The green bicycle - Haifaa Al-Mansour

Dreamer. Rebel. Hero.

Wadjda has one simple wish - to race her friend Abdullah on her very own bicycle. But in Saudi Arabia, it is considered improper for girls to ride bikes and her parents forbid her from having one. Sick of playing by the rules, Wadjda schemes different ways to make money and buy the bike herself.

But freedom comes at a high price . . .

Set against the shifting social attitudes of the Middle East, The Green Bicycle explores gender roles, conformity, and the importance of family, all with wit and irresistible heart.

Haifaa al-Mansour is a Saudi Arabian film director and screenwriter, and the winner of an EDA Female Focus Award. Her first feature-length film, "Wadjda," won the Best International Feature Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, among other awards, and is the basis of this middle grade novel. Her next film, "A Storm in the Stars" starring Elle Fanning, is set to release in 2016. The Green Bicycle is her debut novel.

Guaranteed to charm
Variety