Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion -- Bushra Rehman, Hardcover

"Evoke[s] a singular worldview of the Pakistani immigrant community." --NPR (A Best Book of the Year)

For readers of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous and My Brilliant Friend, Bushra Rehman's Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is an unforgettable story about female friendship and queer love

Razia Mirza grows up amid the wild grape vines and backyard sunflowers of Corona, Queens, with her best friend, Saima, by her side. When a family rift drives the girls apart, Razia's heart is broken. She finds solace in Taslima, a new girl in her close-knit Pakistani-American community. They embark on a series of small rebellions: listening to scandalous music, wearing miniskirts, and cutting school to explore the city.

When Razia is accepted to Stuyvesant, a prestigious high school in Manhattan, the gulf between the person she is and the daughter her parents want her to be, widens. At Stuyvesant, Razia meets Angela and is attracted to her in a way that blossoms into a new understanding. When their relationship is discovered by an Aunty in the community, Razia must choose between her family and her own future.

Punctuated by both joy and loss, full of '80s music and beloved novels, Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a new classic: a fiercely compassionate coming-of-age story of a girl struggling to reconcile her heritage and faith with her desire to be true to herself.

Author: Bushra Rehman
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Published: 12/06/2022
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 9.49h x 6.45w x 1.01d
ISBN: 9781250834782

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 07/01/2022 pg. 3
Publishers Weekly 09/26/2022