YA Books to Read for Arab American Heritage Month

In celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, check out these ten books below: 

1. From Here : a memoir by Luma Mufleh: Refugee advocate Luma Mufleh writes of her tumultuous journey to reconcile her identity as a gay Muslim woman and a proud Arab-turned-American refugee. 
2. Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo: A novel in verse follows the experiences of a misfit teen in a discriminatory suburban community who questions her mixed heritage before unexpected family revelations force her to fight for her own identity.
3. Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana: Eighteen-year-old Nida faces unexpected fame after her critical poem about a politician goes viral and wins a contest she never entered, which leaves Nida unable to write poetry as she struggles with her family's expectations and questions her own desires.
4. Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy: Huda and her family just moved to Dearborn, Michigan, a small town with a big Muslim population. But Huda doesn't fit in--when everyone is Muslim, there's no Muslim clique like there was in her last town, and Huda's not a sporty hijabi or a fashionista hijabi or a gamer hijabi. She's just Huda, and she's not sure what that means. She tries on all kinds of identities and friends, but nothing fits quite right. Until she realizes she can get back to the basics.
5. Ida in the Middle by Nora Lester Murad: Ida, a Palestinian-American girl, eats a magic olive that takes her to the life she might have had in her parents’ village near Jerusalem.
6. 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.
7. Man O' War by Cory McCarthy: On a field trip to SeaPlanet, seventeen-year-old Arab-American high school swimmer River McIntyre has a chance encounter with Indy, a happy, healthy queer person, which sets off a wrenching journey of self-discovery, from internalized homophobia and gender dysphoria, through layers of coming out, affirmation surgery, and true love.
8. The Next New Syrian Girl by Ream Shukairy: 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 both at home and abroad.
9. Poppies of Iraq by Brigitte Findakly: Findakly shares memories of her middle class childhood in Iraq, to create a family portrait that explores loss, tragedy, love, and the loneliness of exile.
10. Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf: Fifteen-year-old Najwa Bakri is forced to investigate the mysterious death of her best friend and Scrabble Queen, Trina, a year after the fact when her Instagram comes back to life with cryptic posts and messages.

Featured image credit: Sylvia Asuncion-Crabb