by Holly S. Warah ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2017
A heartfelt journey to discover the joys of family and home.
Three women at different stages of life struggle to reconcile their own desires with the expectations of clashing Arab and American cultures in this first novel by an American woman who married into an Arab family.
After 20 years of marriage to Ahmed, a Palestinian-born restaurateur, American-born Margaret is beginning to have doubts. Although still a practicing Muslim, she hasn’t worn the hijab in years, not since she caught sight of herself in a mirror and did not recognize the old woman staring back at her. Her frustrations have only grown since her recently widowed mother-in-law, Zainab, has moved in, with her stifling prejudices against non-Arab and non-Muslim ways. Zainab herself isn’t entirely happy with the situation. Certainly, her eldest son ought to give his own mother refuge, but living in America affronts everything Zainab values. Even worse, her younger son, Khalid, has brought home another American bride, Alison, a student of Near Eastern studies. Of Syrian descent, Alison is at first intrigued to join a real Arab family, yet she tries to maintain her independence, watching rather than participating in daily prayer practices, for example. But Khalid soon begins monitoring her dress and behavior, shifting Islamic culture from her course of study to a scarf constricting her every movement. Tensions increase when Alison discovers she is pregnant, and she wonders whether motherhood will tether her even more tightly. Meanwhile, Ahmed announces a job offer in the United Arab Emirates, which pushes Margaret to realize the limits of her acculturation. Rich with culture, Warah’s debut novel deftly intertwines these three women’s tales of longing and sacrifice. Yet at times the characters fall flat; Zainab in particular seems smothered by stereotypes, as she focuses unceasingly on her faith, family, and lost homeland. Consequently, the final epiphanies, while emotionally bursting, seem too easy.
A heartfelt journey to discover the joys of family and home.Pub Date: April 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62872-749-4
Page Count: 392
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2018
A tour de force.
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New York Times Bestseller
In 1974, a troubled Vietnam vet inherits a house from a fallen comrade and moves his family to Alaska.
After years as a prisoner of war, Ernt Allbright returned home to his wife, Cora, and daughter, Leni, a violent, difficult, restless man. The family moved so frequently that 13-year-old Leni went to five schools in four years. But when they move to Alaska, still very wild and sparsely populated, Ernt finds a landscape as raw as he is. As Leni soon realizes, “Everyone up here had two stories: the life before and the life now. If you wanted to pray to a weirdo god or live in a school bus or marry a goose, no one in Alaska was going to say crap to you.” There are many great things about this book—one of them is its constant stream of memorably formulated insights about Alaska. Another key example is delivered by Large Marge, a former prosecutor in Washington, D.C., who now runs the general store for the community of around 30 brave souls who live in Kaneq year-round. As she cautions the Allbrights, “Alaska herself can be Sleeping Beauty one minute and a bitch with a sawed-off shotgun the next. There’s a saying: Up here you can make one mistake. The second one will kill you.” Hannah’s (The Nightingale, 2015, etc.) follow-up to her series of blockbuster bestsellers will thrill her fans with its combination of Greek tragedy, Romeo and Juliet–like coming-of-age story, and domestic potboiler. She re-creates in magical detail the lives of Alaska's homesteaders in both of the state's seasons (they really only have two) and is just as specific and authentic in her depiction of the spiritual wounds of post-Vietnam America.
A tour de force.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-312-57723-0
Page Count: 448
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
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by Christina Lauren ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2018
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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