• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2022 September #2
  This challenging read recounts some of the harsh realities Syrians have been facing over the last decade, told from the first-person perspective of hijabi teen Salama, who's struggling to decide between fleeing to (relative) safety or staying to help what remains of her community. Salama works in the hospital with more responsibility than any 18-year-old should bear, but her sister-in-law—her only remaining family—is due to give birth very soon. Leaving her homeland is risky, but is it a risk worth taking? It isn't easy to visualize the pain and trauma Syrians face by watching, reading, or listening to news reports, but Katouh, who is Syrian, shares these stories, all inspired by real events, massacres, and tragedies, with authenticity and raw truth, putting a moving human face on the historic events. Despite the heavy subject matter, there is also hope written into the narrative. Leaving one's homeland is not an easy thing, and it can be difficult to understand if not for the stories like this, which carefully and thoughtfully account for all the trauma leading to these painful decisions. Grades 9-12. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.

Zoulfa Katouh is a Canadian with Syrian roots based in Switzerland. She is currently pursuing her master's in Drug Sciences and finds Studio Ghibli inspiration in the mountains, lakes, and stars surrounding her. When she’s not talking to herself in the woodland forest, she’s drinking iced coffee, baking aesthetic cookies and cakes, and telling everyone who would listen about how BTS paved the way. A dream of hers is to get Kim Nam-joon to read one of her books. As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is her debut novel. She invites you to visit her online zoulfakatouh.com.