A wonderful, moving book. Please read it., February 26, 2007 (Amazon.com)
By ArabAmericanChristian (Chicago, USA)

I met Susan, the author, quite by chance this weekend at a bookstore where she was signing the book. I bought a signed copy from her, took it home and read almost all of it in one sitting. Susan has done something very difficult and admirable, namely to write a literary narrative of the Palestinian Diaspora through the eyes of a family which experienced it. Like the protagonists, my parents also became refugees after 1948 and this is the first novel about the Palestinian exile which has really grabbed me and made me want to share the book with everyone I know. It is well written and will stand the test of time.

Although one professional reviewer feels that the book is not even-handed in its depiction of the Jewish characters, the plain fact is that, in the story of the Palestinian Diaspora, there were relatively few Israelis whose actions were worthy of praise. One might as well expect a story about the tragic history of American Indians (Native Americans) to sing the praises of the white men at whose hands they suffered so much. Reading this book allows the reader to understand the passion which Arabs and Palestinians have over Palestine, and Jerusalem, and appreciate why there never will be peace until there is a just and honorable settlement for the Palestinians, including some form of compensation for their losses. This is a very topical, timely and effective story.