12-year-old Nour has just lost her father/Baba, and her family is moving back to Syria from NYC, where she has lived her whole life. She feels different than the rest of her family, who remember Syria, while she doesn't. As she grows accustomed to her new home, violence begins to escalate, eventually demolishing Nour and her family's home. Nour, Zahra, Huda, and their mother must make the trek south to see if they can apply for refugee status and get somewhere safe. Throughout their journey, Nour remembers the stories that Baba told her, particularly the one about Rawiya and the map-maker.

I was originally driven by the plot of this story more than anything, but as the story unfolded, I really loved what Joukhadar was doing in this story. Her empathy for refugees and those searching for "home" rings true and pure, and I really loved her character development. I loved that the "fantasy" story stayed true to the way that these stories were originally written - it took me a bit to figure this out, but Rawiya is unstoppable because this is how the stories were told - to give hope. There were a few small writing quirks that I didn't prefer, but the message of the story soars above my preferences. Recommended.