Spotlight: Arab American Characters and StoriesLike this list

15 items

• FUSTUK: A GRAPHIC NOVEL

  Apelian, Robert Mgrdich

  Add FUSTUK: A GRAPHIC NOVEL to your for later shelf

  Seventeen-year-old Katah Fustukian, who, with his siblings, makes a magical pact with a spirit named Az to save their dying mother. To cure her, they must cook a dish surpassing their late, legendary chef father's in the Persian-inspired Pars…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Wallflower

  Ata, Iasmin Omar,

  Add Wallflower to your for later shelf

  Marlena can see emotional flowers on people, often contradicting their spoken words, which makes her feel isolated until she meets Ashe. Thorny connections are made, and hidden secrets start to surface!

• You Started It

  Khalilieh, Jackie,

  Add You Started It to your for later shelf

  A high school senior fake-dates a TikTok dancer to win back her ex-boyfriend, but discovers unexpected connections and learns that life doesn't always need a checklist.

• Bright Red Fruit

  Elhillo, Safia,

  Add Bright Red Fruit to your for later shelf

  An unflinchingly honest novel in verse about a teenager's journey into the slam poetry scene and the dangerous new relationship that could threaten her dreams.

• From Here

  a Memoir

  Mufleh, Luma,

  Add From Here to your for later shelf

  Refugee advocate Mufleh writes of her tumultuous journey to reconcile her identity as a gay Muslim woman and a proud Arab-turned-American refugee.

• As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

  Katouh, Zoulfa,

  Add As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow to your for later shelf

  The Syrian Revolution changed Salam's life forever. She now volunteers at the hospital where wounded people are everywhere. Salam wants to help her country, but also desperately wants to fly in order to survive. How will she decide what to do?

• The Thirty Names of Night

  a Novel

  Joukhadar, Zeyn,

  Add The Thirty Names of Night to your for later shelf

  Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria.

• Huda F Cares?

  Fahmy, Huda,

  Add Huda F Cares? to your for later shelf

  Huda has to navigate being visibly Muslim — and dealing with her sisters — when her family takes a summer road trip to Disney World.

• A Guide to the Dark

  Metoui, Meriam

  Add A Guide to the Dark to your for later shelf

  When you check into room nine at the Wildwood Motel, you can never leave! Mira and Layla get stranded on their road trip and stay in room nine, where they learn that eight people have died. Can they get out, or will they become the next victims?

• Ida in the Middle

  Murad, Nora Lester,

  Add Ida in the Middle to your for later shelf

  Ida is forced to move to a different school, but people still treat her like she'll never fit in. One day, she looks for food and discovers a jar of olives that came from her family's village near Jerusalem. Ida eats one and finds herself in the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mirage

  Daud, Somaiya,

  Add Mirage to your for later shelf

  Amani dreams of adventure, and the time before her home planet was occupied by Vathek imperialists. Adventure finds her, but not in the form she hoped for — she is to become the body double for the hated princess, Maram.

• The Next New Syrian Girl

  Shukairy, Ream,

  Add The Next New Syrian Girl to your for later shelf

  The unlikely friendship between Syrian American boxer Khadija and Syrian refugee Leene reveals the pressures and expectations of the perfect Syrian daughter and the repercussions of the Syrian Revolution at home and abroad.

• My Perfect Family

  VanBrakle, Khadijah,

  Add My Perfect Family to your for later shelf

  Leena has always wished for a big family. But when she discovers she has a Muslim grandfather and aunt she never knew, she learns that family comes with tangled histories she may not be able to heal.

• Something More

  Khalilieh, Jackie,

  Add Something More to your for later shelf

  Jessie is diagnosed as autistic weeks before starting high school. Determined to keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals. She gets more than she bargained for when two very different boys steal her heart, forcing her to go…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Travelers Along the Way

  a Robin Hood Remix

  Safi, Aminah Mae,

  Add Travelers Along the Way to your for later shelf

  In this reimagining of the legend of Robin Hood, Rahma al-Hud and her older sister Zeena travel to Jerusalem for a final mission. On their way, they assemble a ragtag band of misfits and get swept up in Holy Land politics.