{"product_id":"in-the-country-i-love-isbn-9781682638101","title":"In the Country I Love","description":"\u003cb\u003eTwo Iraqi American best friends—a struggling teen father and the community's golden boy—confront dark truths about their families in the wake of a devastating crime in this heartrending YA debut.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs a seventeen-year-old single dad and a soon-to-be high school drop-out, Yassir Al-Azzawi's lapsed Shia faith is just another thing convincing his parents he's a failure. One more mistake, and they'll send him back to their homeland, a war-torn Iraq. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKhaled Al-Hakim is perfect on paper: devout in his faith, a straight-A student, and captain of the debate team. But beneath the surface, Khaled is no saint either, and his worst sin yet is ignoring his parents’ command to stay away from Yassir.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen their secret friendship is exposed, the consequences set off a series of events that cause family secrets from both sides to come to light, and neither Yassir nor Khaled are prepared to learn the stains that taint their family names. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTold through multiple POVs across time, this authentic exploration of the Shia Muslim experience in the U.S. seamlessly combines classic YA themes of identity, coming-of-age, and relationships with timely social themes of racism, Islamophobia, and justice. This compelling, contemporary debut is perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir’s \u003ci\u003eAll My Rage\u003c\/i\u003e and Markus Zusak’s \u003ci\u003eThe Book Thief\u003c\/i\u003e.Al-Barkawi leads with a strong setup: flawed characters dealing with family tensions, lapsed religious observance, and the increase in institutionalized Islamophobia. The taut writing pulls readers in, and the surprise reveal is utterly devastating. The author explores the atrocities of the Iraq War in raw and unflinching ways. . . . A gripping debut about generational trauma that mirrors many present realities.\u003cbr\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA textured exploration of Shia Muslim life in the United States and the pressures ­facing immigrant youth. Recommended for all collections.\u003cbr\u003e—School Library JournalAlaa Al-Barkawi is a first-generation, Iraqi American Shia Muslim writer. She is the co-runner of QuillersSWANA, a literary organization dedicated to Southwest Asian and North African writers, and serves as a Literary Peace Ambassador for Threads of Peace. Alaa holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and has worked with refugee and immigrant students for nearly a decade. \u003ci\u003eIn the Country I Love\u003c\/i\u003e is her debut novel. Visit her website at AlaaWrites.com and follow her on Instagram @AlaaAlBarkawi.","brand":"Peachtree Teen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233267462373,"sku":"NP9781682638101","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781682638101.jpg?v=1767729957","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/in-the-country-i-love-isbn-9781682638101","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}