This book is a wonderful foray into an experience that is well-known to a certain kind of person, but virtually invisible to others. The people who are likely to identify most deeply with this book are those who feel loyalty to one traditional way of life, but who are still excited by the thought of fitting into their environment and making a wide variety of friends. This will likely sing out to anyone who like Amal is a first or second-generation immigrant. The cultural crossroads are difficult for Amal to navigate.
In her parents' characters, we see the other point of view. Yes, they are immigrants as well, and adjustment is difficult for them, but with entire lives and identities rooted in Palestine, they have do not see the tension that Amal feels every day. Should she use the common slang? If her school's culture uses a certain vernacular or behaves a certain way, should she "do as they do in Rome when in Rome?" Or should she be perfectly identified with who she was in the past.
The answer is that the question is unsolvable. Instead of making axiomatic decisions about who to be, she is forced to watch her own character unfold through a long series of situations. She has to make peace with the fact that through time, she might change or grow in a way that might be new and hard to explain. The side plot where she almost kisses Adam at a party but stops herself is clear evidence that her integrity is trustworthy. Although her parents might be confused by her rapidly evolving point of view, they would be proud of her for that no doubt. She is becoming a beautiful character indeed as the cultural interchange is evidenced in her own personality.
