Abdi was a happy-go-lucky fifteen-year-old when Somalia’s vicious civil war hit Mogadishu and his world fell apart. Separated from his family, he fled the city with countless others, heading for Kenya. The journey was a nightmare, Abdi and his friends enduring sickness, starvation and the violent assaults of death squads.

After three months, Abdi and a mere handful of survivors arrived at a refugee camp in Kenya. But the place proved to be no refuge, so, desperate to find his family, he turned around and undertook the dangerous journey back to Mogadishu. When the search was fruitless he relied on his quick wits and the kindness of strangers to escape Somalia, first to Romania, then Germany and, finally, Australia. He was just sixteen when he arrived in Melbourne with no English, no family, no money.

Against all odds, this extraordinary boy not only survived but thrived. Abdi’s story is one of hardship and struggle, but also of courage, resilience and heart-warming optimism. Shining will move you to tears, exhilarate you and, at times, even make you laugh out loud. Abdi, the boy who never lost hope, offers the gift of his tale to readers who want to believe that miracles still happen.