63 pages • 2 hours read
Jasmine WargaA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Jude lives in a Syrian city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the summer before her seventh-grade year. Tourists from places like Damascus, Beirut, Doha, and Aleppo usually crowd their seaside city; this year, though, the city expects far fewer tourists from Aleppo. Jude’s father (Baba) frowns upon her asking questions of tourists and strangers; he tells her “Jude, skety” (4), which means “be quiet, don’t talk.”
Jude explains that her seaside city, “where the rest of Syria comes when they want to / breathe” (5-6), looks different from cities like Aleppo, with their crowded buildings and noise. Jude’s closest friend and cousin, Fatima, thinks that no one will come to visit their city this year. Fatima is 24 days older than Jude, and they grew up together, “always in step, / four feet pointed in the same direction” (7). Now, though, Jude thinks Fatima is “kilometers ahead” (8); Fatima has begun menstruating and wearing the traditional headscarf, making her one of the first in their grade to do so.
At asroneyah (afternoon snack), either Jude’s Mama or Fatima’s mother (Jude’s Aunt Amal) gives them food like olives, bread, and jebnah (cheese).
By Jasmine Warga
American Literature
View Collection
Books About Art
View Collection
Challenging Authority
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Fear
View Collection
Immigrants & Refugees
View Collection
Juvenile Literature
View Collection
Newbery Medal & Honor Books
View Collection
Novels & Books in Verse
View Collection
Popular Study Guides
View Collection
Power
View Collection
Realistic Fiction (Middle Grade)
View Collection
Required Reading Lists
View Collection