I started to wear my hijab in high school on a Wednesday in tenth grade, but like Nurah I practiced wearing it first to regular places like Pizza Hut and Walmart. I think wearing anything that makes you look different, especially when all you want to do is blend in, can be quite challenging. I admire those who choose to be different in a country where it is not common and appreciate all those who support these students, whether it’s simply being a friend or treating them exactly the way you would want to be treated.
I also remember sitting alone at lunch and how different my school experience was when a girl asked if I would like to eat lunch with her. Having a friend believe in you, like Stahr and Nurah do for each other, is life changing. Thank you to all those who invite others to eat lunch with them—it makes a world of a difference.
Glossary
alhamdulillah: Praise be to God
aloo kabab: potato and ground beef mixed together and then dipped in egg yolk, coated in bread crumbs, and then fried to make a crispy patty
assalamualaikum: Muslim greeting for “peace be upon you”
biryani: spicy meat and rice cooked separately before being layered and cooked together
Chacha: Urdu word for paternal uncle, specifically father’s younger brother
dadi: paternal grandmother
dal: lentils
dupatta: a shawl-like scarf women in Pakistan wear over their shalwar kameez and worn over the kurta. It can be draped over the head or chest.
ek: Urdu word for one
ghee: clarified butter made from the milk of a buffalo or cow, used in South Asian cooking
halal: “permissible” in Arabic. For food, it typically means meat that is specially butchered with Islamic guidelines. For fish, the guidelines are more lenient, which is why Nurah gets fish fillets from McDonald’s.
hijab: headscarf Muslim women or girls may wear
istikhara: prayer recited by Muslims when in need of guidance on an issue in their life
jaldi se: Urdu words for quickly
kajal: powdery eyeliner that women wear in Pakistan
khichri: rice and lentils cooked together until soft. It is cooked extra soft for babies.
kurta: loose, flowy Pakistani top. Girls’ clothes are usually colorful.
masjid: Muslim place of worship
mehndi: henna paste that temporarily dyes hands, usually drawn on hands to celebrate events, but can also be put on for big moments, such as Nurah moving, in this case!
motia: tiny white flowers that appear at the start of summer and bloom joyously in shades of white. These flowers are often threaded together to form bracelets or necklaces in Karachi, Pakistan, and South Asia.
namaz: Urdu word for the obligatory Muslim prayers that occur five times a day. In Arabic, the word for prayer is Salah.
nana: maternal grandfather (Nurah calls her maternal grandmother Nana, though, since it was Owais’s first word)
nani: maternal grandmother
paratha: delicious flatbread consisting of layers of cooked dough
rupee: Pakistani unit of money
samosa: a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, meat, or lentils
sari: an outfit worn by South Asian women that is made of several yards of lightweight cloth. It’s draped so that one end makes a skirt and the other is typically a shoulder covering.
shalwars: loose, flowy Pakistani pants
Surah Al-Kahf: the 18th chapter of the Quran. Al-Kahf means “The Cave.”
tasbih: prayer beads
wa-alaikum-as-salaam: Muslim reply to assalamualaikum, meaning “peace be upon you too”
Nurah’s Aloo Kabab Lunch Recipe
Ingredients:
6 medium potatoes
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground red pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
Vegetable oil
Peel and boil the potatoes (aloo) until soft for approximately 25 minutes and mash separately.
Cook the ground beef until brown. To the beef add the salt, ground cumin, ginger, garlic, ground coriander, and red pepper.
Mix the mashed potatoes and browned ground beef evenly.
Shape the mixture into circular kabab shapes with your hands.
Dip kababs into the beaten egg.
Coat kababs with bread crumbs.
Shallow fry in medium-heat oil. Flip the kababs over to ensure they are golden brown on each side.* Enjoy! They are delicious served with rice or naan bread.
*Tip: Freeze the kababs first if you can for a couple of hours, as it makes frying easier and the kababs will be less likely to break apart.
Storage:
If you have any extra kababs, they can be stored in the freezer. They can be cooked quickly or jaldi se by shallow frying them in vegetable oil.
Acknowledgments
A huge thank-you to:
Agent Rena Rossner: for offering representation when I was queried out, for your vision in taking my Microsoft Word document and seeing it as a book, for pushing me to dig deeper, for offering insightful edits, for your speedy submission, and for being up at all hours during the auction. I’m so grateful for you! Thank you for your energy and passion and above all, for believing in Nurah and me. I can’t thank you enough.
Editor Alyson Day: for falling in love with my story, for yelling on the subway when I accepted the offer, and for championing Nurah in the best way. I couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic editor. Thank you for your uplifting comments throughout my story. I live for your supportive emails, your gorgeous insights, and can’t wait for more book journeys with you!
The entire Harper team: Soumbal Qureshi and Molly Fehr for giving me a dreamy cover and beautiful interior art! Shona McCarthy and the copyediting team for meticulous edits, Eva Lynch-Comer for my countless emails, Meghan Petit
