Between Tehran and the Caspian Sea is a fictionalized account of one of the most turbulent and fascinating periods of my life in Iran. It’s the story of a young girl finding her identity while living in the shadow of an oppressive regime and a large scale war. The story takes the reader from the dusty streets of Tehran to the lush landscapes of the Caspian Seashore in a heartwarming and, at times, funny tale of courage and discovery told from the perspective of a preteen girl.
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Target Audience
Between Tehran and the Caspian Sea is an adult upmarket fiction particularly resonant for:
- Book club fans of coming-of-age stories
- Readers who seek a glimpse inside Iran after hearing so much about it on the news
- Parents who like stories about kids overcoming bullying and identity struggles
- Iranian readers
Short summary
Spanning the last two years of the Iran-Iraq war, Between Tehran and the Caspian Sea follows twelve-year-old Sanaz immediately after she and her family come back to Tehran from a summer vacation in Germany. She is starting middle school and worrying about not having friends who would protect her against bullies. In class, Sanaz garners the attention of two rebellious girls who eventually become her friends and spend a turbulent yet exciting sixth-grade with her, underscored by the ongoing war.
When Sanaz comes back from her second summer vacation to Germany, things are different. Her friends have become bullies who target the very insecurities she once told them about, and the war has escalated to daily attacks on her home. When Iraqi missiles target Tehran, Sanaz and her family flee to the shores of the Caspian Sea and become war refugees for a short time.
In the rural towns of northern Iran, Sanaz meets friends who help her overcome her social anxieties and stop her unhelpful thinking. She finally takes the steps to accept herself for who she is when she goes back to Tehran and attends summer school. The ultimate test comes when a bomb goes off in front of her house the day before an important exam, forcing her to deal with both the impact of the war and her fears of peer judgment. Will she lose her newly found confidence, or will she finally triumph over the chaos around her and the demons inside her?
Praise for Between Tehran and the Caspian Sea:
Between Tehran and the Caspian Sea pulled me into a childhood I never imagined. The author shares what it was like to be an 12-year-old girl growing up in Iran during the final years of the war. She weaves this together with the everyday challenges of being the smartest kid in class, dealing with jealous classmates and strict teachers, and wearing a veil at school. Her story is vivid, honest, and immersive. It let me experience her world in a way I never have before, and it was so captivating that I couldn’t put the book down.
–Barbara Gray, CFA, Equity Analyst, Brady Capital Research Inc.