On October 17, 2013, the unthinkable happened to Sadiq and Sara, Somali immigrants raising a family in Norway. Their two teenage daughters, Ayan and Leila, disappeared, leaving an email stating their intentions to travel to Syria to aid in jihad. To find out why they would reject family, friendships, and country to face violence, death, and oppression as members of a terror organization, Seierstad (
One of Us: The Story of a Massacre in Norway—and Its Aftermath) reconstructed the events leading up to the sisters' decision and the family's attempts to bring them home by piecing together interviews, emails, instant messages, and text messages. Through technology, the family tried desperately to keep the girls tethered to their former life, even after they married Islamic State fighters, so they wouldn't vanish entirely. On the news we hear about radicalized youth and fear that it will lead to new terrorist attacks—this book takes that to a more personal level with the unresolvable pain and grief it can cause a family.
VERDICT An important story that will leave readers considering the effects of xenophobia, youth culture, social media, and radicalization. [See Prepub Alert, 8/28/17.]
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