Mona Hasan is a young Muslim girl growing up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when the first Gulf War breaks out in 1991. The war isn’t what she expects — “We didn’t even get any days off school! Just my luck” — especially when the ground offensive is over so quickly and her family peels the masking tape off their windows. Her parents, however, fear there is no peace in the region, and it sparks a major change in their lives.
Over the course of one year, Mona falls in love, speaks up to protect her younger sister, loses her best friend to the new girl at school, has summer adventures with her cousins in Pakistan, immigrates to Canada, and pursues her ambition to be a feminist and a poet.
Author
Salma Hussain
SALMA HUSSAIN grew up in the U.A.E. and immigrated to Canada when she was thirteen years old. She has a B.A. (Hon.) in English Literature, with a concentration in creative writing from the University of Calgary, a law degree from the University of Calgary, and a Master’s in Law from McGill University. Her poetry and prose have been widely published in various literary magazines. Her chapbook of poetry, What If Maybe and other poems, was published by Baseline Press. She co-hosts a global podcast with Upasna Kakroo on South Asian children’s literature called Zubaani. Her first novel, The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan, was a Quill & Quire Book of the Year. Salma writes witty, warm, voice-driven fiction about the surprising ways we grow when life veers off-script. She lives with her family in Toronto.
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