Zarina Divided

You can notice differences

if you look really close,

which lately everyone

seems to be doing.

Zarina loves her life in Poona, India. She spends her days happily hanging out with her best friends, Geeta and Jahana, and playing with her three brothers. However, Zarina and her family are given unsettling news: Muslims and Hindus are to separate by religion. Hindus are expected to stay in India, while Muslims are expected to move to a new land, Pakistan.

Zarina is heartbroken at having to move away from all she knows and loves, and after the frightening journey to Pakistan, she feels unsure that the unfamiliar country will ever feel like home. When an accident happens that leaves Zarina grappling with extreme guilt, she decides it’s best to attend boarding school far away, much to the protest of her mom. Will a fresh start at a new school give Zarina the chance to thrive in Pakistan, or will the divisions within herself and her family continue to widen?

From award-winning author Reem Faruqi comes a heartening coming-of-age story, inspired by her grandmother’s life, that reminds us that through overwhelming change can come the most beautiful growth.