New review up over on ManyBooks:

A Girl From The Middle East, by Nada Alachkar, begins with Nora looking back on her life. At fifty, Nora has a wide collection of experiences and memories, both positive and negative, and over the course of the book, she shares these with readers. The casual narration style and heartfelt personal stories make this book feel like a long talk with a good friend. 

Nora’s life begins in a fairly traditional family in the Middle East. It’s always interesting to read about daily life in a foreign country, and readers can learn a lot about traditional Middle Eastern beliefs and customs from Nora’s account of her childhood and her school days.  Nora’s one of the middle daughters in a large family who didn’t much value girls, in a society that strongly favors men over women. She was not the oldest, the youngest, or the most accomplished in her family. Even though Nora does pretty well academically, her good grades aren’t very noteworthy in such a successful family, and in her society, a girl’s accomplishments will never be as valued as a boy’s. She feels unimportant, trying never to be a burden to those around her. Throughout the whole book, readers can see how Nora’s childhood affects her life.

Although her life is very different from most American childhoods, this is an emotionally relatable story. Nora struggles to fulfill her parents’ expectations, find love in a society of arranged marriages, and just to find her place in that world. As Nora develops the bravery and strength to survive, all without losing her unique personality, readers will understand her feelings and root for her success.

Source: Editorial Review: A Girl From The Middle East by Nada Alachkar | ManyBooks