Summer Reading 2020

I Was Their American Dream

by Malaka Gharib

The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigates her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid.

--Good Reads

This engaging memoir is an uplifting ode to Gharib’s bicultural background, her immigrant parents, and her road to self-acceptance. An essential purchase.

--School Library Journal  Starred Review

Read this book if...

• You like humanizing stories about interesting people
• You are interested in the real life experiences of a multi-cultural immigrant family
• You'd like something that covers important issues without feeling too "heavy"

"I was their American Dream:" Filipina-Egyptian artist shares immigration story in graphic memoir