The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue From the author of global sensation AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW

Ich bin mit sehr hohen Erwartungen an dieses Buch herangegangen und sie wurden alle übertroffen. Nachdem As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow so aussagekräftig, emotional und herzzerreißend war, habe ich auch von diesem Buch nichts anderes erwartet. Anders als im ersten Buch der Autorin wird hier jedoch ein Thema behandelt, das meiner Meinung nach viel zu selten thematisiert wird. Es bekommt genau den Raum, den es verdient. Ganz unabhängig von dem brillanten und poetischen Schreibstil ist der Inhalt dieses Buches unglaublich wichtig. Es geht dabei nicht nur um die Erfahrungen von Muslimen, die in der westlichen Welt mit zahlreichen Stereotypen konfrontiert werden. Betrachtet man die Geschichte aus einer anderen Perspektive, geht es um alle Menschen, die abgestempelt oder in eine Schublade gesteckt werden. Deshalb finde ich, dass dieses Buch für jeden Menschen geeignet ist, besonders für diejenigen, die sich nicht gesehen fühlen, aber auch für alle, die ihre zwischenmenschliche Empathie stärken möchten. Denn letztlich geht es nicht um Muslime, sondern um Menschlichkeit.

Yesterday, I picked up a copy of The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue and I even managed to get one of the signed editions (still can’t believe my luck!). I started reading it outside with an iced latte, a croissant and the warm summer weather. By the end of the day, I was curled up on my couch, finishing the last pages while sobbing. That alone says everything about the impact this story had on me. Zoulfa Katouh’s writing is beautiful, so vivid and deeply immersive. Every page feels alive and drawing you so completely into the story that you can’t help but experience every emotion alongside the characters. Heart-wrenching barely begins to describe it. This book filled me with sadness, rage, hope and ultimately a sense of healing. The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue isn’t simply a book to read; it’s a story to experience!

"She is all the colors of bravery." "But even knowing that could happen, I still paint. I can’t stop. That’s how I fight back.” „The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue“ by Zoulfa Katouh follows Jihad, a young Syrian-American girl who starts a new private school in her senior year of high school. The problem is that Jihad is the only Muslim student in the entire school. Her faith, her ethnicity, her appearance, and her name make her stand out and eventually the target of ill-willing fellow students. Despite being at the same school as her childhood friend Alexis, Jihad feels alone. That is, until someone unexpectedly comes to her defense and stands by her side. A boy named Jamie Murphy. Since Jihad had to fight her fights on her own till now, she wasn’t used to someone standing up for her like Jamie does. She isn’t sure how much she can trust the kind and friendly appearing boy, who is the only one that truly seems to see and respect her as the person she is. Together with the daily racism and Islamophobia she is subjected to, we witness her deal with the grief of having lost her mother. Women from Jihads mothers side of the family are known to receive certain blessings. These are special abilities that are unique to each of them. Jihads gift was that she could see the colours that make up everyone and everything in this world. However, a year ago her colourful world went completely grey after her mamas sudden death. Ever since then she hasn’t been able to see the colours and is swallowed up in a world of shades of grey. But despite that, she finds her way back to what she used to love doing, painting. Jihad ends up using her art to tell a story, to fight back, to make her voice be heard. Just like in Zoulfas debut novel, „As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow“, I genuinely enjoyed the writing/the writing style. It’s immersive and conveys and invokes so many emotions. Jihad and Jamie's friendship and dynamic was so heartwarming, beautiful, pure and hopeful. (Yes, I know, it’s too many adjectives but they all suit their relationship so I had to include them all) Which is also why I wished the book was a few more pages longer in the end…just because I wanted to see more of those two. (Also, Jamies speech at the cemetary...I cried on the train reading that ❤️‍) Besides that, I think my only other critique would be that some plot points felt a little brushed over, especially towards the end. All things considered, „The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue“ is a powerful and impactful book that depicts and deals with grief, Islamophobia, racism and identity. There were many moments that left me crying and resonating with some feelings and situations Jihad experienced throughout the book. I have a lot of thoughts that I wish I were able to express right now but I don’t have quite the words to convey them. But I think I’d like to start by saying thank you. Thank you to everyone who has made it possible for this book to exist and be published. Jihad might be a fictional character but the Islamophobia and racism she faces are very real and happening to so many people as we speak. Having these situations, its effects and consequences (or lack there of) be depicted is so important. In a world where many people are too ignorant to see or acknowledge the effects and consequences of Islamophobia, we need books like this one to point out the daily and often casual bigotry that has become a part of almost every Muslim persons life by now. Thank you to Zoulfa Katouh for writing this story and putting into words, what so many of us Muslim people, especially girls and women, who grew up and/or are living in a western country, experience on a daily basis. I cannot tell you how many times I had a deja vu moment or could resonate with Jihads feelings throughout this book. I felt seen and represented and I am sure there were many others who felt like me while reading this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC to this book. It was an honour :)