In this companion memoir to Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (2007), Barakat continues her tale of growing up in Palestine from 1972-1981, a politically turbulent time. As a high school student, Barakat reminds herself that while she -cannot do anything about Iraq and Iran, the American hostages, Lebanon, the civil war and the Palestinian camps,- she can study for her exams. Themes of equal rights and education for girls become especially poignant as Barakat-s mother acknowledges that leaving school for marriage felt -worse than death- and decides to resume her high school studies. Divided into five parts correlating with the family-s five homes, the book captures Barakat-s growing understanding of the complex dynamics in her parents- marriage, her outrage at gender-based restrictions, and her determination not to live a life like that of her mother. When her willingness to question and explore opens doors for her, Barakat receives encouragement and support from surprising sources, validating her sister-s statement that -being Palestinian teaches you to be ready for any destiny.- This is a compelling personal history, brimming with humor, wisdom, and empathy. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)

Growing up in the 1970s was hard for a young girl in Palestine. Written in five different parts, each chronicling her family's life in different homes, Barakat's memoir highlights what life was like growing up in Israeli-occupied Palestine. This book takes place where Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (Macmillan, 2007/VOYA June 2007) left off, although it could be a stand-alone novel, starting at second grade and continuing through high school. Beginning only seven months after "Black September," during which thousands of Palestinians living in Jordan were killed after engaging in a battle to regain Palestine from Israel following many years of warring, Barakat intimately shares her story about survival, courage, and learning to never lose one's sense of identity despite the circumstances; she and her family were "made to live with no land, no country, no rights, no safety, and no respect for our dignity." Stories of her father's deep depression over trying to provide for a large family as a truck driver while battling narcolepsy escalates quickly into a darker story as he threatens to attempt suicide and the entire family accompanies him on his daredevil ride, deciding to all die together.Barakat's writing and education take center stage as it is her commitment to these that inspires her mother to return to school and complete her studies. Lyrical and moving, Barakat's first-person, present-tense story catapults the reader into a time when political tensions and the battle for human rights rage on, and the fight, not only for survival, but to have a voice is in full swing. Not to be missed, this memoir is a wonderful additional to any library.Stephanie Wilkes.

Gr 7 Up-An endearing memoir from an acclaimed author. This work picks up after the events of Barakat's previous title, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood , which left off in 1971. Barakat's lovely, lyrical style depicts an adolescence that will be simultaneously familiar to readers in its universal themes (struggle to become one's own person, family life and its usual squabbles) and very different in its backdrop of 1970s Palestine. The era was rife with political turmoilthe region was still reeling from the Six-Day War in 1967 and the continued fallout. With dreams of becoming a writer, Barakat embarked on a new path. She found encouragement from the adults in her life, especially her mother, who decided she wants an education, too. Barakat's recollections of her mother's educational pursuits are especially poignant. She reflects on her mother's chafing at the religious and cultural norms that forced her to leave school after the sixth grade and to marry at 15. Barakat wonderfully captures the mood of the time and place once again. At times humorous and heartbreaking, this work will immerse readers in Barakat's experience, leaving them withperhaps—a broadened worldview. VERDICT Highly recommended for upper middle school and high school libraries.— Elaine Baran Black, Georgia Public Library Service, Atlanta

In this sequel to Tasting the Sky (2007), a memoir and winner of the Arab American Book Award, Barakat moves beyond her early school years during the Six-Day War and its uprooting aftermath. She focuses on the years 1971 81, when she feisty protofeminist d her family shifted about in the occupied West Bank, trying to find a place that felt safe and like home. This family of seven is financially strapped rakat's father is a truck driver afflicted with narcolepsy, a potentially deadly combination d readers will be astounded at how often they relocate. The through line is Barakat's overwhelming hunger for education, a passion that she eventually shares with her mother, whom she tutors so that they might tackle high school in tandem. The beauty of the writing is its clear-eyed matter-of-factness. Barakat doesn't plead for sympathy (political or emotional); she just recalls, in concrete detail, this particular world as she experienced it as a young woman, and the result is as inspiring as it is engrossing.