Safia Elhillo

An unflinching, honest novel in verse about a teenager's journey into the slam poetry scene and the dangerous new relationship that could threaten all her dreams. From the award-winning poet and author of HOME IS NOT A COUNTRY. A MICHAEL L. PRINTZ HONOR BOOK A CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Intimate poems that explore feminine shame and violence and imagine what liberation from these threats might look like, from the award-winning author of The January Children “Incredibly moving . . . Every single poem is stellar.”—Roxane Gay, author of Difficult...

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD A CORETTA SCOTT KING HONOR BOOK A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE CENTURY “Nothing short of magic.” —Elizabeth Acevedo, New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X From the acclaimed poet featured on Forbes Africa’s “30...

In her dedication Safia Elhillo writes, “The January Children are the generation born in Sudan under British occupation, where children were assigned birth years by height, all given the birth date January 1.

Award-winning poet Safia Elhillo reinvents the epic to explore Muslim girlhood and shame, the dangers of being a woman, and the myriad violences enacted and imagined against women’s bodies....