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Driving by Starlight

Leena’s father, a leader during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising in Saudi Arabia, is imprisoned. Mishie’s father works for the government. The two young women have been best friends for years, Leena always willing to support Mishie’s small rebellions against strict rules for female behavior. But Leena’s future is compromised by her father’s imprisonment, her family economic situation, and strict Saudi laws. When she meets Ahmed, an admirer of her father, she believes he and his friends may be planning to get him out of prison. She wonders if she’s falling in love with this young man who takes her out into the desert at night and teaches her to drive. Leena risks not just arrest but friendship in order to spend time with Ahmed, knowing Mishie likes him, too. When it all comes crashing down—her friendship with Mishie, her trust in Ahmed, her hope for the future—Leena begins studying with her father’s law partner, Hussein. She reaches out to other girls and devises a radical plan to use the restrictive laws to their advantage. Many finely drawn characters reveal a range of political and religious viewpoints as a young woman and her friends draw on their intelligence and courage to change the course of their lives in a novel that takes an astonishing, liberating turn. ©2019 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 12 and older
Age Range: Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13) Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format: Novel
Subjects: Friendship Girls and Women Muslim People Oppression Saudis Arabians and Saudi Americans
Diversity subjects: Arab Asian Middle East Muslim

Publishers: Godwin Books, Henry Holt
Publish Year: 2018
Pages: 280
ISBN: 9781250133427

CCBC Location: Fiction, Deracine

Driving by Starlight