A Missing Peace by Beth Fred

A turbulent, emotionally charged YA novel that breaks down barriers and challenges the status quo...

Angry, seventeen-year-old Iraqi war refugee Mirriam Yohanna hates her new life in Killeen, Texas, where the main attraction is a military base, populated with spoiled army brats like Caleb Miller.

Caleb has much to be angry about too, including Mirriam who turns him down flat in front of everyone. Eager for retribution, Caleb agrees to a dare that will see him take Mirriam to the prom and regain his pride.

But their relationship soon moves beyond high school antics. Mirriam and Caleb are bound together by more than location, and as they are forced to work closely together on a school assignment, they start to uncover an explosive story that has the potential to ruin lives — and both of their futures. One single truth changes everything and strengthens their bond.

When Mirriam's family discovers their relationship, they decide it's time to arrange her marriage to a proper Iraqi man. Caleb must convince Mirriam that he is in it for forever — or risk losing her for good.

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First line:
With the AC all the way up, I still baked in the stifling heat. The other guys probably were too,  but they didn't complain.
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Source:
Review copy from Netgalley
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Rating:
3 stars out of 5
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I loved the premise of the story. The only thing was that Caleb started to get on my nerves. And then there was some major insta-love happening here. SPOILER: They only knew each other for a couple of months before they decided to elope.
(You know it's getting real when I start using GIFs to express my emotions....)

That right there pretty much made the book a three star rather than a four star. The other thing was that Caleb seemed to change into a completely different person after his accident. He didn't even really resemble the person he was before.

I did like both Mirriam's and Caleb's backstories. I thought they were unbelievably sweet. I wish Beth would have elaborated more on Mirriam's life in Iraq and a little about where they had been before they moved to Killeen.

I loved Mirriam's personality. She's got some spunk. Her brother on the other hand was strange. I didn't understand why he was so adamant that she date an Iraqi guys while it was okay for him to date an American girl.

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