Reads like a more literary memoir, and we know how I feel about memoirs... but still clever and funny and heart-wrenching in turns, and true to the author's wonderful voice. ( )

An absolute joy. Romantic. Real. Hilarious. A winner! ( )

Very engaging.

I would have been happier if this book had been about less - a more closely examined section of life rather than birth to college in 275 pages. I liked the rebelliousness of the narrator, Nadali- her spunk and her wisdom. Her trip to the West Bank for her grandfather's fneral, the family's exodus across Iran during the first Gulf War are very finely written and will linger. Other parts of the novel - not so much. ( )

There is real depth in this novel, though the omnipresent glibness takes its toll. It takes a while to discover the depth but the effort is well expended. And yes, identity and family are so interwoven, aren't they? ( )