In the cramped Damascus apartment 17-year-old Nadia shares with her family, life is tough and getting tougher. While her brothers search unsuccessfully for work, Nadia, attends school. Her fundamentalist Islamic faith and wearing the hijab insulate her from the despondency and stress that surround her, but her rigid views drive a wedge between her and her family. Exhausted and fearful, living under a chaotically repressive regime, they would rather forget the political and religious realities that enrage Nadia. Soon she is venturing down a dangerous path, led by Walid, the attractive young man who draws her into this ominously exciting life. The taut, suspenseful plot builds to a riveting climax. Nadia’s world is exotic, but her emotional upheavals, judgmental opinions and flashes of wry self-awareness mark her unmistakably as a member of the teenage tribe. Jolin does more than put a face on Middle East teens; she breathes life into each of her well-drawn characters and their complicated world. Nadia’s story reminds us that some truths are best expressed by fiction. (Fiction. YA)
