Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate is the story of an African boy, Kek, who loses his father and a brother and runs away, leaving his mother to take care of him. security. Kek, now in Minnesota, faces difficulties adjusting to a new life and finding his lost mother. He thinks his mother is still alive and will soon join him in the new family. Kek is taken to the airport by a caregiver who takes him to live with his aunt. It is here that Kek encounters everything that amazed him about his home country in Sudan, Africa. Home of the Brave shows the conflicts Kek faces. He is stuck between two worlds, Africa and America. He feels guilty for leaving his people behind to live in a distant land, especially his mother, whom he left in the middle of an attack. It is clear from the book that only Kek and his mother managed to survive this strategy, a mother he misses. such. Kek now finds himself in his new surroundings in America, where he discovers snow for the first time in his life and feels the sting of it. It becomes difficult for him to adapt as the glare of the snow burns his eyes and the cold feels like claws in his skin. As life gets off to a tougher start, he chooses to help his aunt by doing the dishes, but no one ever told him that the washing machine was only for cleaning clothes (Applegate, 18). There are many conflicts in his mind, given the differences he notices. between Africa and America. Seeing the snow, Kek wonders if the people in this new setting will be as mean and cold as winter itself. Additionally, his desire to be like one of the Americans continues when he meets an old woman named Lou, who lives on a neglected farm and owns a cow. The image of a cow becomes very important to Kek, because it gives him an African face...... middle of paper...... and the hope that a day will come when she will join him in America. In the end, Kek and his two friends; Lou and Gol help him adjust to his new American life and to the joys and pains he will experience along the way (Applegate, 42). Towards the end, his mother comes to Minnesota and they make it a new home. In conclusion, the book Home of the Brave reflects Kek's simple way of learning and adapting to a new language, culture, and experiences. From the above content, it is proven that Kek is lost between his identities and wants to be American at the same time. This is a very sensitive narrative that covers most of the issues faced by new migrants from developing countries; from misinterpretation of household appliances to difficulties in learning English and finally to racism. Works Cited Applegate, Katherine. Home of the brave. Macmillan, 2007.