Compelling. . . sometimes lyrical, sometimes heartbreaking. . . skillfully crafted. . . a moving journey. An assured first novel explores the bonds and divides among three orphaned sisters

Vorwort
An orphan grapples with gender, siblinghood, family, and coming-of-age as a Muslim in America in this lyrical debut novel from the acclaimed author of If They Come For Us

Autorentext
Fatimah Asghar is an artist who spans across different genres and themes. They have been featured in various outlets such as TIME, NPR, Teen Vogue and the *Forbes '*30 Under 30' list. Their first book of poems If They Come For Us explored themes of orphaning, family, the violence of the 1947 Partition of South Asia, the legacy of colonization, borders, shifting identity, and violence. Along with Safia Elhillo they co-edited an anthology for Muslim people who are also women, trans, gender non-conforming and/ or queer, Halal If You Hear Me, which was built around the radical idea that there are as many ways of being Muslim as there are Muslim people in the world. They are the writer and co-creator of the Emmy-nominated Brown Girls, a web series that highlights friendship among women of colour that was in a development deal with HBO, and wrote and directed Got Game, a short film that follows a queer South Asian Muslim woman trying to navigate a kink party after being single. They are also a writer and co-producer on Ms. Marvel on Disney +.

Klappentext

'[A] captivating, gorgeously written book' Hala Alyan

'A stunning accomplishment' Safia Elhillo

In this heartrending, lyrical debut, three orphaned siblings are left to raise one another after their parents die suddenly. The youngest, Kausar, grapples with the loss of her parents as she also charts out her own understanding of gender; Aisha, the middle sister, spars with her "crybaby" younger sibling as she desperately tries to hold on to her sense of family in an impossible situation; and Noreen, the eldest, does her best in the role of sister-mother while also trying to create a life for herself, on her own terms.

As Kausar grows up, she must contend with the collision of her private and public worlds, and choose whether to carve out a new path for herself. When We Were Sisters tenderly examines the bonds and fractures of sisterhood, names the perils of being three Muslim American girls alone against the world, and ultimately illustrates how those who've lost everything might still make homes in each other.

'When We Were Sisters pulses with poetic lyricism and raw beauty... Fatimah Asghar has written a truly dazzling story' Julián Delgado Lopera