If You Could Be Mine

Negin Farsad's accented narration adds credence to the character of Sahar, a 17-year-old Iranian. Sahar's childhood love for Nasrim has blossomed into a hidden lesbian affair that could get the girls executed. Farsad poignantly portrays Sahar's conflicting feelings--passion for Nasrim, fear of its consequences, and despair about Nasrim's pending marriage. In contrast, Farsad's characterization of the rich, spoiled Nasrim reveals her selfish, superficial personality. These two portraits make for growing tension as Sahar struggles with a difficult potential solution. Is loving Nasrim worth going through a legal operation that will change her gender and make her entire life a lie? Farsad gives a convincing picture of Sahar's complexities, her growing compassion for Iran's outsiders, and her emotional transformation. S.W. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

October 28, 2013
In Farizan’s novel set in contemporary Iran, 17-year-old Sahar struggles with her love for her best friend, a girl named Nasrin, whom she has wanted to marry for over a decade. Nasrin loves Sahar, but decides to accept an arranged marriage—which eventually prompts Sahar to consider sex reassignment surgery, the only legal way the two could be together. Farsad’s narration is heartwarming, and she creates unique voices for various characters—including the flighty and somewhat shallow Nasrin; the more serious, passionate Sahar; Sahar’s edgy cousin Ali; and Ali’s gentle friend Parveen. Altogether, a winning, timely, and important audio production. Ages 14-up. An Algonquin hardcover.

June 10, 2013
This provocative coming-of-age story takes place in contemporary Iran, where the sight of a woman’s elbows can provoke police action; homosexuality, “a bargain made with the devil,” carries threats of beating and hanging; but being transsexual is recognized by the government as a treatable illness. Seventeen-year-old Sahar, who has wanted to marry her best friend Nasrin since they were six years old, dreams of living openly with her lover. Nasrin prefers to accept an arranged marriage, while intending to continue their illicit affair. Exposed to a world of sexual diversity by her gay cousin and made desperate by Nasrin’s impending marriage, Sahar explores the one legal option for the two of them to be together: her own sex reassignment surgery. Throughout this strong debut, Farizan weaves in details of daily Iranian life, exposing the various opportunities available to people depending upon their academic prowess, financial status, social class, and sexuality. Within a rigid societal structure, her fleshed-out characters wrestle with depression, hope, complacency, and risk, and live out the consequences of their choices. Ages 14–up. Agent: Leigh Feldman, Writers House.