Nora Lester Murad’s young adult novel, Ida in the Middle (Crocodile Books, 2022), explores Palestinian identity and makes it relatable to a non-Palestinian audience. Ida, a young teenager, is born in the US to Palestinian parents. She is bullied and ostracised at her school because of her Palestinian heritage, while the Israeli narrative was protected by the school administration when some classmates formed a club called “Love the Holy Land”. Start a Muslim club, the Principal suggests. But Palestine is not a religious question. The ensuing protest by Ida’s parents to the school Principal results in Ida’s “diversity” scholarship to a private school, where Ida is chosen to participate in a very selective regional competition. From a teenager who desired … Continue reading Ida in the Middle