Taking Cover

Gr 6 Up-When, in 1976, Nioucha's family moved from Pittsburgh to Iran, her father's homeland, they were returning to a modern, forward-thinking country. In 1979, however, the Iranian Revolution sent the nation into an ever-tightening spiral of religious policies and punishments, establishing an atmosphere of surveillance and fear. Nioucha thought that she already had enough to adjust to. As the daughter of a French mother and Iranian father, she was trying to acclimate to a new culture and language and longing ultimately, to belong. This memoir reveals what life was like for a young girl caught between cultures during those increasingly restrictive early years of the revolution. The author also paints a vivid picture of preadolescent and adolescent self as she navigated friendships and family relationships and privately enjoyed pop culture and a secret boyfriend. Nioucha's struggles will resonate with readers, especially those who feel caught between their public faces or family-pleasing selves and their inner rebellions. Each chapter is illuminated with evocative Persian patterns, accompanied by a quotation from a Persian poet or proverb. The foreword by acclaimed Iranian-born author Firoozeh Dumas situates the narrative poignantly within the context of modern Iranian history. A map of Iran and the surrounding area and a time line of Iranian history provide additional educational content. VERDICT A moving, accessible, and informative addition to all middle grade and young adult nonfiction collections.-Melissa Williams, Berwick Academy, ME

January 1, 2019
At 5, Nioucha moves with her Iranian father and French mother from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Tehran--just three years before the revolution. Though disoriented by the move, she quickly picks up Farsi and begins to enjoy her new life surrounded by her Iranian family. But then the Islamic Revolution breaks out and the war with Iraq commences, and Nioucha's life changes dramatically. Dress codes are strictly enforced, there is no more learning French, schools are segregated, and police patrol the streets looking for lawbreakers--that's life under Ayatollah Khomeini, whose version of Islam Nioucha learns is nothing like what most people practice or say of the religion. But life must go on, and so it does, but with many nights spent in the makeshift bomb shelter or sneaking around behind her parents' backs and hoping not to get caught by the Zeinab Sisters or morals police. But one hot summer day, Nioucha is caught, taken in a black jeep to an isolated part of Tehran, and locked up in an abandoned building for disobeying the law. Dancing through time between Nioucha's detention by the Zeinab Sisters and her experiences acclimating to Iranian culture throughout the 1980s, Homayoonfar weaves a gripping coming-of-age tale set in a fraught political era that continues to affect our world today. Family snapshots and excerpts from her diary help to ground her story.A candid memoir that offers a personal, particular perspective on life in Tehran in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (Memoir. 12-16)

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February 1, 2019
Grades 5-8 Franco-Iranian Homayoonfar's memoir focuses on her childhood, from ages 5 to 16 (1976-87), spent in Tehran. In episodic, themed chapters, she describes her early years at a French-Persian school where portraits of the Shah were replaced with those of Ayatollah Khomeini; vacation trips to the Caspian Sea, where western music was welcome inside her house but not in public; and frequent bombings by Iraqi forces that Homayoonfar tried to minimize for her frightened younger brother as "fireworks." Ever-tightening government restrictions permeate the narrative: a friend's father is executed because he previously worked for the Shah; a great uncle disappears to Switzerland; and increasingly harsh and proscriptive religion classes (required of all Muslim students) prompt Homayoonfar to declare she is Christian, resulting in further scrutiny of her already surveilled family. In the most dramatic episode, Homayoonfar details her arrest and detainment by Islamic religious police for walking in public with a small triangle of neck skin visible. Equal parts engrossing and infuriating, this serves as a reminder of how easily freedoms taken for granted can slip away.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)