In the Name of God [Hardcover]

Paula Jolin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2007

Seventeen year-old Nadia is an excellent student, daughter and sister, and above all wants to be the best Muslim she can be. But she's conflicted about her Westernized peers, the economic, social and political struggles of her country, and the war raging in Iraq. When her cousin is arrested by the authorities for speaking out, Nadia finds herself drawn into the world of Islamic fundamentalism, contemplating making the ultimate sacrifice to take a stand for her people and her religion. A striking debut, IN THE NAME OF GOD is an enlightening and nuanced story about life in the Middle East.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—In this believable depiction of the growth of religious zealotry, 17-year-old Nadia describes the period after her cousin's arrest by the Syrian secret police. Already committed to Islam, she moves toward fanaticism, actually seeking out an attractive man whom she hopes will help her to learn more about the revolutionary cause. Moderates in her family attempt to counter her extremism; this is not the kind of flirtation her mother expected of a teenage daughter, and the mother's quiet example of a different Muslim way is the most appealing part of this unsettling picture. Nadia's internal and external arguments provide a stark vision of how others see the U.S. Jolin effectively works in every negative impression, real or perceived, about America and its foreign policy. Beyond the usual stereotypes of American commercialism, there are comments on 9/11 and the war in Iraq, quotations from George Bush, and allegations of worldwide Jewish conspiracies. American readers may find that Nadia's change from an ambitious student to a suicide bomber comes a bit too quickly. But the author's Islamic studies and long residence in the Middle East help make this a convincing picture of life in present-day Damascus, and the suspense will keep readers engaged.—Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MD
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From Booklist

Set in contemporary Damascus, Jolin's debut novel is a groundbreaking story of a Syrian teen drawn into Islamic Fundamentalism. Seventeen-year-old Nadia is surrounded by devout Muslim family members, but it's her cousin Fowzi who becomes a role model for her increasingly hard-line religious and political views. Then Fowzi is arrested for speaking out against the government, and Nadia's urgency to carry her beliefs into action leads to her recruitment in a radical group. When she is asked to become a suicide bomber, she agrees. Jolin's novel is certainly provocative, but at times the story reads like a docu-novel: carefully inserted historical and cultural facts occasionally interrupt the narrative, and the characters' religious and political debates sometimes seem purposefully calibrated to show as may viewpoints as possible. However, there are very few novels for young people that give such a comprehensive sense of a contemporary Muslim Arab teen's daily life and concerns. Writing with compassion and sensitivity, Jolin shows the volatile mix of vulnerabilities, passions, anger, fear, yearning, and devotion that pulls Nadia toward her shocking choices, which culminate in a heart-stopping ending. In framing Nadia's questions about faith, Jolin creates an essential starting place for teens to examine their own views about Western culture, the Middle East, the division of church and state, terrorism, and how fear and hate, faith and love affect everything. Cathryn Clinton's A Stone in My Hand (2002) and Naomi Shihab Nye's 19 Varieties of Gazelle (2002) will continue the discussion. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press; First Edition edition (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159643211X
• ISBN-13: 978-1596432116
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 8.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should Be Required Reading For Teens ..., June 12, 2007

By 

Mitali Perkins - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Name of God (Hardcover)

... and it won't be hard to get them into this story.

I tore through In The Name of God as a reader first, led effortlessly by Paula Jolin's suspenseful plot, vivid characters, and fascinating details about teen life in Syria. Afterwards, though, the buried high school teacher in me came roaring to life, keeping me up late with ideas about how to use this book like mad in the classroom.

We'd read the book, for example, and then my students would pick three historical events in the last fifty years and describe them first in the voice of Nadia, and then through the eyes of an American teen who joins the Marines to fight terrorism. Or I'd get the kids discussing what they might be willing to die for and why. And so on ... how Jolin manages to create a sympathetic suicide bomber in the making is a literary study in itself.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Provocative Book, May 24, 2007

By 

Vijaya Bodach "Children's Writer" (Redmond, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In the Name of God (Hardcover)

Paula Jolin has written an important book about making choices. Nadia is at once familiar and different. Different for the obvious reasons - she lives in Damascus, she's a Syrian Muslim. Jolin paints a picture of this particular family, peppered with a rich cast of characters. Although I had trouble at the very beginning keeping track of all the cousins, I knew each and every one of them well by the end of the book. The characters were authentic, never wholly good or bad, always a blend of the two, just like real folks.

Nadia is familiar. She's a typical teenager who thinks about her future (she wants to become a doctor), her values (she's a devout Muslim) and has good and bad times with her family. I thought her quite resourceful, given her restrictions (by her culture and her values) as she ducks in and out of buses and movie theatres to contact a revolutionary.

Nadia's transformation from devout to fanatic is believable. She's young, she's impressionable, and I feared for her. Nadia's desire to do the right thing drives this story. Jolin's debut novel offers great insight into how a person could be convinced to do almost anything, include killing themselves ... In the Name of God.

I am sure this book will provoke many thoughtful discussions amongst our teens.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Curious how anyone could ever contemplate dedicating one's life to a cause? Try this great story with interesting characters., April 24, 2007

By 

C. Roberts "twist" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In the Name of God (Hardcover)

I'm well into my 30's and really enjoyed this "young adult" book. I loved reading the story about contemporary life in Damascus, Syria, especially from the point-of-view of a young woman who has made a choice to wear hijab. (As someone who grew up Catholic, I didn't have a clue what making that decision means - or even that it _is_ such a decision.) The characters are all Syrian and have had very different experiences in life. That might seem odd since most of the characters are part of the same extended family, but it's actually very natural because of their differences in gender, generation, and sensibilities. Nadia, the narrator, is a teenaged girl who plans to become a doctor. Her brothers are educated but have difficulty finding work. Some of her family members have lived abroad or are thinking about moving abroad. Her mother was married young and widowed. Nadia's extended family celebrates together, plays games together, cooks together, discusses political and religious issues together and even offers each other places to live.

As an American teenager, I had such similar experiences to Nadia's. Her love interests, plans for her future, and dedication to causes are so familiar. The fact that she sees conspiracies everywhere, like Nancy Drew with wry self-awareness is really sweet. The book really did a fabulous job of making me feel like I could have lived Nadia's life. I recommend it to anyone who wants a good story, who is interested in Syria or Islam, who likes to feel like s/he's learned something while having a good read, or who is curious how anyone could ever contemplate dedicating one's life to a cause.