Landing in Place: A Graphic Novel - by Sherine Hamdy

About the Book

Pressured into following her sister's premed footsteps, Anisa struggles with her parents' expectations, college life, and finding her own identity, until she visits her grandfather in Egypt and discovers her artistic voice.

Book Synopsis

A poignant coming-of-age graphic novel about an Egyptian American girl grappling with college, her family, and the political realities of her wider world.

Anisa is following in her sister Reem's footsteps: She's a freshman at her sister's alma mater, she's on the same premed track, and she's inherited Reem's old hotpot, mini-fridge, and textbooks. Even though Anisa would prefer to study art, her parents discount that as a valid career choice. The path laid out before her starts to crumble as Anisa feels she doesn't belong--either in her organic chemistry class or among the other Muslim students on campus.

When Anisa fails her first semester, she begs her parents to let her take time off to visit Cairo and stay with her beloved grandfather. Finally free to have her own experiences, Anisa begins a journey of self-discovery and, as she bumps up against familial, societal, and religious expectations, she starts to develop her own artistic voice. When Anisa returns to the United States, many of these expectations shift, but she learns to draw on the love of friends and family--including those she's often at odds with--in order to stay true to herself.

Review Quotes

"A deeply emotional read. Landing in Place is relatable to all children of immigrants who desperately want to know more about their families' past, powerful in the way it weaves historical and political facts through layers of generational trauma, and a good reminder that while Muslims may practice differently, we should still find unity and mutual respect within our shared faith."
--Huda Fahmy, author of National Book Award finalist Huda F Cares?

About the Author

Sherine Hamdy is a medical anthropologist who teaches courses on comics, Middle East culture, and literary anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. She is the author of Our Bodies Belong to God and co-creator of the graphic novel Lissa. She co-edits ethnoGRAPHIC, an academic series that publishes works integrating ethnography and comics for the University of Toronto Press.

Myra El Mir tells stories through images--from picture books to comics, to activist posters. She grew up in Batha, Lebanon, and studied fine arts and gender studies. Myra is a co-founder of Space 27, a former artists' community house in Beirut, and of Research by Comics, bringing artists and scholars together. She currently lives with her dog, Jeanie, and cat, Fara.