This year, I had my Freshman Comp students read GTS and write an essay in response to it. Many responded negatively to the opening chapters of the novel, with its apparent "America bashing," as one student put it, many characters, and frequent use of Arabic expressions. But by the end, the large majority were expressing an appreciation for the novel in harmony with the positive reviews posted here. The novel enabled great discussions of how our values are shaped and the degree to which we have recognized and dealt with cultural, religious, political, and racial prejudices.

One could indeed wish that there had been further editing of the book, but there is a link between the style and organization of the novel and Khadra's profession of photographer: the novel is like a photo album, with some pictures that we want to study in detail and others that will just receive a quick glance. Throughout the album, pictures are thematically linked by images of, for example, headscarves of different colors, insects in different stages, and modes of transport of varying power. While most of the pictures focus our attention on Moslems in America, their composition encourages linking them with photos in the albums of other Americans: for example, Sue Monk Kidd's dance as a dissident daughter, school bullies, Malcolm X's radicalism tempered by disillusionment with a religious leader and by haj, red pick-ups, a rabbi in a nation officially hostile to Israel, St. Paul's Damascus road experience, the City of Brotherly and Sisterly Love, Plato's liberated prisoner stumbling around after being in the light, and the Indy 500.

I am glad to have this novel for use in the classroom.

I'm not going into plot summary, or on and on trying to write some pretentious review... All I'll say is, you should read this book. Then give it to your daughter, your niece, your neighbor; and buy yourself another copy, cause a few months later you'll want to read it again. Also, this book really offended me, until I realized I might deserve it. And that's not such a bad thing.

This book helped me to grow in my perceptions of other religions and life in America.

There are very few books I have read in my life that I thought everyone should read. This is one of them; I highly recommend it.

I thought this would be a juvenile book that I might enjoy. Instead, it is a strong and well written adult story of a young Syrian girl's childhood in Indiana. Lots of insights from a female point of view. I recommend it!

A book that yields rich insights on several dimensions. The dominant one is what it is like to grow up as a minority within the American culture - and not just any old minority, but as a Muslim, which parts of American society are actively trying to demonize. It was the "flip-side" of my own experience, living as a non-Muslim in the very heartland of Islam, Saudi Arabia, for a quarter century. While I was never forced to deal with issues of assimilation, Ms. Kahf's character, Khadra, must wrestle with the parts of her heritage that are essential, and those that can be jettisoned. How many religious injunctions are merely codified fetishes, illustrated by the refusal to eat any meat from the deli because of the meat-cutter?

There are numerous important sub-themes. The timeless subject of male-female relations, with that "Islamic twist" is shown in a realistic light, covering a spectrum of possibilities. Through her characters, Blu and Bitsy, who were Khadra's roommates at various periods, Ms. Kafh is able to illustrate nuances in beliefs that are all too often generalized. Blu is Jewish, and there is much agreement between these "daughters of Abraham," except on that haram subject of Israel and Palestine. Bitsy is Iranian, and leaves notes around the apartment blaming "the Arabs" for all of Iran's problems.

Khadra's trip to Saudi Arabia, to complete the Haj, was more uneven. There is no question that cocaine exists in the Kingdom, but I found the particular scene in which it was depicted playing heavily towards that stereotypical view of rich, decadent Saudis. More realistic, and more insightful are her dealings with the mutawaa (the religious police), and in particular how various Saudi males refuse to confront their arrogance and inappropriate behavior.

Ms. Kafh is clearly erudite, in a most important trans-cultural way. Her epigraphs ground her novel in the wider world of ideas, and these selections range from Rumi and Al-Arabi to James Baldwin and Leonard Cohen.

A strong book, which addresses some of the central issues of our times.... And is strongly recommended.

Do you notice how many reviewers say they "can't wait" to read this one after hearing about it on NPR? That was me too, and I'm here to tell you, don't bother. I'm giving up on it after failing to figure out what the plot might possibly be after reading 100 pages. I think lots of us want to learn more about Islam, but this book isn't a very fun (or even interesting) way to do it. Save your time and just find some non-fiction, instead of this plotless drivel. I'm lost in a sea of names and random stories about Islamic customs, with no idea where the author might be taking me. I am embarrassed I got my whole book club to read this.

While I didn't love the writing style in this book or find it compelling reading, I do recommend it highly for the expanded world view it provides. I loved seeing mainstream American life through a young Muslim woman's eyes. I found it interesting to learn the many varying views amoung Muslims about how to live life - no reason be be surprised by that but I was. Sometimes it is too easy to accept the flat picture of people and events portrayed by the media. That is why I often find for me novels are the best way to open my mind to new ideas and ways of thinking and being.

Khadra is a character I will remember because of her search for common ground with friends of different backgrounds and religion, her struggle to find what her beliefs were and how she could separate from yet still connect with her family and its construct, and her effort to find ethical work. I would like to get to know the girl in the tangerine scarf and blue jeans.

While I didn't love the writing style in this book or find it compelling reading, I do recommend it highly for the expanded world view it provides. I loved seeing mainstream American life through a young Muslim woman's eyes. I found it interesting to learn the many varying views amoung Muslims about how to live life - no reason be be surprised by that but I was. Sometimes it is too easy to accept the flat picture of people and events portrayed by the media. That is why I often find for me novels are the best way to open my mind to new ideas and ways of thinking and being.

Khadra is a character I will remember because of her search for common ground with friends of different backgrounds and religion, her struggle to find what her beliefs were and how she could separate from yet still connect with her family and its construct, and her effort to find ethical work. I would like to get to know the girl in the tangerine scarf and blue jeans.

One would think that a 60 year old white Christian southern male raised to teen years in a segregated society would find little in common with this book, but I add only to other reviewers - I see myself. I see my journey. I remember the 60's Hippie, radical, and then leaving my raised in faith - only to find it again, this time for real. The story of the good Samaritan leaves us knowing that loving God also means loving our neighbor - and that often is someone very different than we are. Maybe that is why God made Chocolate, Vanilla and spumoni. This book is a wonderful trip and a reminder of who we all are - God's greatest creation. Thank you

The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf is an amazingly balanced book, presenting a 3-dimensional representation of growing up in Islam in America. The author is very honest and even-handed. I was surprised at how much I could identify with Khadra and how much I could identify with those who angered and hurt her. This book should be read by everyone. Very thought-provoking and perspective-changing.

You'll be happy to know that I've actually read this novel, and I can't say enough good things about it. I read it in an attempt to understand more about the lives and motivations of Muslim women, and I wasn't disappointed. What I didn't anticipate was how much I would enjoy this book as a universal "coming of age" story. It isn't a story for and about Muslim women, it is for and about ALL women. Truly wonderful. Thank you for sharing your veil with us Mohja.

not read, yet...next book on the read list