About this item
Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes.Mina is Hayats mothers oldest friend from Pakistan. She is independent, beautiful and intelligent, and arrives on the Shahs doorstep when her disastrous marriage in Pakistan disintegrates. Even Hayats skeptical father cant deny the liveliness and happiness that accompanies Mina into their home. Her deep spirituality brings the familys Muslim faith to life in a way that resonates with Hayat as nothing has before. Studying the Quran by Minas side and basking in the glow of her attention, he feels an entirely new purpose mingled with a growing infatuation for his teacher.
About the Author
Ayad Akhtar is a novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. Born in New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he is the author of American Dervish, published in more than 20 languages worldwide and a 2012 Best Book of the Year at Kirkus Reviews, Toronto's Globe and Mail, Shelf-Awareness, and O (Oprah) Magazine. He is also a playwright and screenwriter. His stage play Disgraced played at New York's Lincoln Center Theater in 2012 and won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. As a screenwriter, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for The War Within. He is a graduate of Brown and Columbia Universities with degrees in Theater and Film Directing. Learn more on
