Overview

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD; KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST YA HISTORICAL FICTION, 2023; CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE BEST BOOK OF 2023. Action-packed, humorous, and bittersweet, this 1970s-era coming-of-age novel is more relevant than ever--exploring how a second-generation immigrant kid in a new hometown must navigate bullying, unexpected friendships, and the struggle of keeping both feet firmly planted in two very different cultures. It's 1979, and thirteen-year-old Joseph Nissan can't help but notice that small-town Texas has something in common with Revolution-era Iran: an absence of fellow Jews. And in such a small town it seems obvious that a brown kid like him was bound to make friends with Latinos--which is a plus, since his new buds, the Ybarra twins, have his back. But when the Iran hostage crisis, two neighborhood bullies, and the local reverend's beautiful daughter put him in all sorts of danger, Joseph must find new ways to cope at home and at school. As he struggles to trust others and stay true to himself, a fiercely guarded family secret keeps his father at a distance, and even his piano teacher, Miss Eleanor--who is like a grandmother to him--can't always protect him. But Joseph is not alone, and with a little help from his friends, he finds the courage to confront his fears and discovers he can inspire others to find their courage, too. Just a Hat is an authentically one-of-a-kind YA debut that fuses the humor of Firoozeh Dumas's Funny in Farsi with the poignancy of Daniel Nayeri's Everything Sad Is Untrue.

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Reviews

"""Khubiar compellingly evokes the complex, uneasy mix of ethnicities and identities that characterized this time and place...A sizzling page-turner with an unusual and important focus."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"" ""Just a Hat is a powerful and important depiction of the hatred and discrimination of America's past and the hatred and discrimination we continue to see today. There is much to learn from history, and Shanah illuminates an area of Jewish life that we haven't seen in kid-lit--Iranian Jews and immigration to America. This book is a first, and it showcases the diversity of the Jewish people."" -- ""Liza Wiemer, award-winning author of The Assignment"" ""This irresistible tale of a second-generation immigrant navigating 1970s Texas reaches across time and space to resonate powerfully in our current moment: an underdog love song that managed to pull off my favorite hat trick: it made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think."" -- ""Sarah Combs, author of Breakfast Served Anytime and The Light Fantastic"" ""I dare you not to fall in love with Youssef, a young Persian Jew trying to find his place in a small Texas town filled with bigotry. Khubiar deftly weaves the tumultuous history of Iran into a poignant page-turner all too relevant today. Read this and weep and laugh and weep again."" -- ""Cambria Gordon, award-winning author of The Poetry of Secrets"""

Author Information

S. Khubiar is a retired federal law enforcement officer, and she is now self-employed as a subject matter specialist. She holds a BS and MEd in education from East Texas State University and a PhD in philosophy. A student of her Persian ancestry, she incorporates (Mizrachi) Middle Eastern Jewry into her fiction, examining the historical challenges and triumphs of a different culture and narrative than what usually appears in literature. Also an avid student of archaeology, she travels to volunteer for digs. Khubiar is a sometime resident and always fan of most things Texas.

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