The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue
Zoulfa Katouh
Seventeen-year-old Jihad Dabbagh has always seen life with a heightened sense for colors, one of many magical blessings the women in her family possess. But Jihad's gift changes depending on her mood. When depression sets in, the world is a colorless oasis, and in the wake of her mother's sudden death, the world has become a permanent shade of grey.
Broken by tragedy, Jihad's family doesn't believe her color loss. Her father sends her to the elite Braxton Academy to finish her senior year. There, Jihad's name and hijab put a target on her back. Her haven comes in the form of an old sketchbook carved from a tree in her hometown in Syria — a country she only knew through her mother's stories. Jihad hasn't picked up a brush in over a year, but finds herself channeling the colors of her hurt, pain, and grief as she paints the story of her mother's journey in Syria.
When graffiti of that same mural starts magically popping up all over New York, her art goes viral and the world takes notice, the threat of legal consequences is imminent. To reclaim her voice, Jihad will have to paint a new future for herself and Braxton, guided by the resilience of her mother's story.
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Tagged as:
- young adult 2
- contemporary 2
- magic 1
- fantasy 1
- paranormal 1
- multicultural 1
- survival 1
- muslim 1
- southeast asian mc 1
- high school 1
- gifted/super-heroine 1
- competent heroine 1
- grumpy/ice queen 1
- tortured heroine 1
- teenage fmc 1
- sunny/happy hero 1
- teenage mmc 1
- Add topics
- content warnings
- death / grief 2
- victim blaming 1
- racism 1
- abuse 1
- slut shaming 1
- nontraditional hea 1
- mental trauma 1
- mental illness 1
- geography
- new york state 1
- usa 1
- north america 1
