Ocean State Libraries

An American girl is murdered by blacks in 1993 South Africa while preparing them for democracy. The novel is in the form of a letter to the girl's mother, from the mother of one of the killers, describing the way apartheid brutalized her son. A first novel based on real events by a black South African writer.

"The story of Rooster, Shadow, and Mei Ju, who become fast friends while members of a girls' house, where young daughters are taught to become daughter-in-law. These girls, however, want neither to marry nor to become nuns (the only options open to them at the time). They choose instead to support themselves through their skills in embroidery and silk production. Though ostracized by their families, attacked, and barely able to find sustenance and...

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 readers 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....