In the Country I Love by Al-Barkawi, Alaa
In the Country I Love by Al-Barkawi, Alaa

In the Country I Love

Two Iraqi American best friends--a struggling teen father and the community's golden boy--confront dark truths about their...
$23.98 USD
$23.98 USD
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Author: Alaa Al-Barkawi
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $23.98
In the Country I Love by Al-Barkawi, Alaa

In the Country I Love

$23.98
In the Country I Love by Al-Barkawi, Alaa

In the Country I Love

$23.98
Author: Alaa Al-Barkawi
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Description
Two Iraqi American best friends--a struggling teen father and the community's golden boy--confront dark truths about their families in the wake of a devastating crime in this heartrending YA debut.

As a seventeen-year-old single dad and a soon-to-be high school drop-out, Yassir Al-Azzawi's lapsed Shia faith is just another thing convincing his parents he's a failure. One more mistake, and they'll send him back to their homeland, a war-torn Iraq.

Khaled Al-Hakim is perfect on paper: devout in his faith, a straight-A student, and captain of the debate team. But beneath the surface, Khaled is no saint either, and his worst sin yet is ignoring his parents' command to stay away from Yassir.

When their secret friendship is exposed, the consequences set off a series of events that cause family secrets from both sides to come to light, and neither Yassir nor Khaled are prepared to learn the stains that taint their family names.

Told through multiple POVs across time, this authentic exploration of the Shia Muslim experience in the U.S. seamlessly combines classic YA themes of identity, coming-of-age, and relationships with timely social themes of racism, Islamophobia, and justice. This compelling, contemporary debut is perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir's All My Rage and Markus Zusak's The Book Thief.

Author: Alaa Al-Barkawi
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Published: 05/26/2026
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.12h x 5.21w x 1.35d
ISBN: 9781682638101
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 75
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2026
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2026
Booklist 03/01/2026

About the Author
Alaa Al-Barkawi is a first-generation, Iraqi American Shia Muslim writer. She is the co-runner of QuillersSWANA, a literary organization dedicated to Southwest Asian and North African writers, and serves as a Literary Peace Ambassador for Threads of Peace. Alaa holds a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University and has worked with refugee and immigrant students for nearly a decade. In the Country I Love is her debut novel. Visit her website at AlaaWrites.com and follow her on Instagram @AlaaAlBarkawi.
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