It Ain't So Awful, Falafel

by Firoozah Dumas
Lexile:  730
Genre:  Realistic/Historical Fiction

Zomorod Yousefzadeh has just moved to Newport Beach, CA and she desperately wants to fit in as an American girl.  She and her family have moved to CA from Iran and she has just a few weeks before junior high starts.  Her first decision is to change her name to Cindy so that teachers can pronounce her name.  Her parents don't speak much English and want her to hold on to her Iranian heritage, but "Cindy" knows that will only draw attention to herself.  Suddenly, Iran seems to be in the news headlines more and more and her teachers and the community respond in unexpected ways.  Cindy doesn't want to be the expert in U.S/Iranian politics.  She just wants to be an American 6th grader.  Is it possible for her to be both?

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