Ahlam Bsharat

63/2021. Code Name: Butterfly by Ahlam Bsharat, 2009 (English translation 2016 by Nancy N Roberts), is a painfully honest YA story told by a young teenage Palestinian girl living in the Israeli occupied Palestinian territories near Nablus. She has many questions about life which she daren't ask for cultural or political reasons so she locks them away inside herself and begins to wonder if adult humans emerge from their cocoon of childhood questions much as butterflies emerge after their own transformations.

While this book is perhaps more serious than many YA novels it's not especially solemn and the teen protagonist manages to have enough of a sense of humour to perceive the absurdities of growing up under military occupation by a foreign power.

On the family cat: "'I didn't get too upset when Wadee died,' she declared. 'After all, he's a martyr, since Abu Mansur ran him over on the way to work for the occupiers.' She tried to act as if she were fully convinced of every word she was saying and wasn't heartbroken. So she looked hilarious and miserable at the same time, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry."

Children in Jordan: "'They don't have to carry their birth certificates with them everywhere they go to prove they're too young to have to show an ID. In Palestine, children have to prove they're children.'"… (meer)

From the perspective of an adolescent girl in Palestine, this book packs a huge amount in less than 100 short pages. There is the standard fare of teen books -- family, friendship, puberty -- albeit in some ways unfamiliar to Western teens. As well as the inevitable background of the wider politics and conflict of the region which intrudes on daily life in ways small and large. There is a lot in the characters which will resonate with readers everywhere, and this combined with the fast-moving writing make for a very engaging book.

The length and teen protagonists might put this in the YA bracket, but there is plenty here to interest the adult reader. Indeed, this book has somewhat dispelled my prejudice against reading YA books as an adult. I think the difference is that it unflinchingly engages with the wider political world without resorting to fantasy worlds. A frank, thoughtful and engaging read which I'd recommend for all ages.… (meer)