As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

BIPOC

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.

 
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# of Pages: 464

Book Binding: Paperback

Year of Publication: 2024

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Language: en

ISBN: 9780316351485

Zoulfa Katouh is a Lebanese-American writer and poet. She was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon and moved to the United States in her early twenties. Her writing is heavily influenced by her experiences growing up in a war-torn country and navigating the complexities of identity and belonging as an immigrant. Her work has been published in various literary magazines, and her debut novel As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow was inspired by her own family's journey of resilience and sacrifice. She currently resides in New York City, where she continues to write and advocate for marginalized communities.