A love letter to Syria and its people, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a speculative novel set amid the Syrian Revolution, burning with the fires of hope, love, and possibility. Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Salt to the Sea.
Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her older brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.
But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.
Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution��and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her older brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.
But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.
Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution��and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Praise for this book
"Wrenching and lyrical, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow heralds a stunning new voice in young adult literature. This heartbreakingly beautiful novel challenges the reader to open their hearts and minds to the ongoing revolution in Syria against a ruthless dictator--one who has taken too many lives and forced over 7 million Syrians to flee their homeland. Zoulfa Katouh reminds us of the awesome power of love, hope, and tenacity even in the most desperate circumstances. A gorgeous, compelling read that you will not be able to put down." - Samira Ahmed
"As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is hauntingly beautiful. Katouh masterfully tells a story that's both painful and captivating, you won't be able to put the book down. Her characters are so achingly real they'll live with you weeks after you've finished reading. The story manages to embrace fear in the time of war, love in spite of loss, and hope in the face of darkness. I cannot stress it enough, this book is a must read." - S K Ali
"As gorgeous as it is groundbreaking, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow holds many things at once: beauty and ruin; brutality and sweetness; tender love in the midst of shattering violence. Katouh writes with urgency and grace, and while she never shies from the horrors of war, neither does she miss a single note of hope-and there are so many. This book is devastatingly beautiful." - David Arnold
"It is a brilliant and important book - poignant and impactful ... So many YA novels are about traumatised and courageous heroines in dystopian fantasy worlds, but this book is about what real teenagers face every day in Syria and elsewhere in the world - and they are just as brave as fictional characters." - Atinuke
"Zoulfa Katouh writes from the heart about the Syria she knows and loves. She tells with an authentic voice one of the great and most tragic stories of our time. The tender love story at the heart of the novel humanises the horrors of war and the shocking tragedy that has befallen Syria. This is an important book. Everyone should read it." - Elizabeth Laird
"We don't deserve Katouh's gorgeous words and heartbreaking story, but she has blessed us with it anyway. AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW is not only stunningly written, it's also an incredibly important work of our time, a book that will no doubt touch millions and leave us all broken and aching for more of Katouh's writing." - Jesse Q Sutanto
"A searing story of war, loss, family and love, of seeking grace in madness and hope in tragedy, AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW is a phenomenal tale, a piercing keen for the Syria that was and the Syria that is. An absolute must read." - Sabaa Tahir
"As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is hauntingly beautiful. Katouh masterfully tells a story that's both painful and captivating, you won't be able to put the book down. Her characters are so achingly real they'll live with you weeks after you've finished reading. The story manages to embrace fear in the time of war, love in spite of loss, and hope in the face of darkness. I cannot stress it enough, this book is a must read." - S K Ali
"As gorgeous as it is groundbreaking, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow holds many things at once: beauty and ruin; brutality and sweetness; tender love in the midst of shattering violence. Katouh writes with urgency and grace, and while she never shies from the horrors of war, neither does she miss a single note of hope-and there are so many. This book is devastatingly beautiful." - David Arnold
"It is a brilliant and important book - poignant and impactful ... So many YA novels are about traumatised and courageous heroines in dystopian fantasy worlds, but this book is about what real teenagers face every day in Syria and elsewhere in the world - and they are just as brave as fictional characters." - Atinuke
"Zoulfa Katouh writes from the heart about the Syria she knows and loves. She tells with an authentic voice one of the great and most tragic stories of our time. The tender love story at the heart of the novel humanises the horrors of war and the shocking tragedy that has befallen Syria. This is an important book. Everyone should read it." - Elizabeth Laird
"We don't deserve Katouh's gorgeous words and heartbreaking story, but she has blessed us with it anyway. AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW is not only stunningly written, it's also an incredibly important work of our time, a book that will no doubt touch millions and leave us all broken and aching for more of Katouh's writing." - Jesse Q Sutanto
"A searing story of war, loss, family and love, of seeking grace in madness and hope in tragedy, AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW is a phenomenal tale, a piercing keen for the Syria that was and the Syria that is. An absolute must read." - Sabaa Tahir
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