Set in the Middle East in 1988, eleven-year-old Malaak's story centers around the disappearance of her father, who left to find work in Gaza City a month ago, and has not returned home. As Malaak closes down, turning inward with her worry and grief, her brother Hamid finds comfort in action, and joins the Islamic Jihad against the wishes of his mother and sisters. Meanwhile, although the family attempts to maintain some level of normality in their daily lives, they are under constant strain. Soldiers patrol the neighborhood, schools are closed, curfews imposed, and children throwing stones may provoke gunfire in retaliation. Malaak's story contains no easy answers, but offers compassionate insight into individual lives impacted hugely and constantly by the conflict that surrounds them. (Ages 10-14)