Ida In The Middle
Ida, a Palestinian-American girl, eats a magic olive that takes her to the life she might have had in her parentsā village near Jerusalem. An important coming of age story that explores identity, place, voice, and belonging.
Every time violence erupts in the Middle East, Ida knows whatās coming next. Some of her classmates treat her like itās all her faultājust for being Palestinian! In eighth grade, Ida is forced to move to a different school. But people still treat her like sheāll never fit in. Ida wishes she could disappear.
One day, dreading a final class project, Ida hunts for food. She discovers a jar of olives that came from a beloved aunt in her familyās village near Jerusalem. Ida eats one and finds herself thereāas if her parents had never left Palestine! Things are different in this other realityāharder in many ways, but also strangely familiar and comforting. Now she has to make some tough choices. Which Ida would she rather be? How can she find her place?
Idaās dilemma becomes more frightening as the day approaches when Israeli bulldozers are coming to demolish another home in her familyās villageā¦