Home Is Not a Country

Home Is Not a Country is Safia Elhillo’s debut young adult novel in verse. The book follows a young Muslim teen navigating the life she has and the life she could have had if pivotal moments between her parents had gone differently. Elhillo’s pen game is unlike that of any other novelist writing in verse; she easily weaves through past and present, sorrow and sarcasm and pushes readers to confront the surrealism of the immigrant experience. Magical realism in verse has to be one of the toughest objectives to pull off. Fantasy often involves big world-building and large casts of characters; verse features brevity and elevates language. Elhillo is in a lane of her own—I do not say that lightly.