What happens to an Egyptian girl in the diaspora when she cannot find herself "in [her] aunties"? The speakers in warda thread the collection with audacious declarations---from "I will never get married" to "I can become anything"---even as they contend with turmoil, joy, shame, and hope. Growth arrives in warda with thorns in tow. But the resulting contradictions are met bravely, without resistance. "Like everything veiled," Taleb asserts, "I want to be known." - Ghinwa Jawhari, author of BINT and founding editor of Koukash Review