Available:*
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Winner of the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's/Young Adult
One of Rolling Stone 's 40 Best YA Novels
A 2014 ALA Rainbow List Top 10 Title
A Booklist Top 10 First Novels for Youth 2013
A Chicago Public Library "Best of the Best" 2013
In this stunning debut, a young Iranian American writer pulls back the curtain on one of the most hidden corners of a much-talked-about culture.
Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They've shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love--Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light.
So they carry on in secret--until Nasrin's parents announce that they've arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they had before, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively--and openly.
Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution. In Iran, homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped in a woman's body is seen as nature's mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. As a man, Sahar could be the one to marry Nasrin. Sahar will never be able to love the one she wants in the body she wants to be loved in without risking her life. Is saving her love worth sacrificing her true self?
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-In this terrific debut novel, readers meet Sahar, a 17-year-old student who lives in Tehran. She is smart and ambitious, and she has a secret that could get her arrested or even killed; she is a lesbian and is in love with her best friend. When Nasrin's parents arrange for her to marry a young male doctor, Sahar knows that she and Nasrin will no longer be able to be with each other. When desperate Sahar meets transsexual Parveen at a party given by her gay cousin, she thinks she sees a way to be with Nasrin. In Iran, it is not illegal to be transsexual, as it is to be gay or lesbian, and the state will even pay for sex reassignment surgery because it is seen as a necessary medical procedure. Sahar pursues sex reassignment, dreaming of marrying Nasrin even though she knows in her heart that she doesn't really want to become a man. As Nasrin's wedding approaches, Sahar realizes its inevitability and must decide what she is going to do. Farizan's portrayal of Sahar and her predicament is sensitive and heartbreaking. Even less-sympathetic characters, such as Nasrin and her parents, are portrayed in a nuanced manner; in the culture Farizan depicts, the girls' fears that their romantic relationship will become known are realistic and understandable. Rich with details of life in contemporary Iran, this is a GLBTQ story that we haven't seen before in YA fiction. Highly recommended.-Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Farizan's novel set in contemporary Iran, 17-year-old Sahar struggles with her love for her best friend, a girl named Nasrin, whom she has wanted to marry for over a decade. Nasrin loves Sahar, but decides to accept an arranged marriage-which eventually prompts Sahar to consider sex reassignment surgery, the only legal way the two could be together. Farsad's narration is heartwarming, and she creates unique voices for various characters-including the flighty and somewhat shallow Nasrin; the more serious, passionate Sahar; Sahar's edgy cousin Ali; and Ali's gentle friend Parveen. Altogether, a winning, timely, and important audio production. Ages 14-up. An Algonquin hardcover. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
Being a teenage girl is tough enough, but when you live in Iran and you're gay-in a country where homosexuality is not just considered sinful but illegal-life seems almost impossible. Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend Nasrin since she was six years old. They've been subsisting on secret romantic encounters and impossible promises, but now that Nasrin is 18, her mother insists that she marry. After the upcoming nuptials, the girls will lose any chance for their relationship to continue. The loss of Nasrin's love is more than Sahar can handle, and she begins searching for extreme ways to make their relationship possible. Listeners will gain insight into life as a gay young woman in an unaccepting world, and Sahar's desperation to be with the one she loves is a story with which all can empathize. Negin Farsad's inconsistency in character voices makes dialog among characters difficult to follow at times, but the overall story is not lost. VERDICT Recommended.-Elizabeth Hoff, Bulverde Spring Branch Lib., TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.