Landing in Place: A Graphic Novel - by Sherine Hamdy

About the Book

Pressured into following her sister's premed footsteps, Anisa struggles with her parents' expectations, college life, and finding her own identity, until she visits her grandfather in Egypt and discovers her artistic voice.

Book Synopsis

A poignant coming-of-age graphic novel about an Egyptian American girl grappling with college, her family, and the political realities of her wider world.

Anisa is following in her sister Reem's footsteps: She's a freshman at her sister's alma mater, she's on the same premed track, and she's inherited Reem's old hotpot, mini-fridge, and textbooks. Even though Anisa would prefer to study art, her parents discount that as a valid career choice. The path laid out before her starts to crumble as Anisa feels she doesn't belong--either in her organic chemistry class or among the other Muslim students on campus.

When Anisa fails her first semester, she begs her parents to let her take time off to visit Cairo and stay with her beloved grandfather. Finally free to have her own experiences, Anisa begins a journey of self-discovery and, as she bumps up against familial, societal, and religious expectations, she starts to develop her own artistic voice. When Anisa returns to the United States, many of these expectations shift, but she learns to draw on the love of friends and family--including those she's often at odds with--in order to stay true to herself.

Review Quotes

"A deeply emotional read. Landing in Place is relatable to all children of immigrants who desperately want to know more about their families' past, powerful in the way it weaves historical and political facts through layers of generational trauma, and a good reminder that while Muslims may practice differently, we should still find unity and mutual respect within our shared faith."
--Huda Fahmy, author of National Book Award finalist Huda F Cares?

About the Author

Sherine Hamdy is a professor of anthropology at University of California-Irvine. Her academic book, Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt (UC Press) is taught widely in courses on Islam and medical anthropology throughout the country. She is also the co-author of the graphic novel Lissa (Still Time), published with the University of Toronto Press ethnoGRAPHIC series in 2017. Born in New York to Egyptian parents, she grew up in Mexico City and currently lives in Irvine, CA, with her husband and two daughters.

Myra El Mir has illustrated several books published in the Arab world, including two books by Samar Mahfouz Barraj Khatt ahmar (Red Line), which won the Arab21 Award in 2015, and Ummi wal-tadkhin (Mom Smoking) which was shortlisted for the Etisalat Award in 2012. Myra has also worked in animation, including the Adventures of Salwa, a Lebanese campaign against sexual harassment that aired on Lebanese television and cinema.