But when Jude gets a small speaking part in the school's production, will it be the thing that causes her to lose her friendship with Layla and all she has worked so hard to accomplish so far? Layla thinks she should work behind the scenes creating sets, but Jude wants to be on stage. At first resentful, she comes to think of it a welcome part of her day, a place where she can relax and laugh.Įventually, Jude discovers a Middle Eastern restaurant that feels and smells like home, run by the Lebanese parents of an older girl from school named Layla - finally a new friend.Īs she adjusts to life in America, and her English improves, Jude decides to try out for a part for the school's production of Beauty and the Beast.

She is put into an ESL class, where she meets other students from Korea, China Somalia, also new and English learners. When school begins, Sarah hangs out with her friends, leaving Jude to figure out 7th grade and get by on her own. Jude and her mother are welcomed by her Uncle Mazin and Aunt Michelle, but cousin Sarah makes it clear that she wants nothing to do with Jude and is annoyed that they are even there: ' She can't go to my school, Mom, Sarah says./ She doesn't even speak English, she says./I spend the rest of that night/locked in the bathroom,/whispering to myself in the mirror./ I speak English.' Throughout Syria, towns are under siege and the people living in them are fleeing as fast as they can.Īnd although Jude's parents choose to not get involved with the protests, when it's learned that her mother is pregnant, a decision is made: Jude and her mother will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio and stay with her mother's brother and his family. But when the Arab Spring begins, and Issa joins the protest movement against the Syrian government, the life that Jude loves begins to change as well. Both girls loved TV and American movies and wanted to be movies stars someday. She was part of a loving family consisting of her father, mother, and older brother Issa and best friend Fatima lived next door. For 12-year-old Jude, life was happy and pleasant growing up in a tourist town by the sea in Syria.

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