American Girls - by Jessica Roy (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The Sally sisters, raised in a rural Jehovah's Witness community in Arkansas, spent their teens and twenties moving between cities and towns in the South and Midwest, working difficult and poorly-paid jobs and falling in and out of relationships. Caught in an eternal sibling rivalry -- where Lori, younger by a year, protected bold, outgoing, reckless Sam -- the two women eventually married a pair of brothers and settled down in Elkhart, Indiana, just around the corner from each other. And it was there that their lives totally and violently diverged. Today, Sam is in federal custody, where she will remain for the next six years after pleading guilty to Financing Terrorism. In July of 2018, she and her children were plucked from a Kurdish refugee camp in Syria, where she landed after spending two years in Raqqa, shielding her children from airstrikes as her husband fought for ISIS. Sam's oldest son appeared in several Islamic State propaganda videos, and she participated in ISIS's practice of enslaving Yazidi women and children. Sam says her husband coerced her to move to Raqqa, but Lori-who quit her job and worked tirelessly to get Sam out of Syria-isn't so sure. American Girls combines an in-depth examination of Sam and Lori's lives with on-the-ground reporting from Syria and Iraq, providing readers with a rare glimpse into the world of American women who join ISIS. Interweaving deeply reported narrative drama with expert analysis, the book explores how the structures of subjugation and abuse experienced at home by women in the U.S. like Sam and Lori are the same structures that enable the rise of patriarchal societies like ISIS. Fascinating, resonant, and moving, American Girls is an unforgettable journey -- from small-town Arkansas to Raqqa, from domestic abuse to a militant terrorist organization -- all through the story of two close, complicated sisters"--

Book Synopsis

Named a Best Book of the Year by Elle

A CNN, NPR, and Today Most-Anticipated Book of 2024

A "gripping" (CNN), true account of religious extremism, radicalization, and the bonds of family: the story of an American woman who traveled to ISIS-controlled Syria with her two children and extremist husband and the sister back home who worked tirelessly to help her escape.

Raised in a restrictive Jehovah's Witness community in Arkansas, sisters Lori and Sam Sally spent their teens and twenties moving around the South and Midwest, working low-wage jobs and falling in and out of relationships. Caught in an eternal sibling rivalry--where younger, quieter Lori protected outgoing, reckless Sam--the two women eventually married a pair of brothers and settled down in Elkhart, Indiana, just around the corner from each other. It was there that their lives, once mirrors of each other's, dramatically diverged.

While Lori was ultimately able to leave her violent marriage, Sam was drawn deeper into hers--ensnared under the influence of a husband who slowly radicalized, via the internet, into a jihadist. With their daughter and Sam's child from a previous relationship, the couple moved to Raqqa, Syria, where Moussa fought for ISIS and Sam, who never even converted to Islam, attempted to survive and protect her children from airstrikes, extremist indoctrination, and the brutality of ISIS. In Raqqa, Sam's oldest son appeared in several Islamic State propaganda videos, and she participated in ISIS's practice of enslaving Yezidi women and children. Sam says her husband coerced her to move, but Lori--who quit her job and worked nonstop to get Sam out of Syria--isn't so sure.

American Girls combines an in-depth examination of Sam and Lori's lives with on-the-ground reporting from Iraq, providing a rare glimpse into the world of American women who join ISIS. Interweaving deeply reported narrative drama with expert analysis, the book explores how the subjugation and abuse experienced by women in the United States, women like Sam and Lori, are one in the same with the conditions that enable the rise of patriarchal, extremist ideologies like those espoused by ISIS.

Fascinating, "timely, and chilling" (Booklist), American Girls is an unforgettable journey--from small-town Arkansas to Raqqa, from domestic abuse to a militant terrorist organization--all told through the extraordinary story of two close, complicated sisters.

Review Quotes

Named a Best Book of the Year by ELLE
A CNN, NPR, and Today Show Most-Anticipated Book of 2024

"[American Girls] uses incisive, on-the-ground reporting to explore how, even through experiences with abusive partners, poverty, and religious extremism, it's the bond of sisterhood that is perhaps most complicated of all." --Elle Magazine

"A gripping read." --CNN Entertaiment

"The narrative at the heart of Jessica Roy's American Girls is so remarkable it could have been scripted for Hollywood...[Roy] leans into the inherent drama of her tale, crafting American Girls as a stranger-than-fiction thriller." --New York Times Book Review

"Journalist Jessica Roy pulls us into a complicated and ultimately inspiring story about abuse, radicalization, and sisterhood... Thoughtful and poignant, American Girls ponders the effects of violence and extremism - in all its shapes, forms, and origins." --Apple Books

"American Girls provides a rare look inside ISIS, which remains one of the most mysterious--and misunderstood--extremist ideologies of the early 21st century."
--NY Post

"A true and wrenching story of two sisters from Arkansas that pairs thought-provoking commentary with the drama and suspense of a novel."
--Town & Country

"It's hard to recall a more compelling modern depiction of how sisterhood functions as a magnet, causing two lives to attract and then repel one another again and again and again."
--Katie Couric Media

"Jessica Roy is at the height of her powers. A masterful storyteller and meticulous reporter, she applies her disciplinary expertise and deep well of empathy to the Sally sisters, and the result is a book that will first grip you and then change you."
--Olivia Nuzzi, Washington correspondent for New York magazine

"American Girls is a riveting family love story: aching to find each other and a stable home, two traumatized sisters vault first into the arms of terrible men and from there into ISIS and existential, worldwide conflict. Lori and Sam are still lingering in my mind--and even more so, the larger context Roy has revealed with their story: the straight line between relationship violence and global terrorism; the riptide of trauma that has tugged the line of history so far out to sea. This book might read like a novel, but in reality it's a true, game-changing contribution to 21st century political analysis."
--Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online

"As brilliantly told by Jessica Roy, the story of Samantha Sally and her sister Lori is as dramatic as a Hollywood script. But at its heart, this is a moving and universal portrait of sibling rivalry and sibling loyalty that will resonate with every reader."
--Nina Garcia, Editor-in-Chief, ELLE

"Roy's diligent research chronicles the rise of ISIS, Lori's efforts to retrieve Sam from Syria, and Sam's enigmatic narrative, portraying Sam as both victim and perpetrator of transgression - to what degree, Roy leaves to the reader. Timely and chilling."
--Booklist

"Roy's nuanced debut turns a psychological lens on convicted Islamic State supporter Samantha Sally and her sister, Lori....This is a thoughtful reframing of a sensational case."
--Publishers Weekly

"The details are shocking, but Roy provides a chilling reminder that this could happen to anyone."
--Kirkus

About the Author

Jessica Roy is a journalist and editor who splits her time between Paris and the United States. Previously, she served as the Digital Director of Elle magazine, where she oversaw content and strategy for the website. Jessica has also worked as a writer and editor at The Cut, Time, and The New York Observer, and is an adjunct professor at New York University, where she teaches writing and editing for digital platforms.