The Thirty Names of Night: A Novel

The Map of Salt and Stars is a poignant and moving novel that follows three generations of Syrian Americans, linked by a mysterious species of bird and the truths they carry close to their hearts.

The story centers around a closeted Syrian American trans boy who sheds his birth name and searches for a new one after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother.

Through his grandmother's caretaking, he finds solace in painting murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria.

As he delves deeper into his family's history, he discovers the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z, who dedicated her career to painting the birds of North America before mysteriously disappearing.

The journal reveals the histories of queer and transgender people within his own community that he never knew, giving him the courage to officially claim a new name: Nadir, an Arabic name meaning rare.

This beautifully written novel is a testament to the power of family, identity, and the resilience of the human spirit.