Behind the Veil

Behind the Veil, is a coming-of-age young adult novel about Laila, a second-generation Indian-Muslim Canadian with a very strict father and a troublesome rebellious streak. This novel centers around Laila and the two most mysterious women in her life: Soraya, her mother, and Aliyah, her aunt, each of whom died in mysterious and tragic circumstances in the face of the cultural machinations that Laila fights to resist. Her life changing decisions are fueled by the spiritual guidance of her mother in her feminist empowerment over cultural norms, all while preserving her Islamic faith. Both women hold space for magic and Laila's journey of faith and spirituality. From childhood Laila feels at odds with both the worlds she inhabits. In the first, her home, her parents barely speak and the rules of conduct her father dictates to her are ever changing and constantly contradictory. In the second, her community of neighbourhood and school, nothing of her home life appears to make sense. But this is just the beginning of Laila's struggle against her life's contradictions. At a Muslim youth conference at the age of sixteen she meets Sami, a devastatingly handsome and charming Indian boy four years her senior. Their bond ushers in three years of chaos, as Laila desperately tries to navigate the strict family traditions of arranged marriage, the flawed values of her Indian community, and the ceaseless manipulations of her father, whose sole concern seems to be to marry her off to the wealthiest, most reputable suitor. And at the center of it all is her mysterious mother, the tragic victim of her own arranged marriage. In an action-packed marriage plot that flits from Greater Toronto to Delhi and back again, Behind the Veil is a twist-filled novel about love, grief, secrets, and self-discovery.