Boston Athenæum

February 10, 2016 at Boston Athenæum. The Illegal is the gripping story of Keita Ali, a refugee―like the many in today’s headlines―compelled to leave his homeland. All Keita has ever wanted to do is to run. Running means respect and wealth at home. His native Zantoroland, an imagined country whose tyrants are eerily familiar, turns out the fastest marathoners on earth. But after his journalist father is killed for his outspoken political views, Keita must flee to the wealthy nation of Freedom State―a fictionalized country engaged in a crackdown on all undocumented people, bearing a striking resemblance to modern America. There, Keita becomes a part of the new underground. He learns what it means to live as an illegal. This tension-filled novel casts its eye on race, human potential, and what it means to belong.