What Will People Think?

DEBUT This beautifully written debut tackles serious issues like immigration, bigotry, and cultural identity, using stand-up comedy as a framing device. Mia is a second-generation Palestinian American who has lived with her traditional grandparents since she lost her parents. She and her father shared a love of stand-up, and Mia has been working on her own comedy act in secret. Her heritage is great fodder for her comedy, but her work as a magazine fact-checker pays the bills. When a reporting job opens up, her boss urges her to apply. Mia wavers, but her best friend submits a writing sample for her, along with a video of her stand-up that goes viral. Mia’s grandparents are in the States illegally, and she is terrified that her new notoriety may lead to their deportation. Meanwhile, a new neighbor mentions knowing a family with Mia’s last name that owned jewelry stores in Dubai. Mia’s grandmother refuses to talk about her family, but she gives Mia a journal to read, which creates a second timeline that starts in 1940s Palestine. Both stories are woven together until all the family secrets are revealed.