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The ocean would paint me blue
Not yet published
Expected 4 Jun 26What if you felt like you'd cried all the colours away? The heart-wrenching new story of friendship, loss and identity from the author of international bestseller
As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow.
An unputdownable story about family, friendship, grief and trust from a masterful writer of the genre.
An unputdownable story about family, friendship, grief and trust from a masterful writer of the genre.
352 pages, Paperback
Expected publication June 4, 2026
5628 people want to read
About the author
Zoulfa Katouh
2 books5,963 followersAll Zoulfa wanted was to lay in her bed and eat sliced mango all day long with no single thought in her mind, but now she has two jobs, scientist and author. She has girlbossed so close to the sun, that she's burning. She lost the original plot.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
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October 22, 2025everyone. what book did i read june 4th of 2025 FOR THE FIRST TIME??? as long as the lemon trees grow! what is now COMING OUT june 4th 2026? THE OCEAN WOULD PAINT ME BLUE. what else takes place on june 4th?? MY BIRTHDAY. GUYS. THIS BOOK IS COMING OUT ON MY BIRTHDAY AFTER I READ LEMON TREES THIS YEAR ON MY BIRTHDAY.
THIS IS FATE.
THIS IS FATE.
October 11, 2025
i did in fact have the pleasure of reading this a couple months ago and yes, i wept
Want to read
October 22, 2025After As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow...
I sense another masterpiece with this new release!
I NEED this book NOW!!!
💙💙💙💙
I sense another masterpiece with this new release!
I NEED this book NOW!!!
💙💙💙💙
Want to read
January 28, 2026ˏˋ°•*⁀➷・❥・𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀・❥・ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
⤿🪼28/01/26
the cover is revealed now OMG SHE'S A BEAUTY 🥹😭💘 I've been camping out here for 4 YEARS AAAA I'M ABSOLUTELY GOING FERAL RN Y'ALL HAVE NO IDEA ASDFGHJKL 😩✋🏻
⤿🪼28/01/26
the cover is revealed now OMG SHE'S A BEAUTY 🥹😭💘 I've been camping out here for 4 YEARS AAAA I'M ABSOLUTELY GOING FERAL RN Y'ALL HAVE NO IDEA ASDFGHJKL 😩✋🏻
Want to read
December 25, 2025
Okay Okay Okay 🌬
I haven’t read the novel yet, but I am waiting for it on pins and needles! I just know it’s going to break me and leave a mark on my heart that I’ll never forget. Why? The answer is simple: first, because it’s written by Zoulfa; second, just the title alone makes me pause and reflect; and third, because I know she writes with such sincere honesty.
It’s as if she actually lived with the characters—they aren't just ink on paper, they feel completely real. As a reader, I live alongside them and feel their presence in this world. I find pieces of myself within them, and I’ll never forget the hope that is planted in the reader by the end of the story.
The ocean would paint me blue
Why I’m hyped! I’m definitely not alone—everyone who loved her previous novel feels the exact same way.
To be honest, my heart is bursting with energy to read this, and I really hope I’ll be among the very first to dive into it... This is probably the first time in my entire reading history that I’ve felt this level of hype for a new release. It has truly never happened to me before!!
I can’t wait to stop talking about it and actually judge it properly, but for now: expect beauty, expect depth, and bring tissues (or sunglasses)!! I wonder... what is Zoulfa going to do to me this time?
''You are the entire ocean in a drop.''
Okay Okay Okay 🌬
I haven’t read the novel yet, but I am waiting for it on pins and needles! I just know it’s going to break me and leave a mark on my heart that I’ll never forget. Why? The answer is simple: first, because it’s written by Zoulfa; second, just the title alone makes me pause and reflect; and third, because I know she writes with such sincere honesty.
It’s as if she actually lived with the characters—they aren't just ink on paper, they feel completely real. As a reader, I live alongside them and feel their presence in this world. I find pieces of myself within them, and I’ll never forget the hope that is planted in the reader by the end of the story.
The ocean would paint me blue
Why I’m hyped! I’m definitely not alone—everyone who loved her previous novel feels the exact same way.
''You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.''
To be honest, my heart is bursting with energy to read this, and I really hope I’ll be among the very first to dive into it... This is probably the first time in my entire reading history that I’ve felt this level of hype for a new release. It has truly never happened to me before!!
''The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.''
I can’t wait to stop talking about it and actually judge it properly, but for now: expect beauty, expect depth, and bring tissues (or sunglasses)!! I wonder... what is Zoulfa going to do to me this time?
Want to read
October 22, 2025I know this book is absolutely going to destroy me and I’m ready.
Want to read
January 7, 2026I've been stalking Zoulfa's IG for nearly two and a half years, waiting for this book, and now I'm checking NetGalley every single day, waiting for the ARC to be dropped. So please, please, please, give me the darn book. 😭
Want to read
October 22, 2025Yesssss...now this's my cue!!!
I looooved Zoulfah Katouh's prev novel As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow and I'm not kidding when I'm saying that I've starved for this book...finally it's announced....wooooooohooooooo!!!!
I looooved Zoulfah Katouh's prev novel As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow and I'm not kidding when I'm saying that I've starved for this book...finally it's announced....wooooooohooooooo!!!!
Want to read
October 22, 2025BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT FOR MONTHS HELL YEAH ZOULFA OUR QUEEN
December 25, 2025
i read this book a few months back when it wasn't officially announced, and having to keep quiet about one of the most beautiful books i've had the pleasure to read was legitimately gruelling. zoulfa has long been one of my absolute favorite authors; she builds skyscapes out of nothing but words and simple sentences, characters that echo past the narrative and come alive on paper. she is my favorite storyteller.
the ocean would paint me blue took me right back home with the same melodic, resounding prose that surrounded as long as the lemon trees grow, a story that's hopeful and in the same breath anguished, about grief, but also about love. i could never describe everything it meant to me, and the tender, soft spots it touched: what it means to be a girl who finds her place in colors and pigments and pages, what it means to be left behind and carry on, to be surrounded by the embers of lost love and finding shreds of hope in it despite. more than anything else, perhaps, it's a story about what it means to be a muslim girl in a world that's already cast you in a certain role, how a slip of cloth alienates you, vilifies you, in a unique situation i think no one outside of it can quite comprehend. i've read a lot of books in my life, and i have never, never come across something as poignant, as beautiful, as thoughtful as this book. every choice—and i do mean every single small, microscopic choice—is made with so much intent it shines through the paper. it's a book that's a love letter to syria, but also a love letter to muslim girls, hijabi girls, a love letter to everyone lost and cornered and finding their way out. it's a love letter to the sea, that bridges a soul to their homeland, a love letter to the crystal blue you find in waves and in the fluorescence of a jellyfish. it's the hard choices you have to make, and the life you can spend reeling from something you never saw coming. the unfairness of the world and the beauty in spite of it. it's one unforgiving brushstroke at a time, and it coalesces into this beautiful, stunning painting that, honestly, try as i might, i'll never be able to fully, properly articulate. i loved the character work and the writing, i loved how every choice and turn the narrative takes is done so naturally and with insistence, how at every instance, the love shines through the ache.
this is a book that i think we've always deserved, a book that takes it upon itself to stand for a reality that's been so contorted, words that have been maligned and used against us for so long. this is a book that i wish had been there for me when i was fifteen and so scared, and i am so elated now that it's finally going to release: there's going to be some muslim girl in the world, reading these words, and know she belongs. that she can paint her own sky, her own ocean, and it doesn't have to bend to what the world might try to impose. that is important. that is what literature means, what everything is for, at the end of the day. there is hope in these pages. there is conviction: that things can be, will be better.
thank you so much to the author for the advanced copy. 5/5 stars.
the ocean would paint me blue took me right back home with the same melodic, resounding prose that surrounded as long as the lemon trees grow, a story that's hopeful and in the same breath anguished, about grief, but also about love. i could never describe everything it meant to me, and the tender, soft spots it touched: what it means to be a girl who finds her place in colors and pigments and pages, what it means to be left behind and carry on, to be surrounded by the embers of lost love and finding shreds of hope in it despite. more than anything else, perhaps, it's a story about what it means to be a muslim girl in a world that's already cast you in a certain role, how a slip of cloth alienates you, vilifies you, in a unique situation i think no one outside of it can quite comprehend. i've read a lot of books in my life, and i have never, never come across something as poignant, as beautiful, as thoughtful as this book. every choice—and i do mean every single small, microscopic choice—is made with so much intent it shines through the paper. it's a book that's a love letter to syria, but also a love letter to muslim girls, hijabi girls, a love letter to everyone lost and cornered and finding their way out. it's a love letter to the sea, that bridges a soul to their homeland, a love letter to the crystal blue you find in waves and in the fluorescence of a jellyfish. it's the hard choices you have to make, and the life you can spend reeling from something you never saw coming. the unfairness of the world and the beauty in spite of it. it's one unforgiving brushstroke at a time, and it coalesces into this beautiful, stunning painting that, honestly, try as i might, i'll never be able to fully, properly articulate. i loved the character work and the writing, i loved how every choice and turn the narrative takes is done so naturally and with insistence, how at every instance, the love shines through the ache.
this is a book that i think we've always deserved, a book that takes it upon itself to stand for a reality that's been so contorted, words that have been maligned and used against us for so long. this is a book that i wish had been there for me when i was fifteen and so scared, and i am so elated now that it's finally going to release: there's going to be some muslim girl in the world, reading these words, and know she belongs. that she can paint her own sky, her own ocean, and it doesn't have to bend to what the world might try to impose. that is important. that is what literature means, what everything is for, at the end of the day. there is hope in these pages. there is conviction: that things can be, will be better.
thank you so much to the author for the advanced copy. 5/5 stars.
Want to read
October 11, 2025SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UPP
October 22, 2025
actually one of the most devastating books I’ve ever read
sending Zoulfa my therapy bill brb
sending Zoulfa my therapy bill brb
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
My heart hurts.
Want to read
October 22, 2025i absolutely cannot wait to suffer and have my heart be broken into a thousand pieces by another zoulfa katouh novel 😍😍😍
i have been ANTICIPATING this book!!! even more so since i met zoulfa coincidentally in waterstones when she came to london last month, and i actually spoke to her too she was so so sweet omg core memory 🥹🥹🤍
i have been ANTICIPATING this book!!! even more so since i met zoulfa coincidentally in waterstones when she came to london last month, and i actually spoke to her too she was so so sweet omg core memory 🥹🥹🤍
Want to read
January 13, 2026Zoulfa is back!! Can we please skip to June?
Want to read
November 23, 2025OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
do my eyes deceive me? (⊙ _ ⊙ )
IS THIS REAL?! (つ╥﹏╥)つ
FINALLY oh lord i've been waiting forever for zoulfa's next book after her debut became my favourite book of all time. (*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)
I NEED THIS NOW.
do my eyes deceive me? (⊙ _ ⊙ )
IS THIS REAL?! (つ╥﹏╥)つ
FINALLY oh lord i've been waiting forever for zoulfa's next book after her debut became my favourite book of all time. (*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)
I NEED THIS NOW.
Want to read
November 23, 2025emotional damage? HERE FOR ITTTTTTTT
October 29, 2025
the most heartwrenchingly beautiful book to ever exist?
all I’m gonna say is you know when a book is so good you feel so well-fed when you read it? that's this book.
all I’m gonna say is you know when a book is so good you feel so well-fed when you read it? that's this book.
Want to read
October 22, 2025im already tearing up🥲🥲🥲🥲❤️🧡💚
Want to read
February 12, 2026can this just come out now??? PLEASE
i actullay cannot wait cuz as long as the lemon tree grows is one of my fave books🤭
i actullay cannot wait cuz as long as the lemon tree grows is one of my fave books🤭
tbr-2026
October 22, 2025LE’S FREAKING GO 😭😭😭😭😭😭🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 I CAN’T WAIT
Want to read
November 20, 2025pre read 11/20/25: yeah, idk how she's gonna top As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow. That was peak. Dare I say peak English Lit?? But I believe in her. Second novels are often better
Want to read
October 25, 2025There isn't a day since January 2023 where I stopped thinking about lemon trees and what Salama and Kenan went through. That book destroyed me and since then I've set camp in Zoulfa's account eating up whatever crumbs she feeds me about Book 2. Now we have a title, a release date - my birthday month mind you - and I am SO happy. I cannot wait.
Want to read
October 31, 2025i will read and devour anything this woman puts out
February 15, 2026
Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the gifted copy.
AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW is one of my all-time favorite books and I’ve been anxiously anticipating Zoulfa’s sophomore novel… it did not miss.
A powerful coming-of-age story, THE OCEAN WOULD PAINT ME BLUE is a poignant, moving look at the Muslim experience in America, a powerful story of strength & persistence, and an impassioned cry to remember the humanity in others.
THE OCEAN tells the story of Jihad, who is part of a Syrian family living in NYC. The women in her family have magical blessings, and hers is a heightened sense of seeing colors, but has faded with the loss of her mom. Her dream is to go to Opus for art school, but her father and sister are set on college at NYU. They decide that going to a private school for her senior year is her best bet to get in. Besides, her childhood friend Alexis goes to the school! Let me tell you, it does not go well and I’ve never been so angry with a group of fictional high schoolers. Zoulfa really covers the whole spectrum of offenders to get the full experience: there are blatant racists, passive bystanders, ignorant “friends”, useless administrators, and old money hierarchies. If you thought ALL MY RAGE made you angry, just wait.
That being said, I ADORED Jihad and was cheering for her the whole time. She’s SO strong and processed her grief with a magical sketchbook, which was so beautiful. Also beautiful was JAMIE. I love that he was there to remind her of just how special she was as he also figured out who he was. “Meeting someone like you is a rare occurrence” like are you KIDDING me?! I’m gonna need another book or bonus chapters or a novella or literally anything on them in the future.
I learned a lot by reading this book. I cried multiple times, was angered a lot, and highlighted so many lines of Jihad’s internal dialogue because she taught me so much. But the line that stuck out to me most was: “You’re human, aren’t you? You’re hurting, aren’t you? That’s enough of a reason.” That’s a lesson we can all live by: to have empathy, to carry the sadness of others, to lift them up, and to treat them as human.
AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW is one of my all-time favorite books and I’ve been anxiously anticipating Zoulfa’s sophomore novel… it did not miss.
A powerful coming-of-age story, THE OCEAN WOULD PAINT ME BLUE is a poignant, moving look at the Muslim experience in America, a powerful story of strength & persistence, and an impassioned cry to remember the humanity in others.
THE OCEAN tells the story of Jihad, who is part of a Syrian family living in NYC. The women in her family have magical blessings, and hers is a heightened sense of seeing colors, but has faded with the loss of her mom. Her dream is to go to Opus for art school, but her father and sister are set on college at NYU. They decide that going to a private school for her senior year is her best bet to get in. Besides, her childhood friend Alexis goes to the school! Let me tell you, it does not go well and I’ve never been so angry with a group of fictional high schoolers. Zoulfa really covers the whole spectrum of offenders to get the full experience: there are blatant racists, passive bystanders, ignorant “friends”, useless administrators, and old money hierarchies. If you thought ALL MY RAGE made you angry, just wait.
That being said, I ADORED Jihad and was cheering for her the whole time. She’s SO strong and processed her grief with a magical sketchbook, which was so beautiful. Also beautiful was JAMIE. I love that he was there to remind her of just how special she was as he also figured out who he was. “Meeting someone like you is a rare occurrence” like are you KIDDING me?! I’m gonna need another book or bonus chapters or a novella or literally anything on them in the future.
I learned a lot by reading this book. I cried multiple times, was angered a lot, and highlighted so many lines of Jihad’s internal dialogue because she taught me so much. But the line that stuck out to me most was: “You’re human, aren’t you? You’re hurting, aren’t you? That’s enough of a reason.” That’s a lesson we can all live by: to have empathy, to carry the sadness of others, to lift them up, and to treat them as human.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book is everything high school me needed. It feels like healing a part of myself I didn't even know needed healing. The conversations in this book about jihad and the way it (and many other Islamic/Arab concepts) is twisted into violence were done so, so well. I love that this book captured what jihad really is, and we see it in Jihad, her family, and Jamie. The internal and external struggles that these characters go through make me connect with them so deeply. I felt really seen by the discussion of how as Muslims (and as minorities in general), there's a sort of passive and soft way we feel we have to react to racist/Islamophobic behavior because otherwise it reinforces that person's views. There were so many times I wish I could've stepped through the book to do something.
The story Jihad tells of her mother is such a strong core of this book. It was absolutely devastating, but still it makes me have hope. I think for me it makes me think "if not hope, then what else do I have?" Jihad and Jamie's friendship was so genuine, and I absolutely love how it was developed. Overall, I highly, highly recommend you pick this up when I comes out in June!
(also as an Egyptian hijabi, That One mural...yes, just yes)
The story Jihad tells of her mother is such a strong core of this book. It was absolutely devastating, but still it makes me have hope. I think for me it makes me think "if not hope, then what else do I have?" Jihad and Jamie's friendship was so genuine, and I absolutely love how it was developed. Overall, I highly, highly recommend you pick this up when I comes out in June!
(also as an Egyptian hijabi, That One mural...yes, just yes)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for this ARC.
The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue is a coming of age story that will both break your heart and open your eyes, especially if you’ve fallen victim to the propaganda machine that we’ve all been subjected to in the last 25 years. I learned so much from this book and it wasn’t even nonfiction. I feel really sad knowing that Jihad’s experience isn’t just a fictional story, but is one that happens to Muslims every day.
Zoulfa Katouh has already proven herself a talented writer in such a short time. Her books are an experience, and I feel lucky that she opens up her world to all of us. It’s obvious that she is passionate about her faith, and even though it may bring the wrong kind of attention from some, she still finds beauty in it. I’m not Muslim or Syrian, but I am grateful to find stories like Katouh’s and I hope they keep coming. The world needs more hearts open to the beauty of diversity, inclusion, and understanding.
The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue is a coming of age story that will both break your heart and open your eyes, especially if you’ve fallen victim to the propaganda machine that we’ve all been subjected to in the last 25 years. I learned so much from this book and it wasn’t even nonfiction. I feel really sad knowing that Jihad’s experience isn’t just a fictional story, but is one that happens to Muslims every day.
Zoulfa Katouh has already proven herself a talented writer in such a short time. Her books are an experience, and I feel lucky that she opens up her world to all of us. It’s obvious that she is passionate about her faith, and even though it may bring the wrong kind of attention from some, she still finds beauty in it. I’m not Muslim or Syrian, but I am grateful to find stories like Katouh’s and I hope they keep coming. The world needs more hearts open to the beauty of diversity, inclusion, and understanding.
October 22, 2025
If you thought Lemon Trees was good…
Maybe controversial, but I loved this even more than Zoulfa’s first book (which lived in my head since the first time I read it). The writing is elevated, it’s more “relatable”, and the characters!! They will punch you in the gut and break open your heart to fill it with new light and make you a wholly better person.
Whether you’re a fan of ALATLTG or haven’t read it - you have never seen this shade of blue before and your life will be changed for it.
Maybe controversial, but I loved this even more than Zoulfa’s first book (which lived in my head since the first time I read it). The writing is elevated, it’s more “relatable”, and the characters!! They will punch you in the gut and break open your heart to fill it with new light and make you a wholly better person.
Whether you’re a fan of ALATLTG or haven’t read it - you have never seen this shade of blue before and your life will be changed for it.
October 21, 2025
CAN’T WAIT!!!
October 22, 2025
oh my god. take me to june 2026 NOW.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews