This concept of this book is powerful and can help kids understand the idea of refugees and what it's like to live in a war-torn country. This book didn't quite work for me but I do think it could be a good introduction, as the countries in this book are parallels to the real world but are not real countries and therefore a lot of politics can be put down for the experience of the story.

The Bombs That Brought Us Together is a powerful story that emphasizes friendship and loyalty. The friendship between Charlie and Pav is the best part of the book, it was lovely to see them depend on each other and ground each other. The first person narrative is well done and creates a very distinct voice for the main character. I enjoyed getting into this world's lingo. The book's strengths make it shine, but it still suffered from a few flaws. The pacing sometimes felt very slow and unbalanced. I also would have liked to see a balance between before, during, after the Old Country/Little Town altercation. I would have liked a better understanding of what it was like before so I could really understand why it might be better after. It all seemed like exchanging an old set of rules/government for more of the same. I also would have liked to understand what Charlie's (or Hamish's) life was like before Pav, their friendship was the best part of the book, but I was left wondering how the friendship changed Charlie, or how it changed his life for the better from what it was like before.