I loved this book so, so much - it had me both laughing out loud and thinking out loud, which is a great combination in a book. Nadia is a recent PhD student who takes a job at the UN "deradicalizing" ISIS brides in Iraq, even though she has no experience in deradicalization and knows very little about the conflict in Iraq or the complicated political and societal dynamics. Without giving anything away, her woeful unpreparedness, the unending bureaucracy, and colorful cast of characters make for an incredibly entertaining and impactful read.

The very first sentence of this book sets the tone in an amazing way. This book is so witty and shrewd, and it really takes aim at the white savior industrial complex and the complicity of "well-meaning" aid workers in enabling further discrimination and oppression, without feeling heavy-handed or overly preachy. The book deftly explores Nadia's own relationship with being Muslim and her own difficulties fitting into society, and the bond Nadia forms with one of the women in the camp perfectly encapsulates how easy and seductive it is to project our own beliefs on someone else, and how we can flatten people to the barest facts about them and ignore their inherent complications. That was maybe a bunch of gobbledygook (what a great word lol), but I thought this book really powerfully depicted messy human relationships and how hard it is to understand anything about each other when we only have preconceived notions to go off. This book is hard to explain - just know I found it so much fun and also deeply interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!