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Monday, March 20, 2017

It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas


  • Genre:  Historical Fiction/Late 1970's
  • Grade Level: 4th - 7th 
  • AR Reading Level: 4.7  (10 pt)
  • Length:384 pages 
  • Publisher: Clarion Books (May 3, 2016)
  • My Rating: 5 out of 4
  • Readability:  Funny, fast and easy to read. I couldn't put it down. 
  • Division: Division 2

Middle schooler Zomorod Yousefzadeh has moved to Newport Beach, CA with her Iranian family in the late 1970's.  Her father is an engineer with the oil industry and has brought his family to live in the United States. Zomorod changes her name to Cindy and does her best to integrate herself into the Californian culture.  Her parents have more difficulty. During this time, the Iran Hostage situation becomes a headline news feature and Cindy and her parents have to cope with prejudiced comments and treatment by Americans around them. 

This book is semi-autobiographical and the author writes with wit and humor. It was very entertaining to read about Cindy's experiences as an immigrant from Iran. The culture and times of the late 70's will be especially interesting to those who were children during this time.


The author explains the history of Iran and what led up to the Iranian hostage situation.  She also has lots of background videos to watch on her website that help with some of the music, history, and culture she writes about.  


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