Ghady & Rawan

<p><i>Ghady and Rawan</i> is a heartfelt and timely novel by the award-winning author Fatima Sharafeddine (<i>The Servant Cappuccino</i>) and Samar Mahfouz Barraj. The novel follows the close-knit friendship of two Lebanese teenagers Ghady who lives with his family in Belgium and Rawan who lives in Lebanon. Ghady's family travels every summer to Beirut where Ghady gets to spend all his time with Rawan and their other friends enjoying their freedom from school. During the rest of the year he and Rawan keep in touch by email. Through this correspondence we learn about the daily ups and downs of their lives in Brussels and Beirut including Ghady's homesickness and his struggles with racism at school as well as Rawan's changing relationship to her family. The novel offers a glimpse into the lives of Lebanese adolescents while exploring a range of topics relevant to young people everywhere: bullying parental conflicts racism belonging and identity and peer pressure. Through the connection between the two main characters Sharafeddine and Mahfouz Barraj show how the love and support of a good friend can help you through difficulties as well as sweeten life's triumphs and good times.</p>