Arab American

The daughter of a prominent Palestinian father and a sophisticated Lebanese mother, Najla Said grew up in New York City, confused and conflicted about her cultural background and identity. Said knew that her parents identified deeply with their homelands, but growing up in a Manhattan world that was defined largely by class and conformity, she felt unsure about who she was supposed to be, and was often in denial of the differences she sensed between her family and those around her.

This is a brilliant and revelatory first novel by a woman who is both an Arab and an American, who speaks with both voices and understands both worlds. Through the narratives of four cousins at the brink of maturity, Laila Halaby immerses her listeners in the lives, friendships, and loves of girls struggling with national, ethnic, and sexual identities. Mawal is the stable one, living steeped in the security of Palestinian traditions in the West Bank.

Spanning several decades, Ghassan Zeineddine’s debut collection examines the diverse range and complexities of the Arab-American community in Dearborn, Michigan. In ten tragicomic stories, Zeineddine explores themes of identity, generational conflicts, war trauma, migration, sexuality, queerness, home and belonging, and more.

Palestine, 1948. Half a million Palestinians are forced from their homes. A mother clutches her six-month-old son as Israeli soldiers march through the village of Ein Hod. In a split second, her son is snatched from her arms and the fate of the Abulheja family is changed forever. Forced into a refugee camp in Jenin and exiled from the ancient village that is their lifeblood, the family struggles to rebuild their world.

The year is 1991. When Jasira's mother finds out what has been going on between her boyfriend and her 13-year-old daughter, she has to make a choice—and chooses to send Jasira off to Houston, Texas, to live with her father. A remote disciplinarian prone to explosive rages, Jasira's father is unable to show his daughter the love she craves—and far less able to handle her feelings about her changing body.

Winner of Eric Hoffer Book Award “We came here for America’s freedoms,” Weam Namou writes. “As an immigrant, I saw through the Dawn Hanna case how we are losing the very things we came here for.” One day, a family approached Namou to write a story about their daughter, Dawn Hanna, who was accused of conspiring to broker telecommunication equipment to Iraq during the sanctions. Unbeknownst to Dawn and the jury which tried her, her co-conspirator was actually a CIA operative. The project was sponsored by the United States to listen in on Saddam and his men. Namou was drawn to this ...

Once in a Promised Land is the story of a couple, Jassim and Salwa, who left the deserts of their native Jordan for those of Arizona, each chasing their own dreams of opportunity and freedom. Although the two live far from Ground Zero, they cannot escape the nationwide fallout from 9/11.

Richly detailed and full of hope, this is the story of Cindy Lou Davis from Mocksville, North Carolina, who meets and marries Mohammed Ali, a Muslim from the oil-rich United Arab Emirates. The year is 1982, and 20-year-old Cindy leaves home and family after her wedding with no idea what awaits her in her new life. Living with his family and immersed in a traditional Arab culture with an incomprehensible language while her new husband is away on a military base during the week, her future with Mohammed depends on the strength of her love, faith, and determination to be true to herself.

Bay Ann wants to shine. She's sure her moment in the spotlight has arrived when she wins the school talent show with a showstopping tap routine! But then her classmate and crush, Alyee Maq, causes her to wobble and almost fall. The video of him catching her goes viral, making Alyee an overnight sensation for "helping her." Bay Ann is reduced to her disability and her talent is ignored.