Safia Ellhilo, Sudanese-American writer, has penned _Home Is Not a Country_, a moving, lyrical, coming-of-age novel in verse, perfect for sophisticated middle school readers and up. Nima, “Grace” in Arabic, the 14 going on 15 year old protagonist and daughter of a single mother, doesn’t fit in and struggles with self-esteem and confidence. Ironically, despite her name, Nima feels anything but graceful. She awkwardly straddles American and Arabic worlds, but fits into neither. On one hand, her appearance marks her as different from the white mainstream and she faces racist taunts about being a terrorist at school. However, Nima feels alienated from her mother culture and language: incapable of conversing in her mother tongue, despite half-heartedly attending Sunday Arabic language class, and lacking her mother’s natural dancing talent. Gazing wistfully at familial photographs, Nima strives to piece together the fractured, mysterious pieces of her family’s life back in Sudan. In particular, she idolizes her father, who died before she was born, and keenly feels his absence, exacerbated because her mother rarely speaks about him. Haunted both by her family’s mysterious past and her dissatisfaction with her present life, Nima imagines romanticized fantasies of an alternative existence in the old country, where her parents are intact, and more significantly, imagines herself as Yasmeen: the confident, beautiful, perfect daughter that her parents never had. As luck would have it, one day, Nima comes face to face with her phantom alter ego—a jinn, or demon, who will lead her astray? Or will Yasmeen provide Nima the opportunity she’s always sought—to find out more about her family’s past? Read this fantastic magical-realism infused novel to find out.

this book was so beautiful. nothing like what I expected. Sometimes I find myself thinking about it alot. I loved it so much after reading from NetGalley I purchased it physical and audio to listen over again.
if you love novels in verse this is worth your time

This is a young adult verse novel. It is interesting and engaging. I think it will appeal more to girls.

In our American culture, we need more understanding of the rich diversity all around us. This young adult book is a lovely depiction of what life is like for someone who does not come from European lineage. Elhillo had set down for readers a rich experience yet portrays those feelings and emotions that make us all human.

Unfortunately my Amazon account got hacked numerous times and I closed my account. When closing the account, I lost all of my electronic kindle ARCs from netgalley under that email including this title which I am unable to review.

Told through poetic vignettes, this book follows the journey of a young immigrant girl who longs for the homeland she never really knew. The writing is beautiful and the characters all struggle with their pain in unique ways. This is a fairly quick read, but I took my time with it so I could really appreciate the way Elhillo writes.

Safia Elhillo's words transform readers into the realities of feeling like you do not belong where you live or where you come. Elhillo also transports readers to lush worlds and into her character's emotional reckoning. Elhillo uses her poetry to dive into racism, bullying and other tough topics but then throws in a touch of magical realism that keeps readers on their toes. It's beautifully written and a story that needs to be told.

This book went on an endcap in the store as soon as it came in. Beautiful and lyrical, it is literary art to say the least. Highly reccomend.

Beautiful cover, very important. Cover can make or break someone picking up the book and reading the back. Simple but beautiful story. Would recommend to others.

I loved this book! This is a novel written in verse, so it’s a quick read. This is about Nima, the daughter of an immigrant single mother.

The story touches on her life as a Muslim teenager, her friendship with her childhood friend (son of her mom’s friend from the other country), and her relationship with her mother.

Nima is unsure of herself and asks the question “What if?” What if her mom had named her Yasmeen instead? What if Yasmeen was more confident? What if her parents were together? What if they stayed in their home country?

This story really resonated with me, as I am also a daughter of immigrants. Whether or not you’ve ever felt “ni de aquí ni de allá” I’m sure we can all relate to asking those “what if” questions or the feeling of wanting to be “more.” It’s a fast read and the way Elhillo writes is beautiful and descriptive. I highly recommend this book, especially for fans of young adult books.

This was beautiful and haunting. Minimalist but evocative and with a real sense of place and consequence.

Poetry scares me a little bit, honestly. I always feel like maybe I’m not smart enough for it? I just remember struggling with it in, like, HS and being forever like, eh, maybe it’s not for me? BUT, I’ve been seeing this book around and @plant_the_read posted about it in her stories, and I trust her! So, I decided to give it a shot and I’m SO thankful that I did!

This was more a novel in verse, and I found the format and flow to be wonderful, and I understood what was going on y’all!

Like many children of immigrants, Nima does not feel like she belongs. Her mother grew up in a different time and place, a place that Nima herself doesn’t remember. She struggles to connect to that place, as much as she struggles to connect to her suburban town in the United States. She feels displaced. She has only one friend, Haitham, who she has known since childhood, who seems to be fitting in better than she. Meanwhile, in this post-9/11 world, Nima is called names and is continually harassed by her classmates.

Nima wishes that her mother never left her country. That she had a different life. That she was someone else.

A little bit of magic and some beautiful, lyrical writing encompassing a variety of themes made this such a wonderful reading experience. I think anyone who has ever wished they were someone else would connect with this book.

Thank you Random House & NetGalley for the eARC.

Ever since reading Clap When You Land last summer I have looked for new releases written in verse since I loved the format so much. While I did like how it was used in this novel, I struggled with this one.

Home Is Not a Country is the story of Nima as she struggles to find her identity as a first generation American. My main issue with the book is the use of magical realism for a majority of the book. While I get the symbolism that the author was going for, I just am not a fan of that element and I struggled to enjoy those parts. This is a me thing and I am sure others will love it. Nima's struggles with "fitting in" will really resonate with YA readers and I did overall like the book. I would recommend this one for fans of Long Way Down.

I honestly loved this one a lot.

It’s a novel written in verse about a community of immigrants among whom we’re following Nima and her family. Nima is fascinated by the homeland she never got to be a part of before her mother and her best friend had moved out to the States. She holds on to her mother’s old pictures and memorizes all her favorite Arabic songs to keep that connection to her homeland, and in turn, the connection to her deceased father alive.

She earns the name "nostalgia monster" from her best friend Haitham for this reason that always keeps her wanting to be someone else in a faraway place.

This story explores that ruminative thought- who would we be if a different path had been laid out for those who came before us? It’s an interesting thought and the story brings in a slight dash of magical realism to dive into this strange concept.

While the first half highlights the ugly and unfair sides of the immigrant experience, including racism and bullying from Nima’s peers, the second half focuses on establishing that maybe the past is not all that it seems and perhaps Nima’s true happiness and home has been right in front of her this whole time.

I don’t want to say anything more, it’s best to go into this not knowing much! Thank you @prhinternational for sending me an E-copy of Home is Not a Country!

I really enjoyed this collection and highly recommend it. I thought it was a compelling in-verse story that was able to showcase Arabic culture. I think the story and message itself is spectacular and something everyone should read. The reason I took a star off is because I felt like there was something missing in terms of the construction of the story, where I needed something more.

Home is Not A country is a beautifully written story by Safia Elhillo. It tells the story of Nima, a teenager of Muslim descent trying to find her place in America while also trying to stay true to her Muslim roots. Needless to say it is not a simple task. Especially for someone who is attending high school. I really liked the fact that the author wrote this story before and after 9/11 happened. It gives the reader an overall perspective what is was like for the Muslim people who had lived in America all of their lives to suddenly be treated like they were the enemy. This makes Nima feel unwanted and wish that she and her mother had never left their original home country. Something that I'm sure all immigrants feel at some point in their life, but still heartbreaking to read about. Then the story takes and interesting turn that really surprised me and delved into the Magical Realism category with Yasmeen. I do not want to spoil the story, so I will just say that the way that the author tells the history of Nima's family is so unique and crafted in a way that will mesmerize the reader with every word that they read. I would give this book a five out of five stars and recommend it to any one who reads. WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK!

I couldn't get into this, it was not what I was expecting. I am sure there is a reader for it but it is not me.

This reminded me a lot of Black Girl Unlimited, in that I appreciate the protagonist of color's story, but I am not a fan of the magical realism. This was short and I didn't really feel like I was invested in the characters, even though I was invested somewhat in their story.

There were also a lot of time jumps that made the story more confusing than it should have been. Nima learning to love herself is important, but this was too convoluted to me. I really did appreciate the cultural aspects, but not the actual book.

Raw and emotional. The thread about the main character’s name were some of my favorite chapters. I think this book speaks to readers who are also struggling with their identities and trying to fit in.

Nima is a Sudanese immigrant struggling to fit in with her peers and find herself in post 9/11 America. She takes Arabic classes at the behest of her mother in an attempt to keep her connected to her Sudanese identity. Her best friend, Haitham, also suffers through those classes, This is a story about a girl mourning the loss of her dad and herself. It is a beautiful work of magical realism told through verses weaving the story together. It worked well with the story, but I didn't really connect with the characters. I think the style hindered their development.