Hello and welcome, friends! I’m truly excited to share one of the best and most thought-provoking novels I’ve read so far this year. Shanah Khubiar has caught “lightning in a bottle” with her coming-of-age story about a young Jewish boy on the cusp of manhood in the late 70s. There’s humor, heartache, and even danger between the pages, along with truly thought-provoking commentary. Keep reading to learn more about Just A Hat and don’t miss the giveaway from the brilliant Shanah Khubiar.
JUST A HAT
By SHANAH KHUBIAR
Young Adult / Coming of Age / Jewish Fiction / Small-Town Texas / 1970s
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Page Count: 254
Publication Date: July 18, 2023
Action-packed, humorous, and bittersweet, this 1970s-era coming-of-age novel is more relevant than ever–exploring how a second-generation immigrant kid in a new hometown must navigate bullying, unexpected friendships, and the struggle of keeping both feet firmly planted in two very different cultures.
It’s 1979, and thirteen-year-old Joseph Nissan can’t help but notice that small-town Texas has something in common with Revolution-era Iran: an absence of fellow Jews. And in such a small town it seems obvious that a brown kid like him was bound to make friends with Latinos–which is a plus, since his new buds, the Ybarra twins, have his back. But when the Iran hostage crisis, two neighborhood bullies, and the local reverend’s beautiful daughter put him in all sorts of danger, Joseph must find new ways to cope at home and at school.
As he struggles to trust others and stay true to himself, a fiercely guarded family secret keeps his father at a distance, and even his piano teacher, Miss Eleanor–who is like a grandmother to him–can’t always protect him. But Joseph is not alone, and with a little help from his friends, he finds the courage to confront his fears and discovers he can inspire others to find their courage, too.
Just a Hat is an authentically one-of-a-kind YA debut that fuses the humor of Firoozeh Dumas’s Funny in Farsi with the poignancy of Daniel Nayeri’s Everything Sad Is Untrue.
CLICK TO PURCHASE:
“Some things have to end before new things begin.“
Joseph has never been to Iran, the country his parents fled before his birth before they settled in a small Texas town. He doesn’t understand why they had to leave the Persian Jewish community in California, or why they couldn’t live with his mother’s family in Israel. In just a few weeks, Joseph will become a Jewish man yet he struggles with upholding his family’s traditions while meeting the expectations of his American school. The year is 1979 and Joseph chafes under his Baba’s non-confrontational nature, especially when faced with bullies and casual daily prejudice. But his piano teacher and neighbor LaLa reminds him not to judge his father so harshly, that he can’t understand his parents’ burdens yet. One day, sooner than Joseph might think, he will.
“You can’t unknow what you know even if other people don’t know you know.”
As someone who grew up in a small Texas town in the 90s and 00s, I saw first-hand the prejudice that people carried after the 9-11 attacks. I remember people’s fear of Muslims in general and the lack of understanding of the different cultures that practiced the Islamic faith. I remember the way kids at my school were ridiculed or thought strange for fasting during Ramadan. I didn’t fully understand at the time, seeing things through the lens of a white Christian girl. Like many of my generation, we still saw “through a glass darkly,” but I have often thought of this as I’ve befriended people of other faiths and ethnicities throughout the world. While my experience was different from Joseph’s, author Shanah Khubiar truly made me reflect and remember. And it reminds me why I resolved to raise my children differently, to practice kindness and seek understanding.
“Christians were a puzzle. If they were like Lala, the Ybarras, and Vonda, they were good-hearted, sensible, friendly people. If they were like this man, they were angry people obsessed with blood.”
Just A Hat is the kind of novel I could read over and over again, and still find new things to reflect on. Khubiar’s philosophical roots show in between the seemingly mundane aspects of Joseph’s story. I love Middle-Grade fiction for the same reason, as we see through the eyes of a child developing a greater understanding of the world around them and how they fit into it. Khubiar’s story is wholly unique as it explores the experiences of a Persian-Jewish boy in the late 70s, yet I found Joseph’s story extremely poignant and relevant today. I can’t wait to share this novel with my son in the next few years and look forward to revisiting this in my personal library again and again. And hope that I, too, can “soak up” these good words.
“…the way to hear good words is to soak them up… Let words change us and make us better people.”
MEET SHANAH KHUBIAR
Shanah Khubiar is a retired law enforcement officer, and she is now self-employed as a subject matter specialist. She holds a BS and MEd in education from East Texas State University and a PhD in philosophy. A student of her Persian ancestry, she incorporates (Mizrachi) Middle Eastern Jewry into her fiction, examining the historical challenges and triumphs of a different culture and narrative than what usually appears in literature. Khubiar is a sometime resident and always fan of most things Texas.
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE WINNERS:
Signed hardback copy of JUST A HAT
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 5/9/24)
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 03/29/24)
CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH BLOG PARTICIPATING IN THIS BOOK BLITZ!
blog tour services provided by
Jennifer Silverwood 
Thank you so much for being a part of our book blitz and for writing this wonderful review. We couldn’t agree more about the relevance and importance of this well-written book. Powerful stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t highlighted a book this much in years! It was just one profound thought after the other. Thanks so much for allowing me to be part of the tour 😀
LikeLike