Shubeik Lubeik,Used

A brilliantly original debut graphic novel that imagines a fantastical alternate Cairo where wishes really do come true. Shubeik Lubeika fairy tale rhyme that means your wish is my command in Arabicis the story of three people who are navigating a world where wishes are literally for sale. A Best Book of the Year: The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPRThe mythic qualities of Mohameds world bring our own world into sharper focus . . . Mohameds humor often feels like a protest, as do the thick and assertive lines of her drawings . . . The effect is gritty, brazen, and full of spunk.The New YorkerThree wishes that are sold at an unassuming kiosk in Cairo link Aziza, Nour, and Shokry, changing their perspectives as well as their lives. Aziza learned early that life can be hard, but when she loses her husband and manages to procure a wish, she finds herself fighting bureaucracy and inequality for the right to haveand makethat wish. Nour is a privileged college student who secretly struggles with depression and must decide whether or not to use their wish to try to fix this depression, and then figure out how to do it. And, finally, Shokry must grapple with his religious convictions as he decides how to help a friend who doesnt want to use their wish. Deena Mohamed brings to life a cast of characters whose struggles and triumphs are heartbreaking, inspiring, and deeply resonant.Although their stories are fantasticalfeaturing talking donkeys, dragons, and cars that can magically avoid trafficeach of these people grapples with the very real challenge of trying to make their most deeply held desires come true.