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Laila is a complex and layered character whose nuanced observations will help readers better understand the divide between American and Middle Eastern cultures. Smart, relevant, required reading.”
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BookPage, February 2014:"As a former undercover CIA agent, debut author J.C. Carleson has a firm grasp on the world of espionage and power plays. She is able to take her intimate knowledge of this secretive world, an often-avoided gray area of morality, and craft an amazingly gripping and honest tale. Carleson keeps her readers feeling as though they have just returned from traveling in a foreign land, making those faraway issues feel a little more personal—a feat few can achieve with words alone."
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Booklist, February 1, 2014:"This is more than just Laila’s story; rather, it is a story of context, beautifully written (by a former undercover CIA agent), and stirring in its questions and eloquent observations about our society and that of the Middle East."
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Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2014:
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Timely, relevant, and fascinating, Laila’s story offers readers an accessible understanding of the seemingly intractable nature of Middle East politics. An equally fascinating additional note by Dr. Cheryl Benard offers more real-world context for Laila’s fictional but very credible position. Resources for further research are included."
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This story is important on so many levels. It invites readers to contemplate paradox and contradictions in ways that few books do: how a friend’s loyalty trumps her annoying habits; how you can love your country and still be honest about its shortcomings; how betrayal might be justifiable. But mostly it’s a touching, suspenseful story about two children who don’t belong anywhere. Every American should read this book. It’s an eye-opener.
— Suzanne Fisher Staples, Newbery Honor-winning author of Shabanu
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It's a story both foreign and familiar, global and intimate. A tense chess game where you'll think you know the final moves only to learn you've been outsmarted.
— Dana Reinhardt, award-winning author of The Things a Brother Knows
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Mashable, June 17, 2014:
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This compelling look at someone fighting desperately against a truth she'd rather not believe challenges you to think deeper."
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The Boston Globe, June 21, 2014:"Carleson, a former undercover CIA officer, infuses her story with compelling details and gripping authenticity."
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Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, November 18, 2013:
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Filled with political intrigue and emotional tension, Carleson’s riveting novel features a teenage refugee caught in a web of deceit and conspiracy."
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Starred Review, Kirkus, December 15, 2013:
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“What’s
it like to be caught between cultures? The author, a former CIA agent,
knows. So will listeners after hearing Meera Simhan’s portrayal of
fifteen-year-old Laila, who immigrates to the US from an unnamed Middle
Eastern country after her father is murdered in a coup. Simhan reads
with lightly accented precision, balancing Laila’s conflicting emotions
at being ‘a girl divided’…This audio production includes an
author’s note and a commentary by Cheryl Benard, a researcher dedicated
to social activism.”
— AudioFile