The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue

A searing portrait of a Syrian American teen navigating grief, identity, and systemic injustice in contemporary America ... Magical realism, rooted in a maternal ­lineage of gifted women, adds lyrical depth without overwhelming the contemporary narrative. Katouh’s prose captures the weight of ­systemic ­oppression and the fierce resilience it takes to survive. A powerful, ­unflinching ­exploration of ­Islamophobia, identity, and grief. An essential purchase for all collections.

I loved this story. I saw myself so clearly in Jihad. Her grief, her loss, her joy, her love. It felt so familiar, so close to home. It's so beautifully written. Zoulfa paints with words, and I expect nothing less from. Because when you give Zoulfa Katouh a pen, magic happens. This is a story about loss, but at its core it is a gorgeous, magical, and heart wrenching story about the power and strength we find in our grief.

A modern classic about what it means to live, to hope, to despair, and to keep living despite everything. With her signature lyrical prose, Zoulfa Katouh paints an achingly beautiful portrait of a young girl in grief and in love. Brace yourself—there will be tears, and they will be worth it.

Jihad’s self-erasure and gradual reclamation of her confidence resonate deeply, and Katouh renders the bullying she endures with honesty. The portrayals of Syrian American identity, Muslim faith, and diaspora experiences are authentic and lyrical, and Jihad and Jamie’s relationship, rooted in shared longing and cultural questioning, is tender and well-paced.

Devastating and luminous.

A powerful exploration of injustice, identity, and the radical act of making oneself feel seen.

Katouh follows As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow (2022) with an intense contemporary novel centering 17-year-old Jihad Dabbagh, an artist and daughter of Syrian parents who emigrated to Queens, N.Y. It has been one year since her mother’s shocking death. Colors used to whisper to Jihad. Now, she sees the world in grayscale, manifesting her grief and depression. Jihad’s father sends her to Braxton Academy, a prestigious, mostly-white private school, for her senior year to increase her chances of getting into NYU. Jihad can’t tell him she dreams of attending art school in San Francisco. At Braxton, Jihad’s name and hijab inspire Islamophobia that escalates into bullying and abuse. Only Jamie, the gorgeous, kind boy assigned as her orientation “buddy,” befriends and protects her. Jihad escapes into recreating scenes from her mother’s life in a mysterious found sketchbook. Miraculously, the images appear as colorful murals across New York City, causing a social media frenzy. This is an incredibly tense, unpredictable read. Jamie and Jihad’s budding relationship is the only relief, and it is beautiful to witness. Fans of multi-accolade Sabaa Tahir’s All My Rage (2022) will be on the edge of their seats, utterly invested in a vulnerable protagonist who survives betrayal, neglect, and loss, ultimately finding the strength to thrive.

As gorgeous as it is groundbreaking ... This book is devastatingly beautiful

Wrenching and lyrical

Heartbreaking and poignant