magidow 's review for:

The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Sophia Al-Maria

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This book is a coming-of-age story of a girl from the state of Washington who goes to live in Qatar and studies at the American University in Egypt. Her mother's from Washington, and her father's from Qatar. It's nice to know about for a few reasons. First, it offers a rare understanding of how someone in the author's situation has a mixed identity (nationality, language, culture). Second, it provides a common-but-timeless account of growing up through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, complete with all the messiness, uncertainty, and anxiety that usually accompany the experience. Third, it represents perhaps the sole example of a book in English, set largely in the Arab world, that can cater to science fiction fans. If you can appreciate references to Atreides in Frank Herbert's Dune, UFOs, Star Wars and Trekkies, and so on, then you will be sure to appreciate the author's distinctive perspective, mixing Arabic culture and Sci Fi fandom for a unique growing up experience.