Ratings15
Average rating4.1
"In the summer of 2011, just after Nour loses her father to cancer, her mother moves Nour and her sisters from New York City back to Syria to be closer to their family. In order to keep her father's spirit as she adjusts to her new home, Nour tells herself their favorite story--the tale of Rawiya, a twelfth-century girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to apprentice herself to a famous mapmaker. But the Syria Nour's parents knew is changing, and it isn't long before the war reaches their quiet Homs neighborhood. When a stray shell destroys Nour's house and almost takes her life, she and her family are forced to choose: stay and risk more violence or flee across seven countries of the Middle East and North Africa in search of safety--along the very route Rawiya and her mapmaker took eight hundred years before in their quest to chart the world"--Amazon.com.
Reviews with the most likes.
Everything about this book resonated with me, from the modern story of Nour escaping a war-torn Syria to Rawiya's adventures 800 years before. I loved the side-by-side telling of these two stories, and enjoyed the parallels between them. The characters were developed nicely, and Nour's synesthesia made her a compelling character that gave me a glimpse into what it might be like.
This was an easy add to my favorites shelf. Very well done.