The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue has ruined June for me. It so deeply resonated with me, made me cry, and I finished it in three days. I adored. Keep reading this book review of The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue for my full thoughts.
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Jihad Dabbagh has always seen life with a heightened sense for colors, one of many magical blessings the women in her family possess. But Jihad’s gift changes depending on her mood. When depression sets in, the world is a colorless oasis, and in the wake of her mother’s sudden death, the world has become a permanent shade of grey.
Broken by tragedy, Jihad’s family doesn’t believe her color loss. Her father sends her to the elite Braxton Academy to finish her senior year. There, Jihad’s name and hijab put a target on her back. Her haven comes in the form of an old sketchbook carved from a tree in her hometown in Syria — a country she only knew through her mother’s stories. Jihad hasn’t picked up a brush in over a year, but finds herself channeling the colors of her hurt, pain, and grief as she paints the story of her mother’s journey in Syria.
When graffiti of that same mural starts magically popping up all over New York, her art goes viral and the world takes notice, the threat of legal consequences is imminent. To reclaim her voice, Jihad will have to paint a new future for herself and Braxton, guided by the resilience of her mother’s story.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
It feels reductive to say I loved The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue. This book reached into my soul and I’m changed. What starts off as a book about loss, about how food doesn’t smell the same, and the colors of our life is leeched from us turns into a story about resilience, islamaphobia, and family. It’s about the microaggressions, the racism, the dehumaniziation, how no one likes to be called for what they are. The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue engulfs you. It’s a story about realizing that in this world against the tide and the undertow, we have to decide what mark we want to leave in this world. If we let the fear, the pain, stop us from telling our story, of the truth, of art.
How a world is enhanced by empathy, by not allowing people to control our narrative, and to see the beauty in our world, our faith, and family. How the world has these images, these prejudices, this hatred. It forces us to be more than extraordinary for us to ‘earn’ their respect. They try to leave us with the decision of keeping our head down, conforming, or to be hurt. But we can keep ourselves and our stories. The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue is one of the highlights of this year. Find The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue on Goodreads, Storygraph, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.
Book Tour
| Tour Date | Tour Hosts | Type of Post |
| June 2nd | @ashley.reads.and.bowls | Bookstagram only |
| The.readersarchive | Bookstagram only | |
| Tanjim1 | Bookstagram feed post and Reel | |
| June 3rd | Utopia State of Mind | Bookstagram + Blog |
| @laurensbookvibes | Bookstagram only | |
| @amandapleaseread | Bookstagram only | |
| June 4th | Bangalimeyreads | Bookstagram only |
| @ellsbookdiary | Instagram + Tiktok | |
| Readingwithmygolden | Instagram + Tiktok | |
| June 5th | @theengineerisreading | Instagram + Tiktok |
| @mosskidsbooks | Bookstagram only | |
| @drunk_on_literature | Bookstagram only | |
| June 6th | @into_the_bookish_wild | Bookstagram only |
| @Whatnolareads | Instagram + Tiktok | |
| @sydneys.books | Bookstagram only | |
| June 7th | iambibliomane | Bookstagram only |
| @bookstoldbycourtney | Bookstagram only | |
| June 8th | Mollified.moments | Bookstagram only |
| @rumi.nations | Bookstagram only | |
| @littlecornerreads | Bookstagram + Blog | |
| Bookish Forever | Bookstagram + Blog |