N.H. Senzai and Shannon Hitchcock expertly craft the intersection of the lives of two girls-one, a Muslim fleeing civil war, the other, an American from the South-as they are forced to examine their beliefs and the true meaning of friendship in the midst of the president''s 2017 Muslim ban.
Twelve-year-old Noura Alwan''s family is granted asylum in the United States, after spending two years in a Turkish refugee camp, having fled war-torn Aleppo. They land in Tampa, Florida, on January 30, 2017, just days after the president restricted entry into the US from nations with a Muslim majority population.Twelve-year-old Jordyn Johnson is a record-breaking swimmer, but hasn''t swum well since her mom had a miscarriage during one of her meets. Her family has volunteered to help the Alwan family through their church. She knows very few people of Arab descent or who practice Islam.The girls'' lives intersect at Bayshore Middle School where Jordyn serves as the Alwan childr
