Arab American heritage picks

In a tiny Beirut apartment, Raja and his mother live side by side. Raja relishes books, order and solitude, but his octogenarian mother views his desire for privacy as a personal affront.

Intertwines the author's account of her recovery from an eating disorder with her look into family secrets tied to Palestinian displacement, exploring how her personal trauma reflects generational struggles with colonization and patriarchy in a journey through memory, survival and self-discovery.

Rawia shares the flavors of her Palestinian childhood-- with recipes passed down from her mother and recreated by Rawia, as well as dishes influenced from summers spent in Spain, and from living and cooking in the historically Italian neighborhood of Bay Ridge, in New York City.    

After reporting on the War on Terror, Black Lives Matter protests and the slaughter in Gaza, the author concludes that much of what the West promises is a lie; there will always be groups outside the boundaries of privilege who won't be considered fully human.

In a near future where the Risk Assessment Administration uses data to prevent future crimes, Sara Hussein is arrested after a dream-analysis algorithm indicates she'll harm her husband. Held at a retention center, she's losing hope she'll ever get out when a newcomer upends everything.

A stunning memoir of personal rebellion and political awakening from a young woman raised to be loyal to a brutal regime-- and the unimaginable cost of choosing freedom.

Arabella, a New York theatre director facing dwindling career prospects, accepts a chance to stage a bold Shakespeare adaptation in the West Bank, while her grandmother plots a match with Palestinian American doctor, triggering a multi-generational tale spanning from 1940s Jaffa to 2012 Palestine.