Welcome to my tour stop with Toppling Stacks Tours! Read my five-star review below...
The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue
By Zoulfa Katouh
YA Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism
Audiobook, Hardcover, Paperback & eBook, 368 Pages
June 2, 2026 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Summary
From the celebrated author of As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow comes a poignant novel about a Syrian American girl who uses a magical sketchbook to turn her grief into art, painting miraculous murals of her mother’s life in Syria.
Seventeen-year-old Jihad Dabbagh has always seen life with a heightened sense for colors, one of many magical blessings the women in her family possess. But Jihad's gift changes depending on her mood. When depression sets in, the world is a colorless oasis, and in the wake of her mother's sudden death, the world has become a permanent shade of grey.
Broken by tragedy, Jihad's family doesn't believe her color loss. Her father sends her to the elite Braxton Academy to finish her senior year. There, Jihad's name and hijab put a target on her back. Her haven comes in the form of an old sketchbook carved from a tree in her hometown in Syria—a country she only knew through her mother's stories. Jihad hasn't picked up a brush in over a year, but finds herself channeling the colors of her hurt, pain, and grief as she paints the story of her mother's journey in Syria.
When graffiti of that same mural starts magically popping up all over New York, her art goes viral and the world takes notice, the threat of legal consequences is imminent. To reclaim her voice, Jihad will have to paint a new future for herself and Braxton, guided by the resilience of her mother's story.
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My Review
THE OCEAN WOULD PAINT ME BLUE is a story about loss, struggle, perseverance, and resilience. It's about being the focus of bullying and racism. It's also about finding friendship and yourself. And even though it's a heartrending read, it is also full of hope. Highly recommended to contemporary fiction fans who enjoy a touch of magical realism!
Read this if you enjoy:
🐚 Expression and emotion through art
🐚 A relatable and likable heroine
🐚 Moving forward after loss
🐚 Deep friendship forged through some hard stuff
🐚 Brokenness, including within families
🐚 Racism and perseverance through it
🐚 So much strength, hope and joy
🐚 A secondary romance that isn't the focus of the story
🐚 A perfect imperfect ending
This was an excellently written story! The characters were relatable and imperfect. I don't have sufficient words for Jihad's life experiences, except overall anger for the injustice of it all. Thankfully this story was well balanced with moments of friendship (I could not love Jaime more!), family, culture (the food and stories!!), and art. The author also did a fabulous job in relaying some cultural and religious information by weaving it through the story. No info dumps here. There are some stories where you can skim or skip. This was not one of those. Every word and page added to this story. Every single bit worth the time to read.
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was a story that deeply resonated with me. It pulled on all my emotions, but especially anger, sadness and then joy. I will definitely be reading her previous book as well as any future releases.
Content: Some swearing (mostly a few s-words), some racial violence.
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Toppling Stacks Tours, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
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Did you read this author's previous book? What other books have you read where the main character is Muslim?
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