Having two best friends is not easy Jamila finds. Since coming to Australia from Kadhimiya, Baghdad, to Melbourne, Australia, Jamila has become best friends with Eva, a girl in her class. They sing together, cook together, and enjoy each other’s company.
However when Mina, Jamila’s best friend from Iraq arrives, Jamila is torn and confused when things don’t go to plan. Mina is not the same person Jamila remembers. Eva is perhaps not as welcoming as Jamila hoped. She too seems distracted.
Laguna weaves in Jamila’s and Mina’s memories of Iraq before the war and features foods like samoon bread with sesame seeds and desserts such as halawat sha’riyya and klecha. Readers will experience Jamila’s feelings and struggles. When one of the three goes missing at school camp the other two work together to successfully search for her thus easing the strained friendship.
NCACL Cultural Diversity Database
