Publisher details

Author
Zoulfa Katouh
Publisher
Bloomsbury
Genre
Young Adult Fiction
Released
02 June, 2026
ISBN
9781526648563

Buy now

Retail partners

Synopsis

What if you felt like you'd cried all the colours away? The heart-wrenching new story of friendship, loss and identity from the author of international bestseller As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow.

Joining an exclusive high school should be a fresh start for Jihad after her mother's sudden death. But she's the only Muslim student there; her hijab and even her name make her new classmates suspicious.

Only one person treats her with kindness but Jihad can't help questioning his motives. It's hard to trust anyone when she meets indifference or hostility all around her. As tension mounts, she finds refuge in an old sketchbook and in the stories her mama used to tell her. She is determined to focus on making it to art school and a brighter future, but as she starts illustrating her mother's memories, her canvas becomes bigger than she could ever have imagined.

Can Jihad become as resilient as the true meaning of her name, and let the colour back into her life?

Zoulfa Katouh
About the author

Zoulfa Katouh

Zoulfa Katouh is a Canadian writer with Syrian roots. A trilingual pharmacist, currently pursuing a master’s in drug sciences, Zoulfa is the first Syrian author to be published in both the US and the UK in the young adult category. When she's not talking to herself in the woodland forest, she's drinking iced coffee, baking aesthetic cookies and cakes, and telling everyone who will listen about how BTS paved the way. A dream of hers is to get Kim Nam-joon to read one of her books. As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow is her debut novel.

Books by Zoulfa Katouh

Related articles

Podcast: Holden Sheppard & Peter Polites on Their Unique, Diverse Backgrounds

Podcast

13 July 2026

Podcast: Holden Sheppard & Peter Polites on Their Unique, Diverse Backgrounds

    PODCAST: Libby Trainor Parker on Finding Healing Through Advocacy

    Podcast

    6 July 2026

    PODCAST: Libby Trainor Parker on Finding Healing Through Advocacy

      PODCAST: Sarah Trad on Hospitality and Building Her Dream House

      Podcast

      29 June 2026

      PODCAST: Sarah Trad on Hospitality and Building Her Dream House

        Vote for the Better Reading Kids' Top 50 and go in the draw to win

        News

        26 June 2026

        Vote for the Better Reading Kids' Top 50 and go in the draw to win

          PODCAST: Joan Sauers on Film and Mysteries

          Podcast

          22 June 2026

          PODCAST: Joan Sauers on Film and Mysteries

            PODCAST: Victoria Purman on Journalism, Publishing and Vintage Books

            Podcast

            15 June 2026

            PODCAST: Victoria Purman on Journalism, Publishing and Vintage Books

              Q&A: Maya Linnell, Author of Sunrise at Sunny Cross Farm

              News | Author Related

              8 June 2026

              Q&A: Maya Linnell, Author of Sunrise at Sunny Cross Farm

                PODCAST: What Are You Reading? The App with Caroline Overington

                Podcast

                8 June 2026

                PODCAST: What Are You Reading? The App with Caroline Overington

                  PODCAST: Francesca Albanese on War and Power

                  Podcast

                  1 June 2026

                  PODCAST: Francesca Albanese on War and Power

                    PODCAST: Dervla McTiernan on Ruthless Editing and Finding Home in Australia

                    Podcast

                    25 May 2026

                    PODCAST: Dervla McTiernan on Ruthless Editing and Finding Home in Australia

                      COMMENTS

                      Leave a Reply

                      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *