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Written in the Stars
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  • Published: 3 December 2019
  • ISBN: 9780593171950
  • Imprint: RH US Audio Childrens
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $23.00

Written in the Stars

Formats & editions
Paperback
1 Oct 2016
EBook
24 Mar 2015
Audiobook
3 Dec 2019
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A Romeo and Juliet-style forbidden romance in Pakistan, an excellent addition to our growing list of diverse books.

In this “evocative” (School Library Journal) novel, a young Pakistani American teenager breaks her family’s one rule and is whisked away to the homeland to be forced into an arranged marriage.

“A wonderfully complex love story unlike any you’ve read before. . . . Both entertaining and important.”—Matt de la Peña, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Here

“Sheds light on the difficult phenomenon of forced marriage, still prevalent in many cultures around the world and often shrouded in silence.”—Kirkus Reviews

She has control of everything but her own heart.

Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. And until then, dating—or even friendship with a boy—is forbidden. When Naila breaks the rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid.

Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, right then and there. Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew.

Her only hope of escape is Saif . . . if he can find her before it’s too late.
  • Published: 3 December 2019
  • ISBN: 9780593171950
  • Imprint: RH US Audio Childrens
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $23.00
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About the author

Aisha Saeed

Aisha Saeed (AishaSaeed.com) is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books for children, including her middle grade novels Hafsa's Way, Omar Rising (a Kirkus Best Book), and Amal Unbound (a New York Times bestseller and Global Read Aloud). Her picture book Bilal Cooks Daal received an APALA honor, and she also wrote the picture books You and Me, Baby, Zuni and the Memory Jar, and The Together Tree. Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family.
portrait photo of Aisha Saeed

Also by Aisha Saeed

You and Me, Baby
Zuni and the Memory Jar
Forty Words for Love
She Persisted: Malala Yousafzai
Omar Rising
Amal Unbound
See all

Praise for Written in the Stars

Praise for Written in the Stars:
"Readers will be drawn into Naila's trials and tribulations as she navigates the reality of her new life in Pakistan and explores what inner resources she needs to change her fate. . . . Sheds light on the difficult phenomenon of forced marriage, still prevalent in many cultures around the world and often shrouded in silence."--Kirkus Reviews

"Movingly conveys the intense cultural pressure that motivates Naila's parents and the heartbreaking betrayal Naila feels as she is deprived of her rights, cut off from the outside world, and threatened with shame and death. Saeed includes resources for those who, like Saif's family, wish to help real-life Nailas, in this wrenching but hopeful story."--Publishers Weekly

"Compelling. . . . This is a cross-cultural eye opener . . . Resonates in its explanations of the rituals, especially how they would look and feel from an American point of view. Yet the setting is pure Pakistani, with culturally rich descriptions of Naila's extended family, their cuisine, and strongly held beliefs. . . . Evocative."--School Library Journal

Praise for Written in the Stars:
"Readers will be drawn into Naila's trials and tribulations as she navigates the reality of her new life in Pakistan and explores what inner resources she needs to change her fate. . . . Sheds light on the difficult phenomenon of forced marriage, still prevalent in many cultures around the world and often shrouded in silence."--Kirkus Reviews

"Movingly conveys the intense cultural pressure that motivates Naila's parents and the heartbreaking betrayal Naila feels as she is deprived of her rights, cut off from the outside world, and threatened with shame and death. Saeed includes resources for those who, like Saif's family, wish to help real-life Nailas, in this wrenching but hopeful story."--Publishers Weekly

"Compelling. . . . This is a cross-cultural eye opener . . . Resonates in its explanations of the rituals, especially how they would look and feel from an American point of view. Yet the setting is pure Pakistani, with culturally rich descriptions of Naila's extended family, their cuisine, and strongly held beliefs. . . . Evocative."--School Library Journal