forces the closure of all scout groups.

But some of the kids in the village don’t understand why and won’t accept the law. They go into hiding in the mountains. It’s a courageous and dangerous decision.

A story of rebellion and survival

to follow the most precious thing of all:

freedom.

Life in the camp is different to how it was in the village. The kids have to take care of themselves and their friends as though there existed no one else to protect or help or comfort them. There are no parents here, no streets, no road signs, no shops. There are no paths already trodden by others before. And yet, they’ve never felt so at home as they did there. They were together in a place that belonged to them. They were vulnerable and yet invincible; expert and yet never expert enough; big and small, before nature. And they were hardly ever afraid.

The adults used to say that the worst kind of fear was fear of the unknown. But none of the kids in the camp really believed that. Because when you don’t know what to expect, how can you really be afraid?