Author: Ream Shukairy
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Saadia by Colleen Nelson
Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Khadija Shami is a Syrian American high school senior raised on boxing and football. Saddled with a monstrous ego and a fierce mother to test it, she dreams of escaping her sheltered life to travel the world with her best friend.
Leene Tahir is a Syrian refugee, doing her best to adjust to the wildly unfamiliar society of a suburban Detroit high school while battling panic attacks and family pressures.
When their worlds collide the result is catastrophic. To Khadija, Leene embodies the tame, dutiful Syrian ideal she's long rebelled against. And to Leene, Khadija is the strong-willed, closed-off American who makes her doubt her place in the world.
But as Khadija digs up Leene’s past, a startling and life-changing discovery forces the two of them closer together. As the girls secretly race to unravel the truth, a friendship slowly and hesitantly begins blooming. Doubts are cast aside as they realize they have more in common than they each expected. What they find takes them on a journey all the way to Jordan, challenging what each knows about the other and herself.
My opinion: This book could easily have become a trite exploration of privilege and identity. And those are certainly big elements of this story Khadija is undeniably privileged. Not just compared to Leene but compared to the average American teen. This is where the weight of expectation comes into play. Everyone makes assumptions about who she is and what motivates here. The result is two complicated characters, both damaged by the past in unique ways. While Khadija is not always very likeable and Leene is perhaps a bit idealized they are complex enough to be interesting and keep us engaged with the plot.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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