The Carol Shields Prize, 2024: Between Two Moons, & My Shortlist Wishlist!

Aisha Abdel Gawad’s debut novel, Between Two Moons, is set during Ramadan in the Arab-American Muslim community of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, which suffers under the weight of heavy surveillance, suspicion and Islamophobia. It’s told almost entirely from the perspective of teenage, Egyptian-American hijabi Amira, who has just graduated from high school and is figuring out what to do with the rest of her life; as ever, her twin sister, Lina, is the rebellious one, off drinking and having sex while Amira covers for her. The sisters’ world is rocked when their older brother Sami is released from prison after six years, which turns their family dynamic upside down. Meanwhile, a raid on a local business foreshadows more racial violence directed at their community.

There’s much to like about Gawad’s writing. Her prose is clear, fluid and readable. Between Two Moons is a loving portrait of a very particular world, and her depiction of the twins and their family shines: no flat stereotypes here, despite the familiar set-up. I appreciated the way she explores how Amira realistically negotiates her own identity, neither rejecting her heritage nor simply accepting tradition. For me, though, this felt like a YA coming-of-age novel that I’d read many times before, with predictable narrative beats (despite a quiet, satisfying twist near the end): sexual experimentation with dodgy men, alcohol, prejudice, social media drama, tensions with parents. It’s certainly a great example of this particular sub-genre, but nothing about it especially stood out. Although other members of Amira’s community occasionally narrate brief interludes in the text, I’d have loved this to be a more polyphonic novel rather than focusing on the point of view of a single teenager. I’m keen to read whatever Gawad writes next, though.

Thanks so much to Nicole Magas at Zgstories  for sourcing a free copy of this book from the publisher for me.

I’m not aiming to read the full Carol Shields Prize longlist this year, but I’ve selected nine titles that I do want to read. This is number eight. 

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The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction 2024 shortlist will be announced tomorrow, April 9th! I haven’t yet managed to read all the titles from the longlist that I wanted to read (as well as Dances, I now fancy Chrysalis after reading Rebecca’s review), but what would I like to see shortlisted right now? Here’s my current ranking, with links to my other reviews:

1. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

2. I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

3. The Future by Catherine Leroux trans. Susan Ouriou

4. Land of Milk And Honey by C. Pam Zhang

5. Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan

6. Between Two Moons by Aisha Abdel Gawad

7. A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power

8. Loot (DNF) by Tania James

This means that my ideal shortlist is:

Version 1.0.0

I’m not going to try making predictions for the shortlist, as unlike the Women’s Prize, I just have no sense of what the judges will choose! My only assumption is that at least one collection of short stories will make the list – so my top five have basically zero chance of being the actual top five 🙂

What would you like to see on the shortlist? See Rebecca’s round-up post and Marcie’s round-up post as well.

EDIT 10/4/24: The actual shortlist is here!

I’m very pleased to see Brotherless Night and (especially) Birnam Wood here, but underwhelmed by the other picks: all focus on turbulent family relationships and intergenerational stories, which don’t especially appeal to me. The longlist was so diverse that it’s a great shame to have ended up with a shortlist that feels samey, and I’m very surprised to see no short stories.

Do any of these shortlisted titles appeal to you?