The Boy at the Back of the Class

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes themes of war, death, loss, and discrimination.

Alexa, Tom, Josie, and Michael’s devotion to helping Ahmet illustrates how friendship and community can create change. As soon as Ahmet joins Mrs. Khan’s class, Alexa knows that she wants to be friends with him. Alexa considers herself “lucky because Tom and Josie and Michael always help [her] with the things [she] get[s] stuck with” (4), and imagines that Ahmet might appreciate having relationships like hers. Her and her friends’ attempts to help Ahmet capture the transformative power of friendship and community.

Throughout the novel, Alexa makes consistent attempts to welcome Ahmet. For example, she smiles and winks at Ahmet, gives him candy and fruit, talks to him when he’s alone, and even puts herself in harm’s way to help Ahmet find his parents. Even before Alexa understands the power of what she’s doing for Ahmet, her internal monologues capture the transformative possibilities of her friendship:

I made a secret promise to myself right then and there that I would be friends with the new boy. I happened to have some lemon candies in my bag that morning. I would try to give him one at recess.