{"product_id":"9781632865861","title":"A Good Country","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \"powerful\" (\u003ci\u003eNYT\u003c\/i\u003e) timely novel about the radicalization of a Muslim teen in California--about where identity truly lies and how we find it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLaguna Beach, California, 2010. Alireza Courdee, a 14-year-old straight-A student and chemistry whiz, takes his first hit of pot. In as long as it takes to inhale and exhale, he is transformed from the high-achieving son of Iranian immigrants into a happy-go-lucky stoner. He loses his virginity, takes up surfing, and sneaks away to all-night raves. For the first time, Reza--now Rez--feels like an American teen. Life is smooth; even lying to his strict parents comes easily.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut then he changes again, falling out with the bad-boy surfers and in with a group of kids more awake to the world around them, who share his background, and whose ideas fill him with a very different sense of purpose. Within a year, Reza and his girlfriend are making their way to Syria to be part of a Muslim nation rising from the ashes of the civil war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTimely, nuanced, and emotionally forceful, \u003ci\u003eA Good Country\u003c\/i\u003e is a gorgeous meditation on modern life, religious radicalization, and a young man caught among vastly different worlds. What we are left with at the dramatic end is not an assessment of good or evil, East versus West, but a lingering question that applies to all modern souls: Do we decide how to live, or is our life decided for us?","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47149339574512,"sku":"9781632865861","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781632865861_p0.jpg?v=1763675036","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781632865861","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}