A Girl Like That

In Tanaz Bhathena's debut novel, sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia navigates the tumultuous landscape of adolescence as a vivacious orphan with a reputation as a troublemaker and romantic entanglements that send whispers throughout her school. When she and eighteen-year-old Porus Dumasia are found dead in a car accident on a Jeddah highway, the arrival of the religious police prompts a reevaluation of Zarin’s life and the complexities surrounding her identity, race, and class. Through multiple perspectives, this beautifully written story explores high-stakes romance, self-discovery, and the universal struggles of teenage life.