2008 book 105

Randa Jarrar's A Map of Home
This book, due out in September, has already been getting some buzz so I was psyched to pick up an advance copy at ALA. It's a classic coming-of-age novel about a girl who's the product of a Palestinian father and an Egyptian-Greek mother. She's born in America and raised in Kuwait--at least until Iraq invades. I think it's got to be slightly autobiographical based on the brief author bio on the back cover, which lends the story great strength and great details. Seriously, this was really good. A.