In the Name of God

Jolin, Paula. In the Name of God. New Hilford, Connecticut: Roaring Brook Press, 2007.

In the Name of God by Paula Jolin is a story about a 17 year old girl named Nadia who is struggling to find her place in her devout Muslim family. She feels as though she is being left behind as her family members become more Westernized and she feels the need to stand up for her religious views and beliefs. Her cousin Fowzi becomes her role model as he represents her strong political and religious views. He becomes her inspriation to step into risky situations that shows her true compassion for who she is in her world. Jolin's text gives readers a glimpse into a Syrian family's daily life.

This book was an excellent read for young adults because the main character, Nadia goes through many of the same struggles that American teens go through, even though she lives in a completely different country. This helps American teens relate to the book and realize that teenagers of different cultures share common interests. Paula Jolin wrote this book when she was living and studying in the Middle East which is captured throughout this story. Jolin's studies of the Islamic culture is empowering to its readers through the text itself and the content. The text and content is strong and intense and paints a picture of what life is like in a different country. Jolin does an incredibly good job depicting the struggles that Nadia is encountering while trying to stand strong for her beliefs and her culture by subtly inserting cultural and historical facts about the Middle East which makes the text more intense. Her text parallels with what is truly going on in the Middle East. She creates a connection in this novel between Americans and Syrian's by pointing out common bonds that they share.