Between Two Moons A Novel
Between Two Moons by Aisha Abdel Gawad, published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group on May 7, 2024, is a novel that explores the complexities of family and identity within the Arab immigrant community in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Set during Ramadan, the story follows twin sisters Amira and Lina as they navigate their final days of high school and the transition into adulthood. Their plans for a carefree summer are disrupted by the return of their older brother from prison, whose enigmatic behavior threatens the family’s fragile equilibrium.
Readers will find a richly woven narrative that delves into themes of survival, celebration, and the challenges faced by young Muslims in America. As tensions rise in their neighborhood due to community unrest and acts of violence, the sisters must confront their own beliefs and the shifting dynamics within their family and community. This edition spans 336 pages and is presented in English, offering an intimate look at the lives of its characters against a backdrop of social and cultural upheaval.
Official synopsis Publisher
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FOR FICTION, BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY BOOK PRIZE, AND THE NEW AMERICAN VOICES AWARD • A BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF 2023 • Set in the Arab immigrant enclave of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, following three siblings coming of age over the course of one Ramadan, “a moving look at family, survival, and celebration” (Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil in America).
“A gorgeously written and profoundly intimate debut.” —Etaf Rum, author of New York Times bestseller A Woman Is No Man
It’s the holy month of Ramadan, and twin sisters Amira and Lina are about to graduate high school in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. On the precipice of adulthood, they plan to embark on a summer of teenage revelry, trying on new identities and testing the limits of what they can get away with while still under their parents’ roof. But the twins’ expectations of a summer of freedom collide with their older brother’s return from prison, whose mysterious behavior threatens to undo the delicate family balance.
Meanwhile, outside the family’s apartment, a storm is brewing in Bay Ridge. A raid on a local business sparks a protest that brings the Arab community together, and a senseless act of violence threatens to tear them apart. Everyone’s motives are called into question as an alarming sense of disquiet pervades the neighborhood. With everything spiraling out of control, how will Amira and Lina know who they can trust?
A gorgeously written, intimate family story and a polyphonic portrait of life under the specter of Islamophobia, Between Two Moons challenges the reader to interrogate their own assumptions, asking questions of allegiance to faith, family, and community, and what it means to be a young Muslim in America.
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