It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
$9.99 USD
paperback
* "Fresh take on the immigrant experience—authentic, funny, and moving from beginning to end."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block. California’s Newport Beach is her family’s latest perch, and she’s determined to lose her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name—Cindy. It’s the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes headlines with protests, revolution, and the taking of American hostages. Even puka necklaces, pool parties, and flying fish can't distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep too close to home in this poignant but lighthearted story.
New York Times bestselling author Firoozeh Dumas was born in Abadan, Iran, and moved to Whittier, California at the age of seven. After a two-year stay, she and her family moved back to Iran and lived in Ahvaz and Tehran. Two years later, they moved back to Whittier, then to Newport Beach. She lives in Munich, Germany, with her husband and three children.
"[It Ain't So Awful, Falafel] is funny, affecting, and nuanced...The novel doesn’t sugarcoat the issues, but it balances these serious notes with preteen antics and melodramas that Blume would be proud of; Cindy’s voice will undoubtedly draw in readers from all backgrounds." -Horn Book Magazine
"...keeps readers engaged with the very real and relatable difficulties of finding friends after moving, dealing with family issues both domestic and abroad, and discovering one’s own identity in middle school." -School Library Journal
“Firoozeh Dumas’s unique gift is her ability to use her wry, bold, but always gentle wit to tell serious stories about family, heritage, and loss. . . . In this era of suspicion and paranoia, [this book] offers a tender and compassionate glimpse into the immigrant experience.” -Khaled Hosseini, bestselling author of The Kite Runner
"This book is a sheer delight—rambunctious and rich. . . . Firoozeh Dumas writes with the perfect light touch that makes us wonder once again: Who is running the big world and why not this person, please?" -Naomi Shihab Nye, novelist and poet
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