Rebels by Accident
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"A powerful coming-of-age story."—Publishers Weekly
A fresh, authentic coming of age story about a rebellious Arab-American girl who finds herself in the middle of a uprising. On her quest for love and adventure on the streets of Cairo, she finds that revolution is everywhere—including in herself.
Miriam just wants to fit in. That's not easy when she's the only Egyptian at her high school and her parents are super traditional. So when she sneaks into a party that gets busted, Mariam knows she's in trouble...big trouble. Convinced she needs more discipline and to reconnect with her roots, Mariam's parents send her to Cairo to stay with her grandmother, her sittu.
But Marian's strict sittu and the country of her heritage are nothing like she imagined, challenging everything Mariam once believed. As Mariam searches for the courage to be true to herself, a teen named Asmaa calls on the people of Egypt to protest their president. The country is on the brink of revolution—and now, in her own way, so is Mariam.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Editor and journalist Dunn debuts with a powerful coming-of-age story (originally self-published), set on the brink of Egypt's January 25 Revolution in 2011. Egyptian-American Mariam struggles with the contradictions of being Muslim in post-9/11 New York City. When the 15-year-old and her best friend Deanna get arrested at their first high school party, Mariam's strict parents send both girls to stay with Mariam's sittu (grandmother) in Cairo. As the girls discover boys, explore the pyramids, and test the limits of their fears and friendship, Mariam finds that Sittu is far from the "Darth Vader's evil sister" she imagined she is clever, loving, and tuned in to social media and the rebellious, hopeful pulse of her country. As Mariam and Deanna are swept into the protests of Tahir Square, they learn the price and the promise of rebellion: tragedy and hope inexorably intermingled. Dunn allows Mariam's voice its space making it tentative, passionate, doubting, and utterly believable while creating a cast of Cairo youth, rebels, and expatriates that upend Mariam's preconceptions and will do the same for many readers. Ages 12 up.
