ZARA HOSSAIN IS HERE

Pakistani Muslim Zara, an openly queer senior in Corpus Christi, Texas, handles not only being Muslim in post–9/11 America, but also being an immigrant.

Contrary to assumptions, Zara’s family is wholly accepting of her bisexuality. Instead, it’s her girlfriend Chloe’s Christian family that’s having a hard time coming to terms with their daughter’s sexuality. Zara knows how to navigate the racism of her Catholic school classmates, but when bully Tyler starts harassing Maria, a new student from Colombia, she can’t stay silent—and Tyler wants revenge. After the family awakens one night to find a racist message defacing their garage, Abbu, Zara’s father, immediately heads to Tyler’s house, certain he is the perpetrator. In a twisted set of events, Abbu is shot by Tyler’s father, winding up in a coma while facing criminal charges for trespassing. The incident does more than just rattle the family: It directly threatens Abbu’s employment, their immigration status, and the notion that the U.S. could ever be a safe home. Khan unapologetically tackles prejudice in its various manifestations—anti-immigration, homophobia, Islamophobia—while simultaneously engaging openly with the complexities of accountability. The myriad forms of oppression the most vulnerable face in our society intersect in the character of Zara, challenging readers to ask what it means for some to feel at home in a country whose systems feel built to exclude them.

A vivid account exploring issues many immigrant teens face.