Read This Book…

A few years ago, Rum burst onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Woman Is No Man, which was selected as the first-ever Jenna’s Book Club pick. Now, Rum is back with her sophomore novel, Evil Eye, which features Yara, a thirtysomething Arab woman living in North Carolina. Yara has it all: a wonderful husband, two daughters, and a job. At least, that’s what she tells herself. But then, why does she feel so purposeless?

Born in Brooklyn to Palestinian refugees, Yara spent her childhood restricted to her parents’ community. Her father was often violent, and Yara was relieved to accept the marriage he arranged for her. But after she moved to North Carolina, she realized that she was still expected to do all of the cooking, cleaning, and childcare. But her husband, Fadi, didn’t hit her. He let her get an education and have a job. Wasn’t that enough?

Now, Yara is in her early 30s. She wants to move up in her career, but she feels overwhelmed. After she yells at a co-worker who said something racist to her, Yara’s boss all but requires her to see the university’s counselor. Yara begins therapy and quickly realizes that her struggle to regulate her emotions may stem from a much bigger issue.

Evil Eye is a coming-of-age story of a Palestinian American woman learning to put herself and her own healing first. There’s such a strength to this book. For the first time in her life, Yara is disentangling the multigenerational trauma she’s experienced but has never fully confronted. Yara’s story isn’t full of dramatic moments or plot twists. It’s a quiet, character-driven story full of depth and emotion. It’s the quiet dissolution of everything Yara thought her life to be. But her life could be different—maybe even better—if only she had the courage to make some big changes.