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It Won't Always Be Like This
An intimate graphic memoir about an American girl growing up with her Egyptian father's new family, forging unexpected bonds and navigating adolescence in an unfamiliar country--from the award-winning author of I Was Their American Dream.
It's hard enough to figure out boys, beauty, and being cool when you're young, but even harder when you're in a country where you don't understand the language, culture, or religion.
Nine-year-old Malaka Gharib arrives in Egypt for her annual summer vacation abroad and assumes it'll be just like every other vacation she's spent at her dad's place in Cairo. But her father shares news that changes everything: He has remarried. Over the next fifteen years, as she visits her father's growing family summer after summer, Malaka must reevaluate her place in his life. All that on top of maintaining her coolness!
Malaka doesn't feel like she fits in when she visits her dad--she sticks out in Egypt and doesn't look anything like her fair-haired half siblings. But she adapts. She learns that Nirvana isn't as cool as Nancy Ajram, that there's nothing better than a Fanta and a melon-mint hookah, that the desert is most beautiful at dawn, and that her new stepmother, Hala, isn't so different from Malaka herself.
It Won't Always Be Like This is a touching time capsule of Gharib's childhood memories--each summer a fleeting moment in time--and a powerful reflection on identity, relationships, values, family, and what happens when it all collides.
It's hard enough to figure out boys, beauty, and being cool when you're young, but even harder when you're in a country where you don't understand the language, culture, or religion.
Nine-year-old Malaka Gharib arrives in Egypt for her annual summer vacation abroad and assumes it'll be just like every other vacation she's spent at her dad's place in Cairo. But her father shares news that changes everything: He has remarried. Over the next fifteen years, as she visits her father's growing family summer after summer, Malaka must reevaluate her place in his life. All that on top of maintaining her coolness!
Malaka doesn't feel like she fits in when she visits her dad--she sticks out in Egypt and doesn't look anything like her fair-haired half siblings. But she adapts. She learns that Nirvana isn't as cool as Nancy Ajram, that there's nothing better than a Fanta and a melon-mint hookah, that the desert is most beautiful at dawn, and that her new stepmother, Hala, isn't so different from Malaka herself.
It Won't Always Be Like This is a touching time capsule of Gharib's childhood memories--each summer a fleeting moment in time--and a powerful reflection on identity, relationships, values, family, and what happens when it all collides.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2022
35 people are currently reading
9209 people want to read
About the author
Malaka Gharib
2books102followersFrom her Website:
Malaka Gharib is a journalist, cartoonist and graphic novelist.
She is the author of "I Was Their American Dream," a graphic memoir published in 2019 about being first-generation Filipino Egyptian American, which won an Arab American Book Award in 2020. Then in 2022, she published "It Won't Always Be Like This," a graphic memoir about her summers in the Middle East.
By day, she works as a digital editor at NPR for Life Kit, a lifestyle podcast about health, finance, relationships and more. Her comics and writing have been published in the Los Angeles Times, Catapult, The Believer Magazine and The New Yorker. She has been profiled in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Some of her comics and zines are archived at the Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, the Arab American Museum and Barnard College’s Zine Library. Her art and writing has been exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Harvard Radcliffe Institute and Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery.
She lives in Nashville, Tenn., with her husband, son and Shiba Inu.
Malaka Gharib is a journalist, cartoonist and graphic novelist.
She is the author of "I Was Their American Dream," a graphic memoir published in 2019 about being first-generation Filipino Egyptian American, which won an Arab American Book Award in 2020. Then in 2022, she published "It Won't Always Be Like This," a graphic memoir about her summers in the Middle East.
By day, she works as a digital editor at NPR for Life Kit, a lifestyle podcast about health, finance, relationships and more. Her comics and writing have been published in the Los Angeles Times, Catapult, The Believer Magazine and The New Yorker. She has been profiled in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Some of her comics and zines are archived at the Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, the Arab American Museum and Barnard College’s Zine Library. Her art and writing has been exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Harvard Radcliffe Institute and Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery.
She lives in Nashville, Tenn., with her husband, son and Shiba Inu.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
September 15, 2022
Not exactly like I had expected. Should I blame the writing or my expectations, I wonder!?
“It Won't Always Be Like This� is supposed to be a graphic memoir about the American author’s time growing up with her father’s new family in Egypt. Beginning from when she was nine years old and discovers her father’s bride Hala, Malaka’s summer vacations aren’t the same again. Unlike her earlier fun visits, her vacation now is spent more with Hala as her father is busy with his job. Over the next fifteen years, each visit of Malaka to Egypt and later to Qatar is marked with multiple changes and adjustments, some of which are easy and some impossible to accept. But Malaka’s bond with Hala stays comparatively strong, and the story comes a full circle beginning and ending with their connection with each other.
This is a very quick read despite its being 220+ pages long. The author kept her interrelations with Hala as the core theme of this memoir, and the story sort of begins and ends with Hala. On the way, we see a glimpse of other topics such as cultural differences, the changing family dynamic (at least on her father’s side of the picture) and her views about the various cultures.
I had expected the memoir to be on the lines of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, which flows smoothly and covers multiple topics without losing the control of the key narrative. However, this memoir goes all over the place. Even after reading the entire book, I feel like I barely know the people involved. The continuity of the book is quite disjointed, and the storytelling feels incomplete. There are a lot of whats but absolutely no whys. (I later came to know that the author has another memoir titled “�. It could be that some elements are covered in this book, but as this isn’t a series, each book should have been complete in itself.)
Malaka’s confusion over her identity and her struggles to fit in come out decently well in the story. As the daughter of a Filipino mother and an Egyptian father but growing up in the USA, her life would have been a complicated mishmash of three distinct cultures. However, she very clearly has a favourite culture and a part of me felt like she was ashamed of one half of her identity and irritated with the restrictions of the other. There is an underlying tone of American superiority and a condescending approach towards the other two cultures, both of which I did not appreciate. The writing does point out a couple of flaws in the American lifestyle, but most of the finger-pointing is towards the Egyptian mode of living. There are certain societies which are more traditional than America but this doesn’t make them flawed.
I liked the bond between Hala and Malaka, who, despite their very different upbringing, are quite similar in thinking but contrained by their different circumstances. The loneliness and isolation of the two women comes out well. I would have loved to know more of Hala’s thinking, but I get why that couldn’t be a part of this book; it is from Malaka’s point of view after all. She only wrote what she saw or knew.
I wasn’t a fan of the art style at all. The cover style is gorgeous but the illustrations inside don’t match as they look quite childish. I simply didn’t like the drawings, and considering this was a graphic memoir, this affected the experience greatly.
All in all, many things fell short of this being an enriching experience. I should have liked this coming-of-age story a lot more but came away with no strong feelings either way. It simply didn’t have the magic to create a long-lasting impact. I’ve read far better graphic memoirs and this won’t be counted among the memorable ones.
2.5 stars.
My thanks to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “It Won’t Always Be like This�. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
—ĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔ�
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“It Won't Always Be Like This� is supposed to be a graphic memoir about the American author’s time growing up with her father’s new family in Egypt. Beginning from when she was nine years old and discovers her father’s bride Hala, Malaka’s summer vacations aren’t the same again. Unlike her earlier fun visits, her vacation now is spent more with Hala as her father is busy with his job. Over the next fifteen years, each visit of Malaka to Egypt and later to Qatar is marked with multiple changes and adjustments, some of which are easy and some impossible to accept. But Malaka’s bond with Hala stays comparatively strong, and the story comes a full circle beginning and ending with their connection with each other.
This is a very quick read despite its being 220+ pages long. The author kept her interrelations with Hala as the core theme of this memoir, and the story sort of begins and ends with Hala. On the way, we see a glimpse of other topics such as cultural differences, the changing family dynamic (at least on her father’s side of the picture) and her views about the various cultures.
I had expected the memoir to be on the lines of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, which flows smoothly and covers multiple topics without losing the control of the key narrative. However, this memoir goes all over the place. Even after reading the entire book, I feel like I barely know the people involved. The continuity of the book is quite disjointed, and the storytelling feels incomplete. There are a lot of whats but absolutely no whys. (I later came to know that the author has another memoir titled “�. It could be that some elements are covered in this book, but as this isn’t a series, each book should have been complete in itself.)
Malaka’s confusion over her identity and her struggles to fit in come out decently well in the story. As the daughter of a Filipino mother and an Egyptian father but growing up in the USA, her life would have been a complicated mishmash of three distinct cultures. However, she very clearly has a favourite culture and a part of me felt like she was ashamed of one half of her identity and irritated with the restrictions of the other. There is an underlying tone of American superiority and a condescending approach towards the other two cultures, both of which I did not appreciate. The writing does point out a couple of flaws in the American lifestyle, but most of the finger-pointing is towards the Egyptian mode of living. There are certain societies which are more traditional than America but this doesn’t make them flawed.
I liked the bond between Hala and Malaka, who, despite their very different upbringing, are quite similar in thinking but contrained by their different circumstances. The loneliness and isolation of the two women comes out well. I would have loved to know more of Hala’s thinking, but I get why that couldn’t be a part of this book; it is from Malaka’s point of view after all. She only wrote what she saw or knew.
I wasn’t a fan of the art style at all. The cover style is gorgeous but the illustrations inside don’t match as they look quite childish. I simply didn’t like the drawings, and considering this was a graphic memoir, this affected the experience greatly.
All in all, many things fell short of this being an enriching experience. I should have liked this coming-of-age story a lot more but came away with no strong feelings either way. It simply didn’t have the magic to create a long-lasting impact. I’ve read far better graphic memoirs and this won’t be counted among the memorable ones.
2.5 stars.
My thanks to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “It Won’t Always Be like This�. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
—ĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔĔ�
Connect with me through:
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May 16, 2022
being a child of immigrants from two totally different countries with also very different cultures and traditions leading you to feel like you don’t fit anywhere, that seems like something pretty familiar to me 🤡
review to come <3 (i will be posting it in september, the week this gets published as requested by the publisher)
spoiler alert : i enjoyed it and if you liked Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi i’m sure you’ll LOVE this one.
review to come <3 (i will be posting it in september, the week this gets published as requested by the publisher)
spoiler alert : i enjoyed it and if you liked Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi i’m sure you’ll LOVE this one.
December 12, 2022
A follow-up to Egyptian-American Malaka Gharib's graphic memoir, I Was Their American Dream. But now, when Malaka, now 9, visits Dad in Egypt, he is remarried, to Hala, a much younger woman, and a growing family he never told her about, and he's not coming back to America.
So this is a typical bi-cultural story; Malaka is not fully American or Egyptian. She needs to connect with step-mom, whom she likes. The process of true reconciliation with her father takes years, but it in part involves connecting to Hala, whom she sees more like a sister, over time.
That cover grabs you, and the combination of the drawing and colors keeps grabbing you. The drawing, a little sketchy, feels intimate, kinda simple, and the splashy, bold poster colors are bright and pleasing. But the story is less engaging and warm than the first memoir.
A coming-of-age memoir that reveals why It Won't Always Be Like This for the tween/teen.
So this is a typical bi-cultural story; Malaka is not fully American or Egyptian. She needs to connect with step-mom, whom she likes. The process of true reconciliation with her father takes years, but it in part involves connecting to Hala, whom she sees more like a sister, over time.
That cover grabs you, and the combination of the drawing and colors keeps grabbing you. The drawing, a little sketchy, feels intimate, kinda simple, and the splashy, bold poster colors are bright and pleasing. But the story is less engaging and warm than the first memoir.
A coming-of-age memoir that reveals why It Won't Always Be Like This for the tween/teen.
October 10, 2022
Graphic memoir about a American girl growing up with her Egyptian father's new family, forging unexpected bonds and navigating adolescence in an unfamiliar country. By Malaka Gharib I was surprised how good this book was, I recommend this book to young adults.
July 29, 2024
تحفةةةةةةة 😍
الجزء التاني من graphic memoir ل ملكة
استغربت ف الاول أن الكتاب اهداء ل زوجة ابوها .. بس مع الوقت عرفت ليه
الرسومات تحفة والقصص جميلة
خلصته ف قاعدة واحدة من جماله 😍
علشان تشوفوا الكتاب من جوا والرسومات ،، تابعوا انستجرام 👇
@mai.designer92
الجزء التاني من graphic memoir ل ملكة
استغربت ف الاول أن الكتاب اهداء ل زوجة ابوها .. بس مع الوقت عرفت ليه
الرسومات تحفة والقصص جميلة
خلصته ف قاعدة واحدة من جماله 😍
علشان تشوفوا الكتاب من جوا والرسومات ،، تابعوا انستجرام 👇
@mai.designer92
May 25, 2022
4.5⭐️
I wasn't expecting this graphic memoir to be such a punch in the gut. Wow.
Filipino-Egyptian-American author Malaka Gharib opens up about her childhood while also contemplating identity, belonging and more in this raw and moving account. I loved her relationship and unexpected bond with Hala; the two women are more alike than we initially realise especially when it comes to the loneliness and isolation they feel in their respective lives.
I got really angry at a scene and loved how Malaka stood up for her family. Her spirit and voice shine through the pages as she navigates the ups, down and complexities of adolescence, family and life.
A poignant and beautiful read that hit me right in the feels!
Thank you to Ten Speed Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
I wasn't expecting this graphic memoir to be such a punch in the gut. Wow.
Filipino-Egyptian-American author Malaka Gharib opens up about her childhood while also contemplating identity, belonging and more in this raw and moving account. I loved her relationship and unexpected bond with Hala; the two women are more alike than we initially realise especially when it comes to the loneliness and isolation they feel in their respective lives.
I got really angry at a scene and loved how Malaka stood up for her family. Her spirit and voice shine through the pages as she navigates the ups, down and complexities of adolescence, family and life.
A poignant and beautiful read that hit me right in the feels!
Thank you to Ten Speed Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
October 28, 2022
This follow-up to seems to be leeched of all fun, leaving us the story of the author as a sulky, annoying tween through teen spending summers in Egypt with her father and his new family. Gharib's bland inner angst and brattiness drowns out the relatively more interesting evolution of her stepmother, Hala.
It would have been nice to nail down some actual dates in the story, as I felt a little lost in the rapidly passing years and lack of context of world events.
It would have been nice to nail down some actual dates in the story, as I felt a little lost in the rapidly passing years and lack of context of world events.
October 14, 2022
Malaka's parents divorced when she was in elementary school, and from then on she spent summers in Egypt or Qatar with her father and school years in California with her mother. This book weaves together memories of many summers in the Middle East, some joyful, some challenging. Malaka's father remarried and eventually had three more children with a woman named Hala, who Malaka saw more as a big sister or mentor than a mother. Their relationship forms one of the central emotional cores of this story as they connect across language and cultural barriers. Drawn in the same loose, energetic style as I Was Their American Dream, this story is a nuanced examination of a family forging closeness despite distance.
February 12, 2023
In IT WONT ALWAYS BE LIKE THIS, Malaka Gharib reflects on her childhood and teenage years through summers spent visiting her father in Egypt. The graphic memoir opens with Gharib meeting her new stepmother, Hala. With each subsequent summer the reader sees Gharib get closer to Hala while also questioning her place in her father’s new family. There are the familiar growing pains of adolescence—insecurity about one’s looks and fitting in and romance—and also those specific to Gharib’s experience as an Filipino-Egyptian American with parents living so far apart.
Overall this was an enjoyable and relatable read. The art was cute & I liked how the story was structured around summers in the author’s life. I really felt for her and her strained relationship with her father. However, I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and left me with questions. While I did appreciate how Gharib framed Hala’s decision, I wish there was a bit more closure there (this is a tall ask for a memoir though. If the closure is not there IRL, it cannot be there in the book).
Overall this was an enjoyable and relatable read. The art was cute & I liked how the story was structured around summers in the author’s life. I really felt for her and her strained relationship with her father. However, I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and left me with questions. While I did appreciate how Gharib framed Hala’s decision, I wish there was a bit more closure there (this is a tall ask for a memoir though. If the closure is not there IRL, it cannot be there in the book).
March 1, 2025
It Won't Always Be Like This is a autobiographical graphic novel about the authors experience visiting her father in Egypt and figuring out where she fits in his new life with his new wife and family.
I learned after reading this that this is a somewhat follow up to the authors previous work "I was their American dream". I'm not sure whether if I had read that first I may have enjoyed this one more as this felt like a half done story.
As an adult reader I expected a deeper exploration into the themes covered. I saw this compared to Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis" but I don't think it holds a torch to that.
I enjoyed it enough, but I think this would be better suited for a younger audience. This was very surface level I wanted more depth
I learned after reading this that this is a somewhat follow up to the authors previous work "I was their American dream". I'm not sure whether if I had read that first I may have enjoyed this one more as this felt like a half done story.
As an adult reader I expected a deeper exploration into the themes covered. I saw this compared to Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis" but I don't think it holds a torch to that.
I enjoyed it enough, but I think this would be better suited for a younger audience. This was very surface level I wanted more depth
May 11, 2022
Review coming up 😭
November 22, 2023
I love the idea of a graphic memoir! And the illustrations were absolutely beautiful and vivid!
Where this felt short for me was the text of the story itself. The illustrations themselves were deeper and more emotive than the prose.
I wish this was more raw. It read rather surface-level. I wanted to know more about Malaka and Hala’s relationship. Why after all these years they still felt bonded? What they meant to each other? What the absence felt like?
I just craved more depth.
Where this felt short for me was the text of the story itself. The illustrations themselves were deeper and more emotive than the prose.
I wish this was more raw. It read rather surface-level. I wanted to know more about Malaka and Hala’s relationship. Why after all these years they still felt bonded? What they meant to each other? What the absence felt like?
I just craved more depth.
January 29, 2023
This graphic memoir is the second book I read by the author. I gave 3 stars. Unfortunately this didn't work as well.
The author is biracial (Filipino/Egyptian) and lives in the US. Her parents divorce, and her Dad moves back to Egypt. What follows are vignettes of her tween/teen years visiting her Dad in the Middle East, coming to terms with how she fits into his new family, and the cultural differences she encounters. A coming of age story that lightly touches on these themes.
The illustration style was ok - nothing really the cover art. Dedicating the book to her stepmom was a nice touch.
While this adult reader wanted a deeper exploration of the themes covered, I 100% appreciate the power of representation. For tweens this might be exactly the book they need to make sense of their world.
The author is biracial (Filipino/Egyptian) and lives in the US. Her parents divorce, and her Dad moves back to Egypt. What follows are vignettes of her tween/teen years visiting her Dad in the Middle East, coming to terms with how she fits into his new family, and the cultural differences she encounters. A coming of age story that lightly touches on these themes.
The illustration style was ok - nothing really the cover art. Dedicating the book to her stepmom was a nice touch.
While this adult reader wanted a deeper exploration of the themes covered, I 100% appreciate the power of representation. For tweens this might be exactly the book they need to make sense of their world.
May 8, 2022
This is both the second book in the series of Malaka Gharib’s graphic memoirs, as well as a stand-alone, because this takes a different angle then her first book. In this, we explore her Egyptian site, all the summers she spent with her father, when he moved back to Egypt, and remarried. What is interesting is how she felt she didn’t fit in with his new family, and sort of did at the same time.
It is odd visiting her father just during the Summer. And sometimes Malaka enjoyed being there, and other times she was bored. But she did get to know her stepsisters, and cousins, and learned how to be in both worlds. Sometimes, she wanted to be all-American. Other times, she wanted to pass.
What I really loved was how we got to know her step-mother. How we saw her change from being fun loving, and happy, almost an older sister, to being a drudge, and hating being with her father, after she had had three children, and had no friends, and nothing to do with her time.
Highly recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
It is odd visiting her father just during the Summer. And sometimes Malaka enjoyed being there, and other times she was bored. But she did get to know her stepsisters, and cousins, and learned how to be in both worlds. Sometimes, she wanted to be all-American. Other times, she wanted to pass.
What I really loved was how we got to know her step-mother. How we saw her change from being fun loving, and happy, almost an older sister, to being a drudge, and hating being with her father, after she had had three children, and had no friends, and nothing to do with her time.
Highly recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
September 21, 2022
Malaka Gharib has created another charming and vibrant comic memoir. It Won’t Always Be Like This recounts the summers Gharib spent in Egypt with her dad, step-mom and half-siblings, and all of the hardships, love, and lessons that came with them.
This graphic novel beautifully explores complicated family dynamics and cultural differences. It’s a relatable and honest look at Gharib’s life, and I love how we see Malaka’s growth throughout the book as she contemplates her Filipina-Egyptian-American identity, and finds her place within her dad’s new family. While the focus is on her summers in Egypt, I love how there’s still space for her Filipina heritage and moments with her mom throughout the book.
I’ve experienced complicated family relationships so that part of the book resonated with me. I could relate to feeling out of place and taking family for granted. I could also relate to being an awkward teenage girl. Gharib wonderfully illustrates her journey to appreciating her family, and the waves of emotions she felt while dealing with these experiences while growing up. This graphic novel covers a lot of ground and does it well.
If you enjoyed Gharib’s other book I Was Their American Dream, you’ll enjoy this one too. It’s a wonderful book and I loved it! Check the content warnings before you read.
Thank you Netgalley and Ten Speed Press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This graphic novel beautifully explores complicated family dynamics and cultural differences. It’s a relatable and honest look at Gharib’s life, and I love how we see Malaka’s growth throughout the book as she contemplates her Filipina-Egyptian-American identity, and finds her place within her dad’s new family. While the focus is on her summers in Egypt, I love how there’s still space for her Filipina heritage and moments with her mom throughout the book.
I’ve experienced complicated family relationships so that part of the book resonated with me. I could relate to feeling out of place and taking family for granted. I could also relate to being an awkward teenage girl. Gharib wonderfully illustrates her journey to appreciating her family, and the waves of emotions she felt while dealing with these experiences while growing up. This graphic novel covers a lot of ground and does it well.
If you enjoyed Gharib’s other book I Was Their American Dream, you’ll enjoy this one too. It’s a wonderful book and I loved it! Check the content warnings before you read.
Thank you Netgalley and Ten Speed Press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 4, 2024
The end thats all I can say
May 2, 2023
Gharib continues her story of dividing her time between her home in the states and with her dad in Egypt each summer. Her father marries Hala and begins a new family in Egypt. Each summer Malaka has to determine her place in the family. This gets more and more difficult the older she gets and the more disconnected she feels from her dad and his family.
I like the parallel of Hala trying to figure out her life with Malaka's father and Malaka trying to determine who she will be as a young adult. This is a good continuation of her story. There are some vignettes that feel disjointed to the story, but I suppose that's what it's like when straddling two cultures and two families.
I like the parallel of Hala trying to figure out her life with Malaka's father and Malaka trying to determine who she will be as a young adult. This is a good continuation of her story. There are some vignettes that feel disjointed to the story, but I suppose that's what it's like when straddling two cultures and two families.
August 20, 2022
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This graphic novel is a memoir that mainly explores the struggles growing up between America and Egypt, as a mix 0f Egyptian-American-Filipina identities. For the most part I really enjoyed the issues explored here and I would definitely recommend it based on that. I'm always curious around these subjects and it is pretty much always worth the read on other people's experiences with their own identity. Unfortunately I really disliked the art style and it did affect my overall enjoyment since this is a graphic novel and the visuals are half of it. My rating would have been higher otherwise.
This graphic novel is a memoir that mainly explores the struggles growing up between America and Egypt, as a mix 0f Egyptian-American-Filipina identities. For the most part I really enjoyed the issues explored here and I would definitely recommend it based on that. I'm always curious around these subjects and it is pretty much always worth the read on other people's experiences with their own identity. Unfortunately I really disliked the art style and it did affect my overall enjoyment since this is a graphic novel and the visuals are half of it. My rating would have been higher otherwise.
January 13, 2024
Awesome graphic memoir about connection.
September 11, 2023
On a grand scale, global migration brings change to population centers, economies, cultures, and entire countries. More immediately, global migration changes the family dynamics of those relocating from one country to another.
It also changes the migrants themselves. Some family members depart for new destinations in new countries. Other family members remain in the home country.
Change takes courage -- courage to have faith that your choices (either migrating, today, or remaining behind when other family members migrate) will bring, for your immediate and extended family, a better life tomorrow.
Moreover, those migrating to distant lands must be courageous when faced with new experiences -- new languages, new cultures, new neighbors, new freedoms and new opportunities -- because it takes guts to confront new situations and new tasks that most probably will change or challenge (in a fundamental way) the immigrant's preconceived ideas, values, beliefs and daily routines. What "worked" in the home country may not be of any value in the new country.
Migration leaves the immigrant feeling like an "outsider looking in" as he or she lives in new surroundings in their new world. Yet, upon family reunions in, and return travels to, the home country, the immigrant's new experience while living in another part of the world makes "home" seem unfamiliar and somewhat "foreign." Paradoxically, the migrants often feel like a part of both worlds but alienated from those two worlds all at the same time.
Migration, driven by hope, is not easy. Feeling uncertain in the place where you now live, and feeling "apart" from those close to you "back home," are both unsettling.
Often, migration prompts an introspective search for self. But, amid the searching, the one constant in all the swirling changes that migration entails, is love -- love of family, love of friends, and love for a world that you envision, and seek to build -- for yourself, and for your children, and for your children's children.
May we always salute, and never diminish, the noble struggle of the immigrants. And may we bless them always in their journeys.
It also changes the migrants themselves. Some family members depart for new destinations in new countries. Other family members remain in the home country.
Change takes courage -- courage to have faith that your choices (either migrating, today, or remaining behind when other family members migrate) will bring, for your immediate and extended family, a better life tomorrow.
Moreover, those migrating to distant lands must be courageous when faced with new experiences -- new languages, new cultures, new neighbors, new freedoms and new opportunities -- because it takes guts to confront new situations and new tasks that most probably will change or challenge (in a fundamental way) the immigrant's preconceived ideas, values, beliefs and daily routines. What "worked" in the home country may not be of any value in the new country.
Migration leaves the immigrant feeling like an "outsider looking in" as he or she lives in new surroundings in their new world. Yet, upon family reunions in, and return travels to, the home country, the immigrant's new experience while living in another part of the world makes "home" seem unfamiliar and somewhat "foreign." Paradoxically, the migrants often feel like a part of both worlds but alienated from those two worlds all at the same time.
Migration, driven by hope, is not easy. Feeling uncertain in the place where you now live, and feeling "apart" from those close to you "back home," are both unsettling.
Often, migration prompts an introspective search for self. But, amid the searching, the one constant in all the swirling changes that migration entails, is love -- love of family, love of friends, and love for a world that you envision, and seek to build -- for yourself, and for your children, and for your children's children.
May we always salute, and never diminish, the noble struggle of the immigrants. And may we bless them always in their journeys.
November 20, 2022
I enjoyed reading Malaka Gharib's first graphic memoir, I Was Their American Dream, and It Won't Always Be Like This was a delightful treat as well. It was significant to see the code switching required of Malaka when she spent 15 summers in Egypt with her father, step-mother, and younger siblings. She processes the complexity of being biracial in Egyptian culture, of being an older sibling going through adolescence, and of feeling displaced within her own family. My favorite tender moments included the family photos, the conflict resolution with her father, and the car ride with her step-mother, Hala. What surprised me was how central her step-mother, Hala, is, from Malaka's first meeting to Malaka's seeing Hala's life as shown on Instagram. I found this sequel to be thoughtful and moving, and I hope to read more graphic memoirs from the author.
September 29, 2023
Malaka Gharib shows us what it was like growing up the daughter of a Filipino mother and Egyptian father. Living in California, but spending summers in Egypt with her father’s new family, the clash of cultures becomes increasingly evident. Like most teens, she struggled with identity. I loved the relationship and parallels between her and Hala. Also loved the 90s music references; we must be about the same age.
February 23, 2025
the book being dedicated to hala 🥲
“those summers seemed to last forever. but the thing about summer� is that it eventually ends.�
“so, this is what courage looks like. […] her reputation, her income, her children, her pride� she gave them all up to live this life.� oh, how i love women <3
“those summers seemed to last forever. but the thing about summer� is that it eventually ends.�
“so, this is what courage looks like. […] her reputation, her income, her children, her pride� she gave them all up to live this life.� oh, how i love women <3
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2022
Lovely artwork, it reminded me of the books I learnt English from as a child. This is a tender and vulnerable story about belonging to places and people. I would recommend this for a quick but meaningful read.
April 20, 2025
Beautiful, speedy graphic memoir. Wish it was longer, but excited to read Gharib’s first book.
February 18, 2023
Interesting graphic novel about coming of age divided between Egyptian and USA cultures.
August 30, 2022
Malaka Gharib's graphic memoir takes us through her adolescence when she spends summers in Egypt with her father instead of at home in California with her (Filipino-American) mother. I added her mother's national identifier not because it has a tremendous bearing on this part of Gharib's story, but to underscore that young Malaka is navigating multiple racial, ethnic, and national identities at a life stage when there's a lot to figure out about yourself, even if you're coming of age in a homogenous environment that matches your looks and culture and those of your family members. (nb junior high was an emotional shitshow for me from which I may never fully recover)
We join Gharib in Egypt and later other Middle Eastern countries, spending time with her father Maged and his girlfriend, eventually wife, Hala. This isn't so much a memoir of seminal moments in Gharib's life, as it is a de-spooling of her summers, which she sometimes experienced a stranger in her own family. Her father's increasing financial success, which means moving to more conservative cities, necessitates or coincides with Hala becoming more overtly religious. Because she travels back and forth between the US and isn't raising children, Gharib's freedoms aren't as constrained as her stepmother's, and at first she isn't cognizant of what life might be like for her parents and their SO's, because adolescent. She gains maturity--and distance--as the memoir progresses, taking us with her to care with more nuance.
I'm also taken with Gharib's illustrations. I love how much she does with wavy lines and color textures.
We join Gharib in Egypt and later other Middle Eastern countries, spending time with her father Maged and his girlfriend, eventually wife, Hala. This isn't so much a memoir of seminal moments in Gharib's life, as it is a de-spooling of her summers, which she sometimes experienced a stranger in her own family. Her father's increasing financial success, which means moving to more conservative cities, necessitates or coincides with Hala becoming more overtly religious. Because she travels back and forth between the US and isn't raising children, Gharib's freedoms aren't as constrained as her stepmother's, and at first she isn't cognizant of what life might be like for her parents and their SO's, because adolescent. She gains maturity--and distance--as the memoir progresses, taking us with her to care with more nuance.
I'm also taken with Gharib's illustrations. I love how much she does with wavy lines and color textures.
June 28, 2022
Malaka Gharib's graphic memoir is an excellent slice-of-life story that tells of her summers in Egypt with her father and her attempt to find where she fits in with her family. I had the chance to see early pages of this from free Comic Book Day, which is such an amazing way for audiences to find the full graphic memoir later! Beyond the first few pages, the story follows Malaka from her time as a child, thru the awful teenage years, all the way to being an adult woman who is straddling multiple identities -- Egyptian, American, Filipina. She is finding her own place with her dad's new family, and I thought she did an excellent job of portraying the clashes with culture she found herself in, from not being fully fluent to Arabic to embracing a punk-emo style in a conservative country.
Many of the family members are empathetically and carefully portrayed -- from her stepmother Hala who seems to be unhappy with her life in Egypt as well, to her father who works hard to keep his family afloat, to the new siblings that love Malaka as if they were blood family. I enjoyed the style of illustration and thought it clearly told the story along with the narrative. I read and enjoyed Malaka's first graphic novel, "I Was Their American Dream" and suggest that as a good starting place for readers looking to pick this up (although they don't have to be read in order!)
Thanks to NetGalley for the early review copy, all opinions are my own.
Many of the family members are empathetically and carefully portrayed -- from her stepmother Hala who seems to be unhappy with her life in Egypt as well, to her father who works hard to keep his family afloat, to the new siblings that love Malaka as if they were blood family. I enjoyed the style of illustration and thought it clearly told the story along with the narrative. I read and enjoyed Malaka's first graphic novel, "I Was Their American Dream" and suggest that as a good starting place for readers looking to pick this up (although they don't have to be read in order!)
Thanks to NetGalley for the early review copy, all opinions are my own.
December 28, 2022
I read what I'm guessing was an excerpt from free comic book day, and it was great! Looking forward to reading the whole thing.
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I appreciated the second half of this book more than the first, in a lot of ways. I read this right after reading a memoir of another young person and found they both a little mixed for how the narrative thrust of their stories were developed - I think it can be hard to have a memoir of a "young" adult - is the focus on childhood, or where they are now, or how that childhood got them to their young adulthood - or is it tackling adolescence in between? I found the change in focus to Hala toward the end fascinating and/but enigmatic - how *did* Hala feel? What did she want? What did she find? How did she change? But that's hard to tackle when she only seems to emerge as a more developed character as Malaka gets older (and maybe thinks more about Hala).
I hope the author has more stories to tell, and this makes me want to revisit her first book.
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I appreciated the second half of this book more than the first, in a lot of ways. I read this right after reading a memoir of another young person and found they both a little mixed for how the narrative thrust of their stories were developed - I think it can be hard to have a memoir of a "young" adult - is the focus on childhood, or where they are now, or how that childhood got them to their young adulthood - or is it tackling adolescence in between? I found the change in focus to Hala toward the end fascinating and/but enigmatic - how *did* Hala feel? What did she want? What did she find? How did she change? But that's hard to tackle when she only seems to emerge as a more developed character as Malaka gets older (and maybe thinks more about Hala).
I hope the author has more stories to tell, and this makes me want to revisit her first book.
November 19, 2022
A 2022 ŷ Choice Nominee.
I enjoyed this coming of age tale that navigates identity, sense of self, family dynamics and relationships.
I enjoyed her use of her real childhood journals in her illustrations. The story transported me to Egypt (I’d love to visit!) and gave me a sense of what it’s like to be caught between two worlds. Torn between family, culture, customs, beliefs and traditions.
It felt like a bit of a tribute to her step mother as their interactions through the years seemed to make an impact on her.
3.75 stars rounded up. Not my ŷ Choice selection but still quite enjoyable and worth the quick read.
I enjoyed this coming of age tale that navigates identity, sense of self, family dynamics and relationships.
I enjoyed her use of her real childhood journals in her illustrations. The story transported me to Egypt (I’d love to visit!) and gave me a sense of what it’s like to be caught between two worlds. Torn between family, culture, customs, beliefs and traditions.
It felt like a bit of a tribute to her step mother as their interactions through the years seemed to make an impact on her.
3.75 stars rounded up. Not my ŷ Choice selection but still quite enjoyable and worth the quick read.
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