The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue

Publisher details

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

The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue

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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? 

Reviews

Your Preview Verdict: The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue

Review | News | Preview

10 June 2026

Your Preview Verdict: The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue

    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

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