Landing in Place
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On May 19, 2026, Kokila will publish LANDING IN PLACE, a poignant Young Adult coming-of age graphic novel from powerhouse author-illustrator duo Sherine Hamdy and Myra El Mir. A timely, thought-provoking update to modern classics like Persepolis and Tahereh Mafi’s A Very Large Expanse of Sea, LANDING IN PLACE showcases how the political is personal, weaving important moments in global history together through the lens of one Egyptian American family – from the Suez crisis in 1956, to the Arab Spring and the events in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011, to present day protests for Palestinian rights.
Speaking to the inspirations for LANDING IN PLACE, author Sherine Hamdy said: “In 2013, I wrote a rather snarky manuscript called Hijabville, based on my annoyed experiences wearing hijab in my early adulthood. Anisa, the hijabi character, never spoke: everyone was always projecting their ideas and assumptions onto her, talking to her, at her, about her. When I decided to give Anisa her voice, I had to trade snark for sincerity. The result was LANDING IN PLACE – a story that celebrates the beauty in Muslim cultures and hijab instead of rebelling against them. Through Anisa’s story, I hope readers feel empowered to discover the hidden historical and political traumas that inform their own families, as well as the important link between foreign intervention, neocolonialism, migration, and diaspora.”
In LANDING IN PLACE, Anisa is following in her sister Reem’s footsteps: She’s a freshman at her sister’s alma mater, she’s on the same premed track, and she’s inherited Reem's old hotpot, mini-fridge, and textbooks. Even though Anisa would prefer to study art, her parents discount that as a valid career choice. The path laid out before her starts to crumble as Anisa feels she doesn’t belong -- either in her organic chemistry class or among the other Muslim students on campus.
When Anisa fails her first semester, she begs her parents to let her take time off to visit Cairo and stay with her beloved grandfather. Finally free to have her own experiences, Anisa begins a journey of self- discovery and, as she bumps up against familial, societal, and religious expectations, she starts to develop her own artistic voice. When Anisa returns to the United States, many of these expectations shift, but she learns to draw on the love of friends and family -- including those she’s often at odds with -- in order to stay true to herself.
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