Balcony on the Moon

This memoir follows Ibtisam Barakat from childhood through her teenage years and high school graduation in Palestine.  This is a story we don't often hear about a displaced people living in a war zone. 

Barakat chronicles the struggles of moving because of harassment from the Israeli army to the financial and emotional struggles of her father who loved driving but also suffered from narcolepsy. 

Her greatest struggle though is trying to be herself in a world that doesn't always value girls like it does boys.  Her mother seems to walk the edge of changing times wanting her daughter to be traditional but also allowing her freedom.  These mixed messages often cause conflict like when Ibtisam wants to get a summer job like her brothers. 

Barakat's greatest love is education and writing.  She practices by writing to pen pals all over the world and gets an unexpected boost from a famous literary figure in the Arab world.  But the greatest surprise for Ibtisam is the day her mother announces she wants to go back to school and get her high school diploma.

This is a fascinating read, and I hope the author will continue her story!