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A Graphic Novel
by Sherine Hamdy
A poignant coming-of-age graphic novel about an Egyptian American girl grappling with college, her family, and the political realities of her wider world.
Anisa is following in her sister Reem's footsteps: She's a freshman at her sister's alma mater, she's on the same premed track, and she's inherited Reem's old hotpot, mini-fridge, and textbooks. Even though Anisa would prefer to study art, her parents discount that as a valid career choice. The path laid out before her starts to crumble as Anisa feels she doesn't belong—either in her organic chemistry class or among the other Muslim students on campus.
When Anisa fails her first semester, she begs her parents to let her take time off to visit Cairo and stay with her beloved grandfather. Finally free to have her own experiences, Anisa begins a journey of self-discovery and, as she bumps up against familial, societal, and religious expectations, she starts to develop her own artistic voice. When Anisa returns to the United States, many of these expectations shift, but she learns to draw on the love of friends and family—including those she's often at odds with—in order to stay true to herself.
"A measured, thoughtful, and complex coming-of-age story. Visually engaging…widely accessible…[and] emotionally resonant." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Layered explorations of complex intersections of identity, religion, and politics are accompanied by emotive b&w artwork, conveyed via impressively dynamic layouts with elaborate and immersive scenery." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Refreshing, timely, and well developed, this exploration of the idea of home reminds readers that the world is so much bigger than our living rooms." —Booklist (starred review)
"Hamdy's narrative of culture complexity is powerful…a riveting read. El Mir's illustrations are perfectly paired, full of free-flowing humor and occasional strokes of solemnity…An open-hearted coming-of-age story." —School Library Journal (starred review)
"A deeply emotional read. Landing in Place is relatable to all children of immigrants who desperately want to know more about their families' past, powerful in the way it weaves historical and political facts through layers of generational trauma, and a good reminder that while Muslims may practice differently, we should still find unity and mutual respect within our shared faith." —Huda Fahmy, author of National Book Award finalist Huda F Cares?
This information about Landing in Place was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Sherine Hamdy is a medical anthropologist who teaches courses on comics, Middle East culture, and literary anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. She is the author of Our Bodies Belong to God and co-creator of the graphic novel Lissa. She co-edits ethnoGRAPHIC, an academic series that publishes works integrating ethnography and comics for the University of Toronto Press.
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