A debut novel that tells the story of Rasa, a young gay man coming of age in the Middle East Set over the course of twenty-four hours, Guapa follows Rasa, a gay man living in an unnamed Arab country, as he tries to carve out a life for himself in the midst of political and social upheaval. Rasa spends his days translating for Western journalists and pining for the nights when he can sneak his lover, Taymour, into his room. One night Rasa's grandmother — the woman who raised him — catches them in bed together. The following day Rasa is consumed by the search for his best friend Maj, a fiery activist and drag queen star of the underground bar, Guapa, who has been arrested by the police. Ashamed to go home and face his grandmother, and reeling from the potential loss of the three most important people in his life, Rasa roams the city’s slums and prisons, the lavish weddings of the country’s elite, and the bars where outcasts and intellectuals drink to a long-lost revolution. Each new encounter leads him closer to confronting his own identity, as he revisits his childhood and probes the secrets that haunt his family. As Rasa confronts the simultaneous collapse of political hope and his closest personal relationships, he is forced to discover the roots of his alienation and try to re-emerge into a society that may never accept him.

From Erick Erickson, "arguably the most powerful conservative in America today" (The Atlantic), an inspiring book about life's enduring values, based on a viral essay he wrote for his children after he and his wife both faced grave medical situations. "A must read." -- RedState In late 2016, prompted by the news that his wife was battling cancer and his own pulmonary medical scare, Erick Erickson posted a piece to his website, The Resurgent. Styled as a letter to his young children, the piece, titled "If I Should Die Before You Wake," was a stirring message--and challenge--about how to live a life of purpose and joy. The essay went viral, shared by figures like New York Times columnist and author of The Road to Character, David Brooks. Now, in a time when our country needs healing and a reminder of our values more than ever, Erickson has expanded the project, composing a total of ten letters, featuring a wonderful mix of the practical, inspirational, and spiritual.

"If you're looking for words of wisdom, you won't find them here, 'cause they're drenched in scotch and beer... But there's something there underneath it all, some ordinary life." Economic emigration has never seemed so hopeless, and yet so promising. An engrossing portrayal of a hard-won life led by so many today, from Polish creators Dominik Szcześniak and Rafał Trejnis.

Out of the revolutions across the Arab world, comes this inspirational story of with hope, freedom, and belonging, perfect for fans of Other Words for Home and A Good Kind of Trouble. Kareem Haddad of Damascus, Syria, never dreamed of becoming a graffiti artist. But when a group of boys from another town tag subversive slogans outside their school, and another boy is killed while in custody, Kareem and his friends are inspired to start secretly tagmessages of freedom around their city. Meanwhile, in the United States, his cousin, Samira, has been trying to make her own mark. Anxious to fit in at school, she joins the Spirit Squad where her natural artistic ability attracts the attention of the popular leader. Then Kareem is sent to live with Sam’s family, and their worlds collide. As graffitied messages appear around town and all eyes turn to Kareem, Sam must make a choice: does she shy away to protect her new social status, or does she stand with her cousin? Informed by her time as a journalist, author Rhonda Roumani's Tagging Freedom is a thoughtful look at the intersection between art and activism, infused with rich details and a realistic portrayal of how war affects and inspires children, similar to middle grade books for middle schoolers by Aisha Saeed, The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandi, or Refugee by Alan Gratz.

WINNER OF THE SUE KAUFMAN PRIZE FOR FICTION WINNER OF A BETTY TRASK AWARD WINNER OF A PALESTINE BOOK AWARD National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree “Superb . . . The Parisian makes history, and its actors, live once again.”—Boston Globe A masterful debut novel by Plimpton Prize winner Isabella Hammad, The Parisian illuminates a pivotal period of Palestinian history through the journey and romances of one young man, from his studies in France during World War I to his return to Palestine at the dawn of its battle for independence. Midhat Kamal is the son of a wealthy textile merchant from Nablus, a town in Ottoman Palestine. A dreamer, a romantic, an aesthete, in 1914 he leaves to study medicine in France, and falls in love. When Midhat returns to Nablus to find it under British rule, and the entire region erupting with nationalist fervor, he must find a way to cope with his conflicting loyalties and the expectations of his community. The story of Midhat’s life develops alongside the idea of a nation, as he and those close to him confront what it means to strive for independence in a world that seems on the verge of falling apart. Against a landscape of political change that continues to define the Middle East, The Parisian explores questions of power and identity, enduring love, and the uncanny ability of the past to disrupt the present. Lush and immersive, and devastating in its power, The Parisian is an elegant, richly-imagined debut from a dazzling new voice in fiction.

Ever wonder what it’s like to live in Qatar? Well M hadn’t. He couldn’t have even found it on a map... then found himself there. When M arrived in Qatar from London on his newly-minted expat assignment, he didn’t expect to be confronted with life’s most existential choices...so immediately. And he dragged his girlfriend-cum-wife too. “But I wanted to go to Singapore,” she said. “We got at least half-way there!” From job offer, to eloping in Las Vegas (because living together out of wedlock is haram), to having a kid - and back again, “TIQ” is a humorous, if not slightly exaggerated, acerbic account of an amateur expat’s trials and tribulations waaaay out of his depth in a country, frankly, he had never heard of. If you’re about to move to Qatar, or if you ever thought you wanted to visit (you KNOW you want to), TIQ will help you frame (and perhaps even answer) some non-trivial questions such as: - What would you choose with your marginal dollar - beer, or bacon? - Is it OK to eat your lunch on the toilet? - Who’s that scary voice on the radio every morning? and - Are traffic signs really just...guidelines? If you weren’t planning on moving to Qatar, or even visiting - the shock, laughs and jaw-droppingly ridiculous happenstances might just even move the needle (albeit slightly). Way back when M got his Hebrew tattoo, his mom, like any good Jewish-American, said, “Well, now you’ll never be able to go to the Middle East.” M just scoffed and said, “Middle East? Me? Never.” Who’s laughing now? (And by the way: the answer is definitely never bacon.)

"A genuine tour-de-force" - Lesley McDowell on 'An Exquisite Sense of What Is Beautiful'. Palestine 1920s. Working as a land agent for one of the richest men in the world, Polish-Jewish immigrant Lev Sela finds himself swept into a passionate relationship with Celia Kahn, a beautiful Scottish pioneer, after stumbling upon a strategic area of land that doesn't exist on any map. The resultant struggle for ownership involves the Jews, the Arabs, the Zionists, the British, a Russian engineer with ambitions to build a hydro-electric power station and the Bedouin living there. Touching on issues of identity, idealism, displacement, community, socialism and feminism, The Land Agent is the third title in J. David Simons' magnum opus 'From Glasgow to Galilee' – a loose trilogy following his award-winning novels The Credit Draper and The Liberation of Celia Kahn.