Shubeik Lubeik

Set in a world where wishes exist, but are a resource to be extracted and commoditized, Deena Mohamed’s Shubeik Lubeik is the most sophisticated work of literature that I have read so far this year. Her linework is every bit as clear and expressive as her writing. Focusing in on a few individuals navigating their wish-fueled society, Mohamed has crafted a smart, engaging, and moving masterpiece. Recommended By Keith M., Powells.com

A brilliantly original debut graphic novel that imagines a fantastical Cairo where wishes really do come true. Shubeik Lubeik — a fairy tale rhyme that means "your wish is my command" in Arabic — is the story of three people who are navigating a world where wishes are literally for sale.

Three wishes that are sold at an unassuming kiosk in Cairo link Aziza, Nour, and Shokry, changing their perspectives as well as their lives. Aziza learned early that life can be hard, but when she loses her husband and manages to procure a wish, she finds herself fighting bureau­cracy and inequality for the right to have — and make — that wish. Nour is a privileged college student who secretly struggles with depression and must decide whether or not to use their wish to try to "fix" this depression, and then figure out how to do it. And, finally, Shokry must grapple with his religious convictions as he decides how to help a friend who doesn't want to use their wish. Deena Mohamed brings to life a cast of characters whose struggles and triumphs are heartbreaking, inspiring, and deeply resonant.

Although their stories are fantastical — featuring talking donkeys, dragons, and cars that can magically avoid traffic — each of these people grapples with the very real challenge of trying to make their most deeply held desires come true.

"In a world of commodified and potency-graded wishes, issues of class and privilege take on imaginative, yet grounded, stakes . . . A showstopper." — School Library Journal (Starred Review)

"[A] masterpiece...Mohamed's stupendously dynamic visuals will prove addictive, moving all too swiftly toward a rewarding, resonating end." — Booklist (Starred Review)

"Splendid...Lithe, brushy black-and-white art is broken with color pages of infographic-style interludes...This grand fairy tale announces Mohamed as a promising new voice amid a renaissance of contemporary Middle Eastern cartoonists." — Publishers Weekly

DEENA MOHAMED is an Egyptian designer, illustrator, and writer. She first began making comics at eighteen, when she created the viral webcomic Qahera, a satirical superhero strip starring a visibly Muslim superheroine. Originally published in Arabic by Dar el Mahrousa in Egypt, Shubeik Lubeik was awarded Best Graphic Novel and the Grand Prize at the 2017 Cairo Comix Festival. She lives, works and is usually asleep in Cairo, Egypt.