A Woman is No Man

In a small very traditional Arab-American community in Brooklyn, 18 year old Deya refuses to believe she has no choices. Terrified of repeating her mother’s misfortune Deya searches for a way to follow her passion for reading, attend college and delay an arranged marriage until she is older. Raised by her grandparents after the death of her parents when she was only seven, Deya helps care for her three younger sisters and fears for their futures. Narrated by her mother Isra, Deya and her grandmother Fareeda, it becomes clear that while she has held onto only a few scattered memories there is much she does not know about her parents, their lives and their deaths. Deya is heartbroken when she learns details of the tremendous struggle her mother endured as a young woman with four babies, little support and no hope. As Fareeda forces the continued beliefs of a woman’s place - it becomes Deya’s mission to make change without losing the only family she has ever known. Determined to understand the meaning of love, marriage and what it means to have a voice will not be easy but she is determined to try. Compelling characters, well written, a little repetitive in the second half, overall a very good read. ⭐⭐⭐