Nadia Hashimi’s first novel for young readers is a coming-of-age journey set in modern Afghanistan that explores life as a bacha posh—a pre-teen girl dressed as a boy.

Obayda’s family is in need of some good fortune, and her aunt has an idea to bring the family luck—dress Obayda, the youngest of her sisters, as a boy, a bacha posh.

Life in this in-between place is confusing, but once Obayda meets another bacha posh, everything changes. Their transformation won’t last forever, though—unless the two best friends can figure out a way to make it stick and make their newfound freedoms endure.