{"product_id":"a-good-country-9781632865854","title":"A Good Country","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \"powerful\" (\u003ci\u003eNYT\u003c\/i\u003e) timely novel about the radicalization of a Muslim teen in California--about where identity truly lies and how we find it.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLaguna Beach, California, 2011. Alireza Courdee, a 16-year-old straight-A student and chemistry whiz, takes his first hit of pot. In as long as it takes to inhale and exhale, he is transformed from the high-achieving son of Iranian immigrants into a happy-go-lucky stoner. He loses his virginity, takes up surfing, and sneaks away to all-night raves. For the first time, Reza--now Rez--feels like an American teen. Life is smooth; even lying to his strict parents comes easily. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut then he changes again, falling out with the bad-boy surfers and in with a group of kids more awake to the world around them, who share his background, and whose ideas fill him with a very different sense of purpose. Within a year, Reza and his girlfriend are making their way to Syria to be part of a Muslim nation rising from the ashes of the civil war. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTimely, nuanced, and emotionally forceful, \u003ci\u003eA Good Country\u003c\/i\u003e is a gorgeous meditation on modern life, religious radicalization, and a young man caught among vastly different worlds. What we are left with at the dramatic end is not an assessment of good or evil, East versus West, but a lingering question that applies to all modern souls: Do we decide how to live, or is our life decided for us?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/04\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781632865854\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.80d","brand":"Laleh Khadivi","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43673021907125,"sku":"9781632865854","price":14.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_07ecb8eb-5ed2-4e2c-a7aa-bb1567ee7cbe.jpg?v=1709053008","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/a-good-country-9781632865854","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}