LoveReading4Kids Says
October 2022 Debut of the Month
Ferociously affecting and blazing with hope, Zoulfa Katouh’s As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow tells an unforgettable story of a young woman whose heart is conflicted between love for her family and love for her Syrian homeland.
It’s a powerful debut that cuts to the core of what it means to feel loss, longing and love. A formidable story about “the ones who have no choice but to leave their home”, as the author writes in her afterword.
Until the fight for freedom erupted in Syria, 18-year-old Salama was a pharmacy student with a family and future. Now pretty much all she has is voluntary hospital work that sees her strive to save those who’ve been injured by military bombings and sniper attacks.
While dealing with the ethical and emotional challenges of not being able to save all her patients, Salama is torn between needing to leave Syria to survive, and feeling she should stay to save her people and fight for her country. This devastating dilemma is heightened when she meets a young man, Kenan, who has links to her past. “This is my country. If I run away - if I don’t defend it, then who will?”, her tells her, and asserts he will never leave.
As they form a beautiful bond, the young couple realise there’s more than one way to rally for freedom, with Salama remarking that, “We are stripped from our choices, so we latch on to what will ensure our survival.” Transcending age boundaries, and showing the very worst and best of humanity, this reveals truths about a tyrannical regime that’s destroyed the lives of so many Syrians while telling a remarkable tale of love and hope.
Read more about this breathtaking debut in a Q&A with the author Zoulfa Katouh.
Joanne Owen
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As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow Synopsis
A love letter to Syria and its people, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a speculative novel set amid the Syrian Revolution, burning with the fires of hope, love, and possibility. Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Salt to the Sea.
Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager's life.
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.
But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.
Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are-not a war, but a revolution-and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria's freedom.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780316351485 |
| Publication date: |
26th March 2024 |
| Author: |
Zoulfa Katouh |
| Publisher: |
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
464 pages |
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Zoulfa Katouh Press Reviews
'Zoulfa Katouh writes from the heart about the Syria she knows and loves. She tells with an authentic voice one of the great and most tragic stories of our time. The tender love story at the heart of the novel humanises the horrors of war and the shocking tragedy that has befallen Syria. This is an important book. Everyone should read it' - Elizabeth Laird, award-winning author of Welcome to Nowhere
'A searing story of war, loss, family and love, of seeking grace in madness and hope in tragedy, As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is a phenomenal tale, a piercing keen for the Syria that was and the Syria that is. An absolute must read.' - Sabaa Tahir, #1 NYT bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes
'By turns heart-wrenching and heart-warming, Zoulfa Katouh's debut is an unflinching and eye-opening exploration of the impact of war. Beautiful, powerful and ringing with emotion, it will stay with you long after you've finished reading.' - Katherine Woodfine, author of the Sinclair's Mysteries
'As gorgeous as it is groundbreaking, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow holds many things at once: beauty and ruin; brutality and sweetness; tender love in the midst of shattering violence. Katouh writes with urgency and grace, and while she never shies from the horrors of war, neither does she miss a single note of hope-and there are so many. This book is devastatingly beautiful.' - David Arnold, NYT bestselling author of Mosquitoland and The Electric Kingdom
'Wrenching and lyrical, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow heralds a stunning new voice in young adult literature. This heartbreakingly beautiful novel challenges the reader to open their hearts and minds to the ongoing revolution in Syria against a ruthless dictator--one who has taken too many lives and forced over 7 million Syrians to flee their homeland. Zoulfa Katouh reminds us of the awesome power of love, hope, and tenacity even in the most desperate circumstances. A gorgeous, compelling read that you will not be able to put down.' - Samira Ahmed, New York Times bestselling author of Internment
'We don't deserve Katouh's gorgeous words and heartbreaking story, but she has blessed us with it anyway. As Long As The Lomon Trees Grow is not only stunningly written, it's also an incredibly important work of our time, a book that will no doubt touch millions and leave us all broken and aching for more of Katouh's writing.' - Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A For Aunties
'As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is hauntingly beautiful. Katouh masterfully tells a story that's both painful and captivating, you won't be able to put the book down. Her characters are so achingly real they'll live with you weeks after you've finished reading. The story manages to embrace fear in the time of war, love in spite of loss, and hope in the face of darkness. I cannot stress it enough, this book is a must read.' - Huda Fahmy, author of Huda F Are You
'Brilliant, beautiful, powerful. As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow will leave a profound mark on your soul, transforming the way you see love, loss, and the human capacity for resilience and hope that soars above all' - S.K Ali, New York Times bestselling author of Love from A to Z and Saints and Misfits
'It is a brilliant and important book - poignant and impactful ... So many YA novels are about traumatised and courageous heroines in dystopian fantasy worlds, but this book is about what real teenagers face every day in Syria and elsewhere in the world - and they are just as brave as fictional characters' - Atinuke
About Zoulfa Katouh
Zoulfa Katouh is a Canadian writer with Syrian roots. A trilingual pharmacist, currently pursuing a master's in drug sciences, Zoulfa is the first Syrian author to be published in both the US and the UK in the young adult category.
When she's not talking to herself in the woodland forest, she's drinking iced coffee, baking aesthetic cookies and cakes, and telling everyone who will listen about how BTS paved the way. A dream of hers is to get Kim Nam-joon to read one of her books. As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is her debut novel.
More About Zoulfa Katouh
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