Title: The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Fiction
Length: 297 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher
Summary:
Two half-siblings who have never met embark on a search together for the Iranian immigrant and U.S. Army veteran father they never knew.
Samira Murphy will do anything to keep her fractured family from falling apart, including caring for her widowed grandmother and getting her older brother into recovery for alcohol addiction. With attendance at her dream college on the line, she takes a long shot DNA test to find the support she so desperately needs from a father she hasn’t seen since she was a baby.
Henry Owen is torn between his well-meaning but unreliable bio-mom and his overly strict aunt and uncle, who stepped in to raise him but don’t seem to see him for who he is. Looking to forge a stronger connection to his own identity, he takes a DNA test to find the one person who might love him for exactly who he is—the biological father he never knew.
Instead of a DNA match with their father, Samira and Henry are matched with each other. They begin to search for their father together and slowly unravel the difficult truth of their shared past, forming a connection that only siblings can have and recovering precious parts of their past that have been lost. Brimming with emotional resonance, Susan Azim Boyer’s The Search for Us beautifully renders what it means to find your place in the world through the deep and abiding power of family.
Review:
The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer is a thoughtfully written young adult novel.
Half-siblings Samira Murphy and Henry Owen find each other through DNA testing and theis lives could not be more different. Samira’s family barely scraps by and she shoulders burdens she should not be expected to bear. Henry family dynamics are complicated and he is growing increasingly unhappy with parental expectations. After learning of each other’s existence, Samira and Henry decide to find the father whose absence is felt in very different ways.
The Search for Us is a very compelling young adult novel with a refreshingly unique plot. Each of the characters are vibrantly drawn and quite endearing. The storyline is well-written and tackles heartrending, socially relevant issues. The various settings and characters spring vividly to life. The chapters alternate between Samira’s and Henry’s perspectives and this provides thought-provoking insight into their respective lives. Susan Azim Boyer deftly handles sensitive subject matter and brings this engaging young adult novel to a heartwarming conclusion.
