The Story
From the celebrated author of As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow comes a poignant novel about a Syrian American girl who uses a magical sketchbook to turn her grief into art, painting miraculous murals of her mother's life in Syria.
Seventeen-year-old Jihad Dabbagh has always seen life with a heightened sense for colors, one of many magical blessings the women in her family possess. But Jihad's gift changes depending on her mood. When depression sets in, the world is a colorless oasis, and in the wake of her mother's sudden death, the world has become a permanent shade of grey.Broken by tragedy, Jihad's family doesn't believe her color loss. Her father sends her to the elite Braxton Academy to finish her senior year. There, Jihad's name and hijab put a target on her back. Her haven comes in the form of an old sketchbook carved from a tree in her hometown in Syria--a country she only knew through her mother's stories. Jihad hasn't picked up a brush in over a year, but finds herself channeling the colors of her hurt, pain, and grief as she paints the story of her mother's journey in Syria.
When graffiti of that same mural starts magically popping up all over New York, her art goes viral and the world takes notice, the threat of legal consequences is imminent. To reclaim her voice, Jihad will have to paint a new future for herself and Braxton, guided by the resilience of her mother's story.
Author: Zoulfa Katouh
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 06/02/2026
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.96lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.78w x 1.25d
ISBN: 9780316351942
Audience: Young Adult
Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2026
School Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 73
Publishers Weekly 03/23/2026
Booklist 04/01/2026
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2026
About the Author
Zoulfa Katouh is the award-winning and bestselling author of the novel As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow and The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue. Her books have been translated into over twenty-five languages and As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow was a Governor General's Award finalist and a Yoto Carnegie Medal nominee. Zoulfa holds a degree in pharmacy and a master's in Drug Sciences. She resides in Switzerland where she lives as a Studio Ghibli protagonist who is surrounded by a never-ending stack of books that keeps growing.
Description
From the celebrated author of As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow comes a poignant novel about a Syrian American girl who uses a magical sketchbook to turn her grief into art, painting miraculous murals of her mother's life in Syria.
Seventeen-year-old Jihad Dabbagh has always seen life with a heightened sense for colors, one of many magical blessings the women in her family possess. But Jihad's gift changes depending on her mood. When depression sets in, the world is a colorless oasis, and in the wake of her mother's sudden death, the world has become a permanent shade of grey.Broken by tragedy, Jihad's family doesn't believe her color loss. Her father sends her to the elite Braxton Academy to finish her senior year. There, Jihad's name and hijab put a target on her back. Her haven comes in the form of an old sketchbook carved from a tree in her hometown in Syria--a country she only knew through her mother's stories. Jihad hasn't picked up a brush in over a year, but finds herself channeling the colors of her hurt, pain, and grief as she paints the story of her mother's journey in Syria.
When graffiti of that same mural starts magically popping up all over New York, her art goes viral and the world takes notice, the threat of legal consequences is imminent. To reclaim her voice, Jihad will have to paint a new future for herself and Braxton, guided by the resilience of her mother's story.
Author: Zoulfa Katouh
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 06/02/2026
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.96lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.78w x 1.25d
ISBN: 9780316351942
Audience: Young Adult
Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2026
School Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 73
Publishers Weekly 03/23/2026
Booklist 04/01/2026
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2026
About the Author
Zoulfa Katouh is the award-winning and bestselling author of the novel As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow and The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue. Her books have been translated into over twenty-five languages and As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow was a Governor General's Award finalist and a Yoto Carnegie Medal nominee. Zoulfa holds a degree in pharmacy and a master's in Drug Sciences. She resides in Switzerland where she lives as a Studio Ghibli protagonist who is surrounded by a never-ending stack of books that keeps growing.
