Rana Joon and the One and Only Now

A breath of fresh air and punch to the gut all rolled into one. Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay This lyrical (Kirkus Reviews) coming-of-age novel for fans of Darius the Great Is Not Okay and On the Come Up, set in Southern California in 1996, follows a teen who wants to honor her deceased friends legacy by entering a rap contest. Perfect Iranian girls are straight A students, always polite, and grow up to marry respectable Iranian boys. But its the San Fernando Valley in 1996, and Rana Joon is far from perfectshe smokes weed and loves Tupac, and she has a secret: she likes girls. As if that werent enough, her best friend, Louiethe one who knew her secret and encouraged her to live in the momentdied almost a year ago, and shes still having trouble processing her grief. To honor him, Rana enters the rap battle he dreamed of competing in, even though shes terrified of public speaking. But the clock is ticking. With the battle getting closer every day, she cant decide whether to use one of Louies pieces or her own poetry, her family is coming apart, and she might even be falling in love. To get herself to the stage and fulfill her promise before her senior year ends, Rana will have to learn to speak her truth and live in the one and only now.