A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi
After their home in Syria is bombed, Tareq, his father, and his younger sister seek refuge, first with extended family in Raqqa, a stronghold for the militant group, Daesh, and then abroad.
I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached
Zeina Abirached was born in Lebanon in 1981. She grew up in Beirut as fighting between Christians and Muslims divided the city streets. Follow her past cars riddled with bullet holes, into taxi cabs that travel where buses refuse to go, and on outings to collect shrapnel from the sidewalk. With striking black-and-white artwork, Abirached recalls the details of ordinary life inside a war zone.
Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi
Scott, a chronic underachiever who never finishes what he starts, struggles through college applications without a clue about where to dedicate his studies, a situation that compels him to sneak off to Washington, D.C., to seek the advice of a famous psychology professor, only to find himself on an unexpected high-speed adventure filled with daring and revelations.
A Cave in the Clouds by Badeeah Hassan Ahmed
Captured by ISIS, Badeeah was among hundreds forced into a brutal human trafficking network made up of women and girls of Ezidi ethnicity, a much-persecuted minority culture of Iraq. In captivity, she draws on memories and stories from her childhood to maintain a small bit of control in an otherwise volatile situation. Ultimately, it is her profound sense of faith and brave resistance that lead her to escape with Eivan and reunite with family.
Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali
Eighteen-year-old Muslims Adam and Zayneb meet in Doha, Qatar, during spring break and fall in love as both struggle to find a way to live their own truths.
Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali
Fifteen-year-old Janna Yusuf, a Flannery O’Connor-obsessed book nerd and the daughter of the only divorced mother at their mosque, tries to make sense of the events that follow when her best friend’s cousin–a holy star in the Muslim community–attempts to assault her at the end of sophomore year.
Balcony on the Moon by Ibtisam Barakat
Balcony on the Moon follows Ibtisam Barakat through her childhood and adolescence in Palestine from 1972-1981 and chronicles her desire to be a writer. Ibtisam finds inspiration through writing letters to pen pals and from an adult who encourages her to keep at it, but the most surprising turn of all for Ibtisam happens when her mother decides that she would like to seek out an education, too.
All American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney
A nonpracticing Muslim-American teen, the daughter of a famous conservative shock jock, witnesses acts of Islamophobia in her small town that prompts her courageous study and embrace of her faith.
Rebels By Accident by Patricia Dunn
Mariam, a troubled teenaged Egyptian American, is sent to live with her grandmother in Cairo where she meets a girl named Asmaa who calls the people of Egypt to protest against their president, and Mariam finds herself in the middle of a revolution and falling in love for the first time.
Here to Stay by Sara Farizan
When a cyberbully sends the entire high school a picture of basketball hero Bijan Majidi, photo-shopped to look like a terrorist, the school administration promises to find and punish the culprit, but Bijan just wants to pretend the incident never happened and move on.
I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib
The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigated her childhood chasing her parents’ ideals, learning to code-switch between her family’s Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid.
We Hunt the Flame by Faizal Hafsah
In a world inspired by ancient Arabia, seventeen-year-old huntress Zafira must disguise herself as a man to seek a lost artifact that could return magic to her cursed world.
Call Me American by Abdi Nor Iftin
At home in Somalia, Abdi’s mother mother entertained him with vivid folktales and bold stories detailing her rural, nomadic upbrinding. As he grew older, he spent his days following his father through the bustling street of the capital city of Mogadishu. But when the threat of civil war reached Abdi’s doorstep, his family was forced to flee to safety. Through the turbulent years of war, young Abdi found solace in popular American music and films. Nicknamed Abdi the American, he developed a proficiency for English that connected him with news outlets and radio shows, and eventually gave him a shot at winning the annual U.S. visa lottery.
Zara Hossain is Here by Sabrina Khan
Ever since her family moved to Texas from Pakistan when she was a baby, seventeen-year-old Zara Hossain has only ever called Corpus Christi home. Being the only Muslim girl at her conservative Catholic school, blending in isn’t really an option, especially with people like Tyler Benson always tormenting her. But one day Tyler takes thing too far by defacing Zara’s locker with a racist message, which gets him suspended. As an act of revenge, Tyler and his friends vandalize the Hossains’ house with Islamophobic graffiti, which leads to a violent crime that puts Zara and her family’s entire future at risk.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Ostracized or incarcerated her whole life, seventeen-year-old Juliette is freed on the condition that she use her horrific abilities in support of The Reestablishment, a post-apocalyptic dictatorship, but Adam, the only person ever to show her affection, offers hope of a better future.
Proud: My Fight For an Unlikely American Dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Ibtihaj Muhammad’s path to Olympic greatness has been marked with opposition and near-debilitating challenges because of her race, religion, and gender. As the only woman of color and the only religious minority on the U.S. women’s saber team, she had to push past stereotypes, misconceptions, and negativity to find her own path to success and Olympic glory.
Not the Girls You’re Looking For by Aminah Mae Safi
A Muslim-American teen goes into denial mode about her role in an out-of-control party that occurred during Ramadan, a situation that escalates until she incurs damage that is harder to repair, forcing her to come to terms with her true self.
Determined to Stay: Palestinian Youth Fight for Their Village by Jody Sokolower
Palestinian youth and the fight for their village Silwan is a Palestinian village located just outside the ancient walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. As Silwani youth and community members share their lives with us, their village becomes an easily accessible way to understand Palestinian history and current reality.
Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga
While her mother is out of town, sixteen-year-old Taliah accompanies her estranged father–a famous rock star who one day appears on her doorstep–to Oak Falls, Indiana, to meet his dying father and the rest of his family, and on the way, Taliah learns about how her parents met and separated, her mother’s experience as a Jordanian immigrant, and her own ability to accept change and open up to others.
The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
Sixteen-year-old Isadora, the mortal daughter of Isis and Osiris, is sick of being in the middle of family drama so she jumps at the chance to leave Egypt and start a new life in San Diego with her brother.