The Weight of Our Sky Contributor(s): Alkaf, Hanna (Author) |
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ISBN: 1534426086 ISBN-13: 9781534426085 Publisher: Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for You OUR PRICE: $17.99 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: February 2019 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Young Adult Fiction | Social Themes - Mental Illness - Young Adult Fiction | Family - General (see Also Headings Under Social Themes) - Young Adult Fiction | Social Themes - Prejudice & Racism |
Dewey: FIC |
LCCN: 2018012693 |
Lexile Measure: 830 |
Physical Information: 1.3" H x 5.9" W x 8.4" (0.80 lbs) 288 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - Asian - Ethnic Orientation - Asian |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: A music loving teen with OCD does everything she can to find her way back to her mother during the historic race riots in 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this heart-pounding literary debut. Melati Ahmad looks like your typical movie-going, Beatles-obsessed sixteen-year-old. Unlike most other sixteen-year-olds though, Mel also believes that she harbors a djinn inside her, one who threatens her with horrific images of her mother's death unless she adheres to an elaborate ritual of counting and tapping to keep him satisfied. A trip to the movies after school turns into a nightmare when the city erupts into violent race riots between the Chinese and the Malay. When gangsters come into the theater and hold movie-goers hostage, Mel, a Malay, is saved by a Chinese woman, but has to leave her best friend behind to die. On their journey through town, Mel sees for herself the devastation caused by the riots. In her village, a neighbor tells her that her mother, a nurse, was called in to help with the many bodies piling up at the hospital. Mel must survive on her own, with the help of a few kind strangers, until she finds her mother. But the djinn in her mind threatens her ability to cope. |
Contributor Bio(s): Alkaf, Hanna: - Hanna Alkaf graduated with a degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Her work has appeared in Shape, Esquire, and Marie Claire among others. She lives in Kuala Lumpur with her family, and The Weight of Our Sky is her first novel. |