Ida in the Middle

Ida, a Palestinian-American girl, eats a magic olive that takes her to the life she might have had in her parents' village near Jerusalem. An important coming of age story that explores identity, place, voice, and belonging.

Every time violence erupts in the Middle East, Ida knows what's coming next. Some of her classmates treat her like it's all her fault--just for being Palestinian! In eighth grade, Ida is forced to move to a different school. But people still treat her like she'll never fit in. Ida wishes she could disappear.

One day, dreading a final class project, Ida hunts for food. She discovers a jar of olives that came from a beloved aunt in her family's village near Jerusalem. Ida eats one and finds herself there--as if her parents had never left Palestine! Things are different in this other reality--harder in many ways, but also strangely familiar and comforting. Now she has to make some tough choices. Which Ida would she rather be? How can she find her place?

Ida's dilemma becomes more frightening as the day approaches when Israeli bulldozers are coming to demolish another home in her family's village...

Author: Nora Lester Murad
Publisher: Crocodile Books
Published: 05/07/2024
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 7.95h x 5.20w x 0.47d
ISBN13: 9781623716868
ISBN10: 1623716861
BISAC Categories:
- Young Adult Fiction | Magical Realism
- Young Adult Fiction | Places | Middle East
- Young Adult Fiction | Lifestyles | City & Town Life

About the Author
Nora Lester Murad, PhD, is a writer and co-author of Rest in My Shade: A Poem about Roots (Interlink Books, 2018). She raised her three daughters in Palestine. She co-founded Dalia Association, Palestine's community foundation, and founded Aid Watch Palestine, a community-driven aid accountability initiative. She now lives in Boston.