In the Country I Love

by Alaa Al-Barkawi

Two Iraqi American best friends—a struggling teen father and the community's golden boy—confront dark truths about their families in the wake of a devastating crime in this heartrending YA debut.

As a seventeen-year-old single dad and a soon-to-be high school drop-out, Yassir Al-Azzawi's lapsed Shia faith is just another thing convincing his parents he's a failure. One more mistake, and they'll send him back to their homeland, a war-torn Iraq.

Khaled Al-Hakim is perfect on paper: devout in his faith, a straight-A student, and captain of the debate team. But beneath the surface, Khaled is no saint either, and his worst sin yet is ignoring his parents’ command to stay away from Yassir.

When their secret friendship is exposed, the consequences set off a series of events that cause family secrets from both sides to come to light, and neither Yassir nor Khaled are prepared to learn the stains that taint their family names.

Told through multiple POVs across time, this authentic exploration of the Shia Muslim experience in the U.S. seamlessly combines classic YA themes of identity, coming-of-age, and relationships with timely social themes of racism, Islamophobia, and justice. This compelling, contemporary debut is perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir’s All My Rage and Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2026

About the author

Alaa Al-Barkawi is a first-generation, Iraqi-American Shia Muslim writer. Alaa’s novels center around messy Iraqi characters navigating complicated family dynamics, Shia faith, weighty responsibilities, and culture. While her stories mostly take place in contemporary worlds, she infuses speculative twists with unexpected narrators inspired by Iraqi heritage and Islamic elements.

Her young adult debut novel, IN THE COUNTRY I LOVE, will be published in Summer 2026 by Peachtree Teen.

Reviews

[rara ➶]

(june 5th, 2024)

can’t wait to read this omg !!!!!!

[Akira]

Officially on top of my 2026 anticipated release!

[Chris Chedrawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most authentic, emotional contemporary books you’ll absolutely want to read and fall in love with. I love Alaa’s writing style—it was easy to read (so much that I was devouring this book) but also packed with some gut-wrenching one-liners and “isms” that any Arab or SWANA Muslim will relate to.

10/10 you should read this.

[rachel x]

"A multi-POV contemporary YA novel that explores the complexities of friendship, grief, and family through the story of two Iraqi American best friends—a teen single father whose Shia Muslim faith has lapsed and the community's devout golden boy—before, during, and after a crime that will alter their lives and unearth dark truths their families have worked to keep hidden."

[clicktojointhemafia]

books about friendship are criminally underrated, i'm so excited

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished ITCIL and it is one of the rawest, most authentic depictions of generational trauma and toxic home life I've ever seen, like it might as well have been a memoir. It's SO REAL.

THIS is the honest, un-sugar-coated book readers have been asking for, a story about what happens to human beings after they've survived war and escaped to a new life. Society wants you to believe they live happily ever after, but do they?

Reality is way more complicated and generational trauma is a hell of a beast to shake. But Kawther, Khaled, and Yassir certainly give it a try!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Can't wait to read more from this author!

[Aamna Qureshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

so so good!! i read an earlier draft of this and was so lucky to read the final copy, which was incredibly well-done, gripping, and sharp !!!

official blurb:

“In a poignant and compelling tale, Al-Barkawi’s debut tackles a variety of themes in a manner that is both heart-wrenching and graceful. Complicated friendships, tangled family dynamics, cultural history, religion, and racism are all deftly handled. In the Country I Love is an intricately woven story that proves just how important it is to fight for the ones we love: our community members, our friends, our families, and ourselves."

[Jacie Wach Slaymaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait!!

[Amani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A phenomenal book!!

[Gretal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This was an intense one, but ultimately a really beautiful story about these two boys, their friendship, and their families. I definitely plan to read more from Alaa Al-Barkawi in the future.

[Eshasreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You can’t apologise for something that is not
Your fault. Not everyone is brave enough to love”
“Yassir Al-Azzawi” did not need to be fixed. He needed to be loved… he loved fiercely, even if quietly”
What happens in a small Muslim town when the golden boy is best friends with the failure and both families are riddled with secrets and traumas that have driven them apart. How can they resolve this and what happens when all the secrets surface and they are forced to confront their deepest fears.
I cannot truly explain how deeply and truly I absolutely adored this book. Al-Barkawi was able to write a book that felt so personal and authentic that I truly latched on to each character and felt myself in each of their journeys.
The book explored a range of topics included deep Islamophobia and racism found in academia as well as everyday life and what it means to be a woman and defy roles written for you, even if it means choosing yourself before everyone else.
Each character was flawed and so so beautifully human, this book is a triumph of the YA genre and I have found a new auto-buy author.
Everyone should read this!!!

[AA · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY FRIEND WROTE THIS!!!!