The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali

When Rukhsana Ali is caught kissing her girlfriend Ariana, her devastated
parents take Rukhsana to Bangladesh. There, immersed in
a world of tradition and arranged marriages, Rukhsana finds the perspective
she's been looking for in her grandmother's old diary.
Can she fight for the life she wants without losing her family in
the process?

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A timely and honest coming-of-age story that explores the complicated
relationship between identity, culture, family, and love.


Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her
conservative Muslim parents' expectations, but lately she's finding
that impossible to do. She rolls her eyes when they blatantly
favour her brother and saves her crop tops and makeup for parties
her parents don't know about.

If she can just hold out another few months, Rukhsana will be out
of her familial home and away from her parents' ever-watchful eyes
at Caltech, a place where she thinks she can finally be herself.
But when she is caught kissing her girlfriend Ariana, her devastated
parents take Rukhsana to Bangladesh, where everything she
had been planning is out of reach.

There, immersed in a world of tradition and arranged marriages, Rukhsana
finds the perspective she's been looking for in her grandmother's
old diary. The only question left for her to answer is:
Can she fight for the life she wants without losing her family in
the process?