This lyrical coming-of-age novel for fans of Darius the Great Is Not Okay and On the Come Up, set in southern California in 1996, follows a teen who wants to honor her deceased friend’s legacy by entering a rap contest.
Perfect Iranian girls are straight A students, always polite, and grow up to marry respectable Iranian boys. But it’s the San Fernando Valley in 1996, and Rana Joon is far from perfect—she smokes weed and loves Tupac, and she has a secret: she likes girls.
As if that weren’t enough, her best friend, Louie—the one who knew her secret and encouraged her to live in the moment—died almost a year ago, and she’s still having trouble processing her grief. To honor him, Rana enters the rap battle he dreamed of competing in, even though she’s terrified of public speaking.
But the clock is ticking. With the battle getting closer every day, she can’t decide whether to use one of Louie’s pieces or her own poetry, her family is coming apart, and she might even be falling in love. To get herself to the stage and fulfill her promise before her senior year ends, Rana will have to learn to speak her truth and live in the one and only now.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Perfect Iranian girls are straight A students, always polite, and grow up to marry respectable Iranian boys. But it’s the San Fernando Valley in 1996, and Rana Joon is far from perfect—she smokes weed and loves Tupac, and she has a secret: she likes girls.
As if that weren’t enough, her best friend, Louie—the one who knew her secret and encouraged her to live in the moment—died almost a year ago, and she’s still having trouble processing her grief. To honor him, Rana enters the rap battle he dreamed of competing in, even though she’s terrified of public speaking.
But the clock is ticking. With the battle getting closer every day, she can’t decide whether to use one of Louie’s pieces or her own poetry, her family is coming apart, and she might even be falling in love. To get herself to the stage and fulfill her promise before her senior year ends, Rana will have to learn to speak her truth and live in the one and only now.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Praise for this book
"Achingly beautiful and devastatingly funny. Rana Joon is the big sister I wish I'd had growing up. Required reading for every Iranian-American teen." - Olivia Abtahi
"Rarely do we see a main character as real, tough, and refreshingly honest as Rana Joon. As she navigates life after the loss of her best friend, Rana discovers how grief, the pull of first love, and the importance of being true to oneself are all entwined and inevitable in the messy but glorious orbs of our lives. A moving and heartfelt debut." - Marjan Kamali
"Like the greatest Persian poets, Rana Joon asks big questions: about life and death, love and loss, the pain of a fractured family and the pleasure of a well-tended garden. Shideh Etaat's debut is a breath of fresh air and punch to the gut all rolled into one." - Adib Khorram
"Rarely do we see a main character as real, tough, and refreshingly honest as Rana Joon. As she navigates life after the loss of her best friend, Rana discovers how grief, the pull of first love, and the importance of being true to oneself are all entwined and inevitable in the messy but glorious orbs of our lives. A moving and heartfelt debut." - Marjan Kamali
"Like the greatest Persian poets, Rana Joon asks big questions: about life and death, love and loss, the pain of a fractured family and the pleasure of a well-tended garden. Shideh Etaat's debut is a breath of fresh air and punch to the gut all rolled into one." - Adib Khorram
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Used availability for Shideh Etaat's Rana Joon and the One and Only Now