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It Won't Always Be Like This: A Graphic Memoir
It Won't Always Be Like This: A Graphic Memoir | Malaka Gharib
10 posts | 9 read | 7 to read
An intimate graphic memoir about an American girl growing up with her Egyptian father's new family, forging unexpected bonds and navigating adolescence in an unfamiliar country--from the award-winning author of I Was Their American Dream. "What a joy it is to read Malaka Gharib's It Won't Always Be Like This, to have your heart expertly broken and put back together within the space of a few panels, to have your wonder in the world restored by her electric mind."--Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations It's hard enough to figure out boys, beauty, and being cool when you're young, but even harder when you're in a country where you don't understand the language, culture, or social norms. Nine-year-old Malaka Gharib arrives in Egypt for her annual summer vacation abroad and assumes it'll be just like every other vacation she's spent at her dad's place in Cairo. But her father shares news that changes everything: He has remarried. Over the next fifteen years, as she visits her father's growing family summer after summer, Malaka must reevaluate her place in his life. All that on top of maintaining her coolness! Malaka doesn't feel like she fits in when she visits her dad--she sticks out in Egypt and doesn't look anything like her fair-haired half siblings. But she adapts. She learns that Nirvana isn't as cool as Nancy Ajram, that there's nothing better than a Fanta and a melon-mint hookah, and that her new stepmother, Hala, isn't so different from Malaka herself. It Won't Always Be Like This is a touching time capsule of Gharib's childhood memories--each summer a fleeting moment in time--and a powerful reflection on identity, relationships, values, family, and what happens when it all collides.
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MallenNC
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Pickpick

I love a graphic memoir. It‘s such a cool way to take in someone‘s story. This was about an American girl‘s changing relationship with her father and step-family in Egypt, told through snapshots of her summer visits. I really enjoyed it.

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britt_brooke
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…. the world is forcing me to hold your hannnd 🎶

mom_of_4 Just put this on my TBR 14mo
britt_brooke @mom_of_4 Hope you enjoy! She has another graphic memoir, too, but I haven‘t read it yet. 14mo
44 likes2 comments
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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Malaka Gharib shows us what it was like growing up the daughter of a Filipino mother and Egyptian father. Living in California, but spending summers in Egypt with her father‘s new family, the clash of cultures becomes increasingly evident. Like most teens, she struggled with identity. I loved the relationship and parallels between her and Hala. Also loved the 90s music references; we must be about the same age. 🤘🏼

Mitch I wanna focus on the book but my body just wants the pool! 😅 14mo
britt_brooke @Mitch Ugh, same! I took this a couple of weeks ago. It‘s storming today. 😩 14mo
61 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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britt_brooke
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Will never complain about getting my oil changed because it means uninterrupted reading time!

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Megabooks
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We‘ve got some beautiful EARLY lilies in this week‘s #BookReport thanks to the warm weather in February!

The tagged graphic memoir was my favorite book this week. Malaka looks back on her childhood visits to her dad and stepmom in Egypt and how their relationship evolved. Fancy Bear was an incredibly interesting look into the world of 5 noteworthy hacking incidents that show their evolution. Stone Angel was lovely @vivastory ! Thanks for ⬇️

Megabooks Putting it on your #nywd/#ALSpine list! I‘m glad I finally got to it. Honest is great if you love those messy family books like Jennifer Close‘s. A Southern family gets together for a funeral then a wedding. BQ reread for #CampLitsy23!! @BarbaraBB is so on top of it and has some great questions in store! Electric I just finished and learned a lot of about the history and cutting edge of study of our body‘s electrobiome! (edited) 1y
Megabooks Flux was really confusing and a bit of a disappointment. 🤷🏻‍♀️ glad it wasn‘t chosen for CL and I nominated it. 😂 Dear was an interesting look at ballet and its relationship to women and their bodies, particularly in regards to Balanchine. I probably wasn‘t interested enough in the topic to rate it high. Maame was a bit of a disappointment but 🤐 because it was for #LMPBC! (edited) 1y
squirrelbrain I agree Meg, @BarbaraBB has some fabulous questions for BQ! I have Maame on my physical TBR shelf, but I‘m not drawn to it at the moment. 🤷‍♀️ 1y
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Cinfhen I adored this one 1y
Cinfhen And I was MEH about 1y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I thought honest was really fun too! Great debut! 1y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I can‘t believe we agree about two books! Maame was definitely MEH. 🫤 (edited) 1y
Megabooks @squirrelbrain you can definitely put it off imo. Just okay. 1y
Cinfhen Hahaha ~ so true!!! 1y
mcctrish I just ordered Maame from book outlet, I knew I‘d seen it somewhere 🤣🤣 1y
vivastory Laurence 💙💙 1y
BarbaraBB Thank you dear friends 💕 @squirrelbrain @Megabooks 1y
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Christine
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I love Malaka Gharib and will keep reading as many graphic memoirs as she publishes! She has such a straightforward but thoughtful way of addressing issues of identity, being multicultural, navigating complex family relationships, and more. I thought the colors were especially great in this book, too.

bnp Great photo! 2y
51 likes1 comment
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theliteraryagenda
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Pickpick

I‘m a big fan of graphic novels, especially memoirs in that form, and this is one I would recommend. The author tells the story of her summers spent with her dad, stepmom, and eventually their children, in Egypt. She grapples with fitting into a different culture, a new family, and then growing up. I didn‘t agree with her take at the end, but really enjoyed the story. #2023 #graphicnovel

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Caryl
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I love graphic novel/memoirs, and this one is excellent. I saw it on NPR‘s 2022 Books We Love list, and after I finished, I realized I owned the author‘s previous title… (See my next post!)

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Lauredhel
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This Libby borrow is a graphic memoir by an Egyptian-American woman about her childhood summers spent with her father in Egypt.

On my hook : Meribella Dress in a Hobbii gradient cotton. #litsycrafters

emz711 Omg look at that yarn! 2y
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jlhammar
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Another excellent graphic memoir from NPR editor Malaka Gharib. Gharib, a Filipina-Egyptian-American, is looking back at the summers she spent in Egypt visiting her father, stepmother and much younger half-siblings. She lovingly and honestly explores struggles with identity and belonging as well as some complicated family dynamics.

You can read this as a stand-alone, but I recommend starting with her previous, I Was Their American Dream.

AnnR Thanks for adding the NPR link. 🙂 2y
EvieBee I‘m requesting this from the library right now! Thanks! 2y
jlhammar @EvieBee Hope you enjoy it! 2y
52 likes1 stack add4 comments