IN THE NAME OF GOD by Paula Jolin

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jolin, Paula. In the Name of God. New Milford, CT: Roaring Brook Press, 2007. ISBN
9781596432116

PLOT SUMMARY

Nadia is seventeen years old and living in modern day Syria. She is committed to follow her religion and is saddened that her female cousins do not take the same commitment as seriously as they do exploring the western culture of the United States. She admires her cousin, Fowzi, who is willing to take a stand for what he believes. Following Fowzi's arrest and imprisonment, Nadia is left feeling very sad and angry at those who have done this to her family. She blames the evil United States and the Syrian government who bows down to political pressures from the U. S. for the arrest of her cousin. These emotions guide her in taking a fundamentalist stand. When approached by a friend of her cousin, Nadia is led down a path of action, reaction and destruction in order to make a statement to those around her.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is an important read for Americans who struggle to understand how young Islams can strap a bomb to themselves and die for a cause not understood. It is not only a statement on radical Islamic fundamentalism, but fundamentalism in any religion and the consequences that follow. American teens will be able to understand their counterparts living in the Middle East and understand the commonality of feelings and struggles in coming of age in the current political climate. Although the struggles may on the surface seem different, the underlying emotions and feelings are common across cultures and boundaries.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Horn Book Guide( October 1, 2007) "Seventeen-year-old Nadia is proud to be a Syrian Muslim. She feels detached from her Westernized female cousins and is incensed after witnessing their brother, Fowzi, being carted away by the secret police. Nadia's zealotry draws her toward an underground extremist movement for which she volunteers to be a suicide bomber. Nadia's first-person perspective is at once illuminating and unsettling."

Publishers Weekly (March 26, 2007) "Readers will see that underneath Nadia's extremist idealism there is also a young woman with a romantic notion of saving her country, who doesn't fully realize the overwhelming consequences her actions will have on her family until it is almost too late. Though at times readers may feel they are being taught, this informative novel will get them thinking about another point of view."

Voice of Youth Advocates (April 1, 2007) "For anyone who has wondered how a suicide bomber can believe in suicide, this book will show the inner thoughts of a Syrian teen. It is told in the first person from Nadia's viewpoint and gives a good sense of what it is like to grow up in Syria. Nadia is a sympathetic character, a regular teen with strong beliefs about her religion, her culture, and her own contributions to both. Like teens anywhere, she is passionate and righteous about her views. It is eye opening to realize how people in other countries view the United States and its involvement in the war in Iraq. Many conversations between Nadia and other characters deal with September 11, the treatment of war prisoners, and George Bush. The well-written prose and short chapters give stories in the news a face and a character. Readers of this book will not be able to read or watch the news in the same way."