Written in the Stars

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 Pena, 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.