"[An] extraordinary debut . . . Jarrar's lack of sentimentality, and her wry sense of humor, make A Map of Home a treasure." --People (four stars)
"A Map of Home will leave you laughing out loud." --Entertainment Weekly
"Randa Jarrar takes all the sappy, beloved clichTs about 'where you hang your hat' and blows them to smithereens in her energizing, caustically comic debut novel." --The Christian Science Monitor
"Jarrar is a funny, incisive writer, and she's positively heroic in her refusal to employ easy sentimentality or cheap pathos. . . . A coming-of-age story that's both singular and universal--an outstanding debut." --Kirkus Reviews
"In Randa Jarrar's A Map of Home, Nidali, a refugee from Saddam's bombs, finds a Texan adolescence dizzying to navigate with her Egyptian-Grecian-Palestinian background. Jarrar's prose is as delightfully dry and intense as her main character. . . . Sarcastic essays, Arabic lyrics juxtaposed with American rap, and other anecdotes present cross-cultural observations that are both humorous and wistful."--Oxford American
"Nidali's voice is a winning combination of the detailed observations of a wannabe writer and the snark of an acerbic adolescent, and with her as a tour guide, readers won't need a map through this spectacular fresh and funny debut novel." --Bust Magazine
"Jarrar's debut novel is a narrative of otherness. . . . Despite exposure to so much turmoil and divisiveness, the teenager finds she is not unlike other American girls--much to her father's dismay." --Ms. Magazine
"Ah, eccentric families. In Jarrar's first novel, the lovable Ammars are talkative, argumentative, and so alive they practically burst off the page. . . . Jarrar is sophisticated and deft, and her impressive debut is especially intriguing considering her clever use of recent Middle East history." --Booklist
Jarrar. . . . has created a tale of crossing borders (geographic, sexual, cultural, and otherwise) that challenges readers to remap the boundaries of "normal" adolescence." --Bitch Magazine
"Jarrar's sparkling debut about an audacious Muslim girl growing up in Kuwait, Egypt and Texas is intimate, perceptive and very, very funny. … her exhilarating voice and flawless timing make this a standout." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
