Celebrate Arab American Heritage Month by reading young adult books written by contemporary Arab American YA authors!
YA Arab American Heritage Month
Compiled by:
Fern S.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Courtne)
Allie was seven years old when she learned her family was different and feared. Now, she struggles to claim her Muslim and Arabic heritage while finding her place as an American teenager.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Katouh)
Salama Kassab, a pharmacy student volunteering at the hospital in Homs, is desperate to find passage on a refugee boat for herself and her pregnant best friend, but first she must learn to see the events around her for what they are—not a war, but a revolution.
Only available from eLibrary resources.
Over 82 poems and paragraphs, Naomi Shihab Nye alights on the essentials of our time—our loved ones, our dense air, our wars, our memories, our planet—and leaves us feeling curiously sweeter and profoundly soothed.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Abdelfa)
Michael's parents are leaders of a new anti-immigrant political party called Aussie Values, which is trying to halt the flood of refugees from the Middle East. Mina fled Afghanistan with her family 10 years ago, but the mutual attraction between Mina and Michael demands that they come to terms with their family's concerns and decide where they stand in the ugly anti-Muslim politics of the time.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Daud)
In a world dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry; she dreams of having adventures, and traveling beyond her isolated home. But, when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects.
(Juvenile Fiction - J Warga)
Estranged from the best friend whose brother killed her sister in a school shooting, a grieving Cora receives a message on her 12th birthday from her friend, asking for her help with creating a time portal to prevent the tragedy.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Safi)
In this reimagination of the legend of Robin Hood, Rahma al-Hud and her older sister Zeena travel to Jerusalem for a final mission, and on their way, they assemble a ragtag band of misfits and get swept up Holy Land politics.
(Young Adult Fiction - Y Faizal)
In a world inspired by ancient Arabia, 17-year-old huntress Zafira must disguise herself as a man to seek a lost artifact that could return magic to her cursed world.
Graphic Novels
(Graphic Novels - GN Fahmy Huda F Are You)
Huda and her family just moved to Dearborn, Michigan, a small town with a big Muslim population. In her old town, Huda knew exactly who she was—she was the hijabi girl. But in Dearborn, everyone is the hijabi girl. Huda is lost in a sea of hijabis, and she can't rely on her hijab to define her anymore. She has to define herself.
(Juvenile Graphic Novels - J-GN )
In this coming-of-age graphic novel with a fantastical twist, Nayra Mansour, a Muslim American, girl is helped on her journey to selfhood by a djinn.
(Graphic Novels - GN Shammas Squire)
Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, and Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program.