Home Is Not a Country

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1

Part 2, Pages 83-135

Part 2, Pages 136-190

Part 3

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Background

Cultural and Historical Context: African Muslim Culture in the United States

Although not explicitly stated, it is widely believed that Nima and her family hail from Sudan because of the cultural references made throughout the text. These include tobes (outer garments worn by women), the Kushite pyramids, which are located in Sudan, and traditional music, dance, and film. Nima embraces her culture and particularly enjoys the music of Sayed Khalifa, whose music inspires her with its lyrics and melodies. Additionally, much of Nima’s story overlaps with jinn, a class of spirits in Muslim belief that inhabit a supernatural world bordering our own. Yasmeen is a manifestation of one of these spirits, and Elhillo utilizes magical realism to fuse the two worlds.

Despite celebrating her culture, Nima struggles to belong and faces microaggressions and overt incidents of racism because of her Muslim heritage. Like other immigrant children, she feels as if she does not belong in any world: at school, she is perceived as too foreign and viewed as a threat, whereas among teenagers of her own culture, she is viewed as too traditional. Although not stated explicitly, it is suggested that the day her mother stops wearing her headscarf is right after the events of 9/11 because Nima herself is attacked and called a terrorist by a classmate whose father is a pilot. Nima’s experience, along with the attack on Haitham, represents the larger experience of Arabs and Muslims in the United States in the wake of 9/11, who regularly became targets of Islamophobia and hate crimes.

Genre Context: Novel in Verse and Bildungsroman

Elhillo’s coming-of-age novel in verse is a hybrid genre. She combines the textual structures of poetry with the plot structure of a novel, creating a lyrical narrative arc. Instead of chapters, the story is broken into shorter poems with titles that also contribute to the story’s meaning. The unique form creates a fast-paced story appealing to young adult audiences. Elhillo joins an increasing number of authors writing in this form, drawing on the legacy of notable writers such as Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kwame Alexander.

In addition to the novel in verse, Elhillo also blends genres by presenting a coming-of-age story within the framework of magical realism. A bildungsroman is a narrative that charts the life lessons of a young person, not through schooling, but through formative experiences. Like other novels of this type, Nima gains insight through real-life incidents at school and home, but unlike traditional bildungsroman, Nima also learns valuable lessons through the spirit world. By invoking magical realism—an infusion of magical elements into the everyday world—Elhillo allows Nima to realize essential truths about her family, her past, and herself that would not have been possible if she remained in the present day. For example, only by traveling to the time before her birth is she able to understand that her father is not a man to be idolized, but someone who turned his back on his own family. Her trip to Sudan and the past allows her to understand that no place is perfect and that her parents’ story is not what she thought. This, in turn, enables her to appreciate her own life and circumstances.