Zara Hossain Is Here 12+

About this book

Stand Up, Speak Out, Stay True.

Ever since her family moved to Texas from Pakistan when she was a baby, seventeen-year-old Zara Hossain has only ever called Corpus Christi home. Being the only Muslim girl at her conservative Catholic school, blending in isn’t really an option, especially with people like Tyler Benson always tormenting her.

But one day Tyler takes things too far by defacing Zara’s locker with a racist message, which gets him suspended. As an act of revenge, Tyler and his friends vandalize the Hossains’ house with Islamophobic graffiti, which leads to a violent crime that puts Zara and her family’s entire future at risk. Now she must choose between fighting to stay in the only place she’s ever called home and losing the life she loves and everyone in it.

Zara Hossain is Here is a timely and intimate novel about what it means to be an immigrant in America today and the endurance of hope and faith in the face of hate.

Reviews

Praise for Zara Hossain Is Here:

Featured in The New York Times

* "[Zara Hossain Is Here] establishes Khan as a powerful rising voice in YA." —Booklist, starred review

"Fans of Samira Ahmed, Tahereh Mafi, and Randa Abdel-Fattah will find Khan's powerful work timely and affecting." —School Library Journal

"Khan's examination of the legal difficulties many immigrants face on their road to citizenship, and the precariousness of the immigrant experience more generally, fortify this timely novel." —Teen Vogue

* "Khan unapologetically tackles prejudice in its various manifestations while simultaneously engaging openly with the complexities of accountability. The myriad forms of oppression the most vulnerable face in our society intersect in the character of Zara, challenging readers to ask what it means for some to feel at home in a country whose systems feel built to exclude them. A vivid account exploring issues many immigrant teens face." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Khan creates a gripping story line centering the conflict between prejudice and tolerance." —Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali:

Featured on NBC News and the BBC

A Junior Library Guild Selection

A Teen Indie Next List Pick (IndieBound)

An ALA-YALSA Quick Picks for Young Adult Readers Book

A Rainbow Book List Top Ten Book of the Year

"An intersectional, diverse coming of age story that will break your heart in the best way." —Bustle

* "With an up-close depiction of the intersection of the LGBTQIA+ community with Bengali culture, this hard-hitting and hopeful story is a must-purchase for any YA collection." —School Library Journal, starred review

"This book will break your heart and then, chapter by chapter, piece it back together again. A much-needed addition to any YA shelf." —Sandhya Menon, New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi

"Heart-wrenching yet hopeful, The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali is an insightful and honest look at the tangled web of identity, culture, familial loyalty, and love. Sabina Khan crafts a powerful, poignant story about finding yourself, about speaking your truth, and about stepping out of the shadows and into the light." —Samira Ahmed, New York Times bestselling author of Love, Hate and Other Filters and Internment

"A daring and timely novel, The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali delves head-and-heart-first into the universal complexities of navigating duty and desire, tradition and modernity, and friends and family—the one we are born into and the one we choose; the friends who are family, and the family we strive to befriend—all through the prism of multicultured identity. Political, personal, page-turning. Sabina Khan is one to watch." —Tanuja Desai Hidier, author of Born Confused and Bombay Blues

"Bold, heartbreaking, yet hopeful. A story that will stay with you for years to come." —Sara Farizan, Lambda Award-winning author of If You Could Be Mine

"The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali unapologetically explores the complex ties between families, friends, and intersectional diversity. Khan brings talent and voice in this brilliant novel that will keep you reading until the very last page." —Nisha Sharma, author of My So-Called Bollywood Life

"[The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali] takes LGBTQ fiction to another level and will help open readers' eyes to the realities that many face in these changing times." —Shelf Awareness