Unbecoming

June 24, 2024
Two Muslim teens in Texas are forced to navigate bodily autonomy following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in this near-future novel by Yasmin (What the Fact?). Seventeen-year-old Indian American Laylah Khan, an aspiring OB-GYN, and her Palestinian American best friend Noor Awad, who dreams of being a journalist, are secretly working together to create the Texas Teen’s Guide to Safe Abortion, an “extreeeeemely illegal” document they know is “going to SAVE LIVES.” Despite their hard work, when Laylah learns that she’s pregnant, she finds it almost impossible to get an abortion: “No one in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska. Not even in California and Oregon” has the pills she needs. Journalist and medical doctor Yasmin doesn’t shy away from the grim details of the girls’ reality. Via alternating POV chapters, the creator uses Laylah’s pregnancy and the teens’ differing relationships with their cultural identities to explore the intersecting effects of abortion policies, Islamic beliefs, and American imperialism on both. Excerpts from the Texas Teen’s Guide (a complete version will be available online following the book’s publication) and interstitials depicting Laylah’s humorous, Bollywood-esque fantasies add comedy to this relevant look at the ingenuity, tenacity, and hope of two teens fighting for their right to choose. Ages 14–up.