The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Warga, Jasmine. Other Words for Home. HarperCollins, 2019.

The novel begins in the summer in Syria. Jude goes to the beach with her best friend, Fatima. They spend nearly all of their time together. Jude is also very close to her older brother, Issa. Issa has grown more interested in the pro-democracy protests of the past couple of weeks despite his father’s attempts to dissuade him from participating. Jude and Issa butt heads because she does not want anything in her life to change and she resents her brother’s desire to join in the unrest and possibly send their lives into upheaval.

After the protests get more violent and Issa moves out of the house, Jude’s parents tell her that she must move to the U.S. with her mother to have a safer life. Baba and Issa will not be going with them. Jude is devastated, but she accepts her parents’ decision and hopes for a new life in America.

When Jude arrives in the U.S. to live with her uncle Mazin, aunt Michelle, and cousin Sarah, she feels completely out of her element. She worries about her ability to speak English and the frosty reception from Sarah further underscores her worries. Jude is fearful about the future, but she finds little ways to keep herself from obsessing about her brother’s safety and try to immerse herself in the culture. Aunt Michelle takes Jude all around their new Ohio town to introduce her and show her what life is like there.

When Jude begins to wear the hijab, she grows more comfortable with showing off her Syrian culture and maturing. Her mother is pregnant with a baby girl, and Jude wants to be a role model when the baby is born in the same way that Issa was a role model for her. In between her ESL classes, Jude decides to put herself out there by auditioning for the school play. She gets a minor part and works incredibly hard to master her lines and her song. Jude is proud of herself when she manages to get the role down and improve her English.

Jude meets another girl from school named Layla, a Middle Eastern girl, and they become fast friends. They hang out at Layla’s family’s restaurant and Jude finally feels like she has found a piece of home all the way from Syria. Jude thinks more and more about her family and her culture until her little sister is born. She contends with prejudice and bigotry, eventually succeeding in her school play. Jude strengthens the bonds she has with her family and she never gives up the love she has for her father and brother despite being separated by so many miles.