A New York Times Bestselling Author
An NPR Favorite Book
A Penn GSE Best Book for Young Readers
An ABA Indie Bestseller
An Indie Next Pick
A Goodreads Most Anticipated Book
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Nominee
It's August in Paris and 17-year-old Khayyam Maquet is at a crossroads. This holiday with her parents should be a dream trip for the budding art historian. But all she really wants is to be back home in Chicago figuring out her messy life. Two hundred years before Khayyam's summer of discontent, Leila is struggling to survive and keep her true love hidden from the Pasha who has "gifted" her with favored status in his harem. In the present day, Khayyam begins to connect allusions to an enigmatic 19th-century Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Alexandre Dumas, Eugene Delacroix, and Lord Byron. Echoing across centuries, as one woman's long-forgotten life is uncovered, another's is transformed.
Age Range: 14 and up | Grade Level: 9-12 | Lexile Measure: NA