This book is a moving and compelling read that will make you feel a range of emotions. The author does a great job of creating authentic and complex characters who are flawed but likable, brave but scared, hopeful but hurt. Samira and Henry are relatable and sympathetic protagonists who have to deal with their own personal issues and challenges, as well as the cultural and social barriers that they face as biracial individuals. The bond between them is genuine and heartwarming, with a lot of humor and support. They have to overcome their initial awkwardness and wariness, and learn to trust and care for each other as siblings.

Samira and Henry unexpectedly that they're are half-siblings, and when the family members raising them won't tell them anything about their Iranian dad, they take matters into their own hands. At the same time, Samira's trying to get her addict brother into treatment and help with family finances, and Henry's being manipulated by his aunt and uncle into a life he doesn't want. I love that this is about family and sibling relationships, about codependency, about social strata, about racism, and about incarceration. The characters are solid and their journey feels real.

I adore everything about The Search for Us!

I've always felt that having a connection and knowing ones family history is important.

Sometimes, our family history isn't pretty, and can oftentimes it can be messy, but how we connect and grow from these experiences means so much to our growth, and Boyer captures this beautifully!

Samira and Henry are two teens who are going through it during their senior year of high school and decided to do DNA testing to find their absentee fathers. Instead of finding the father they've never known, the pair end up finding each other! This was such an amazing and emotional read, and I loved it so much!

I thought that The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer had a strong storyline that addressed so many issues that teens today are impacted by. On the surface, both our main characters seem like they have it together and are ready for the next part of their story after high school. Very quickly though the reader learns that things aren't what they always appear for both Samira and Henry. A DNA test connects the two as half siblings and they embark on a mission to find out what exactly happened to the father that is missing in both of their lives. Along the way they untangle relationships with their other family members and forge a new relationship with each other.

The book addresses some heavy hitting topics including alcoholism, family pressures, financial concerns, college/future planning and more. The characters are likeable and I think today's teens would relate well to the pressures that they are under. The journey to find their father doesn't quite end up like Henry and Samira hope but together they start to build a future for their families and themselves.

I really liked this YA book!
It’s about Samira and Henry who both have a lot going on in their senior year, school stuff/family drama and both are interested in finding their father so they DNA test but instead find each other, half siblings.
These poor kids have so much going on and I wanted to give them both a big hug.
The focus being on family relationships was great.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an eARC.

In the last few years, I've had several people close to me find out that the parent who raised them is not their biological parent. DNA testing has so many facets and this is only one of the life-shifting results. The Search for Us was the first book I've read with that circumstance at its center. It was so good!

Samira Murphy is an overachiever; what she calls a high-functioner (HF). Her brother is a low-functioner; the main root of his problem is alcoholism. As are most of the adults in her life. Samira is determined to take care of them, even at the detriment of her well-being, hopes, and dreams. Samira suffers from anxiety. It manifests as itchiness, which she counteracts with Benadryl, which makes her go through a good portion of her life sleepy... but still high functioning. Samira lives with her grandmother. Her mother is off living a new-age life style in Oregon. Samira's brother is in and out of the house between binges. Samira works to keep the whole home held together.

Henry lives with his aunt and uncle, but calls them Mom & Dad. His mother, while not the woman who raised him, is still in the picture, but he doesn't know who his father is. When his girlfriend Linh persuades him to take a DNA test, he discovers Samira is a biological match for sibling.

The two connect, albeit rockily at first, and embark on a search to track down their father. The journey is full of highs and lows, but their bond increases alongside their time together. The challenges with each of their families pile up and both Henry and Samira are prompted to start putting themselves first.

This book was sweet and easy reading, despite some sad/hard moments. I finished it quickly. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute book! I really enjoyed the alternating point of view, as it helped with story building. It also made me love Henry and Samira in their own ways before coming together as a unit. It made the book only this much better.

There are so many issues in this book that are presented in breathtaking ways, the wanting to find their father, and PTSD, Alcoholism, written so well. Bringing awareness to these issues in the right way is awesome, I can't even find a better word!!

The only issue I had with this book was the pop culture language like 'smashable'. It almost interrupted the flow. Other than that this book was truly a 5 star read for me!

Thank you to Netgalley and Susan Azim Boyer for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great YA read with a unique storyline and well developed characters and plot lines. I really enjoyed the journey that took these kids from the DNA test to the search for their father and discovering the ways that his absence had affected their lives. It was well done and truly engaging; I would definitely recommend it!

Samira has a lot going on . Like, a lot! But because she is a self-identified "over-functioner" (OF), she thinks that she can handle it all. She can make excuses for her absentee mom, help her grandmother hold things together after her grandfather dies, make sure her brother keeps making it to his AA meetings, and keep her academic performance up so that she can get the scholarship she needs to go on to university. Of course she can.

Henry is trying to figure a lot out. He's trying to keep a lot of people happy. He plays hockey to keep his adoptive parents happy, and also manages to spend time with his birth mom (his parents are her sister and brother-in-law), who can be demanding in terms of affection. He's also trying to deal with some anger management issues, especially on the ice.

What both of these characters have in common is their lack of a dad. They have memories of some good times when they were very small, but there are also whispers around about violent outbursts and unsafe situations.

For different reasons, Samira and Henry both choose to have DNA testing done in hopes of finding a father. Instead, they unexpectedly find half-siblings in each other.

Susan Azim Boyer writes books about kids who live in an intersectional world, our world. Her debut, "Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win" was one of my favourite books of last year, and here come Samira and Henry to find places in my heart. I tend to get attached to her strong female leads, and Samira is no exception.
I very much enjoyed the parallel structure in the book. I appreciated that Boyer lets the reader get to know each character individually before they meet each other, and the narrative voices dovetail as they continue their journey of discovery together.
This book is one for all those students you've taught who have had to struggle through innumerable "Father's Day" activities, or family trees, or anything where they have to say "I don't know" about part of their family background, because that piece is just not available to them. I cried, thinking of the difference this book would have made to some of the students I have taught over the years.
So many thanks to Susan Azim Boyer, Wednesday books and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Seach for Us. I thought Henry and Samira were both interesting, well-developed characters. I loved how quickly they fell into closeness upon discovering that they were half-siblings, and their support of each other throughout the second half of the novel was really lovely. I thought Susan Azim Boyer did a great job of crafting interesting worlds around each of the characters - the dynamics between Henry and his parents, Henry and Linh, as well as Samira and her family (especially Kamron) and Tara. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was that, for me, everything was tied up a little too neatly at the end, to the point that some things seemed to be swept under the rug. I realize this is partially the fact that it is YA, but parts of the story would have felt more authentic to me if they had ended a little more messily.

That being said, I thought it was a great read. It kept my attention the whole way through, and I loved that it focused on friendship and familial relationships instead of romance. It dealt with heavy topics in a thoughtful way, and I'm sure it could inspire lots of good discussion. Definitely recommend.

The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was excellent and I look forward to recommending it for classroom use and independent reading.
What worked:
1. Samira and Henry are both struggling in their senior year of high school. Samira must hold her family together, keep her alcoholic brother out of trouble, and somehow pursue her own college dreams. Henry’s aunt and uncle are his legal guardians, but he is constantly stuck between his aunt and birth mother. His uncle is overly strict and focuses more on Henry’s faults than anything else he does.
2. The relationship between Samira and Henry is fantastic. Though they are wary at first, they come to appreciate each other. When they learn they have the same father, they decide to team up and find him.
3. The search for their father leads the characters to discover more about their Iranian roots. In many ways, that history was denied to them and they long to embrace it.
4. The side characters are well-developed and compelling. The choices Samira’s family make are often devastating for her. Henry’s father in particular will draw the ire of many readers. Their friends are lovely, though, and help guide them to make the right choices.
5. The resolution makes sense. This is what makes this an excellent young adult read. The characters act in a way that's expected, while also growing and developing.
6. I am hoping the author will include a reader’s guide or discussion questions. This would be great for classrooms and reading groups.

I was not prepared for how much this book made me cry! Even though it made me cry, I loved reading Samira and Henry's journey.

When they take a genetics test to find their father Samira and Henry find each other. Both of them are dealing with family issues and the hole that their father left in their lives. They want to understand what happened and set out to get answers when their families are of no help.

This book is heavy. There is a lot that Samira as a teen should have never had to deal with, but I think it's important to read characters that have to deal with alcoholism from a family member as I know people her age do. To see this struggle could help young people work through their own experience with it and hopefully help them move forward.

As a California native I loved that in n out was a prominent place for teens to hangout at. The mentions of Persian food made me want to go to my local Persian restaurant! I haven't tried cherry rice yet but I'd love to. My favorite is Fesenjan!

This book was just a really powerful exploration of family, addiction, and forging your own path. I absolutely recommend it.

Samira is looking for her father, possibly he can help out financially since he has been MIA for over a decade. With the help of 23&me testing, she finds more than what she expected.

I don't want to provide spoilers. I especially liked the second half of The Search for Us.

I've become a fan of Susan Azim Boyer's writing after reading Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win and was anxious to read her second novel. Keep on writing!

Thank you to NetGalley, Susan Azim Boyer the author and Wednesday Books the publisher; the review of the advance read copy is in exchange for honest feedback. Publication date is Oct 24, 2023.

Rounding up to 5 stars.

Oh, wow. This was an immensely powerful book and I am forever grateful for @wednesdaybooks and @susanazimboyer for the wonderful opportunity to read this book. This story of Samira and Henry connecting and going on a journey finding their father was so beautiful and heartwarming; while also being incredibly raw. I’m not going to lie, some parts of this completely broke my heart because Boyer has such a talent with words and her writing is so poetic and really packs a punch. There was so much love in this book that you can feel it pouring out of the pages and watching Samira and Henry grow closer and helping each other work through their respective struggles was very beautiful to experience. The ending really had me tearing up and I can’t say enough good things about how powerful Boyer’s storytelling abilities are. Definitely, definitely, definitely read this!!

As much as I love a romance, it's refreshing to pick up a YA book that's about family and friendships, and the ways we're changed as our non-romantic relationships shift over time. Told through the dual POV of half-siblings Samira and Henry, the story follows the pair as they struggle with uncertainties about their emotions, their career and college goals, their parents and other closest relatives, and their friendships. Each senses something is missing, information or context about their past that leaves them filling in the blanks with assumptions rather than truths. When they discover they're related, they combine forces to track down their absent father, anxious to get the answers each has been craving since childhood. What unfolds is a thoughtful look at what shapes us as we grow into adulthood, and how truth can be complicated, and how withholding that truth--even with the best of intentions--can have lasting repercussions. Both protagonists are easy to root for, warm-hearted and well-meaning, with family struggles that left me aching for better days ahead, and for the truth they both yearned for. I won't spoil the ending, but will say that the final act of the story was my favourite. I really enjoyed the layers of what Samira and Henry learned, how it filled in some blanks for each of them, but left both challenged to reach for what they each wanted, without everything in life suddenly cleared up with one quick conversation. I also loved that every character in the story was layered, and that no one was a perfect hero or a perfect villain. With swift prose and two relatable teen voices, this one's a great fit for YA readers looking for stories that step outside the romance umbrella to focus on the ways we build our sense of self and the heart of what makes a family.

I'm a huge fan of reading about how families are made up. Adoption themes interest me. I knew when I read this book's description I needed to add it to my TBR. Boyer has crafted a wonderful story about two main characters that discover each other for the first time through a DNA test! The search for answers from their families comes to life as Boyer's plot unfolds. Well done. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I desire for my teenage son to read this! Five stars.

This was such a compassionate and beautifully written story 😭

Two teenagers who are trying to find their estranged Iranian immigrant father (each for their own support / mental health purposes) take a genetics test and find out that they are half-siblings. They hesitantly connect with the goal of finding their father, and eventually that blooms into a wonderful sibling relationship, and the journey that they take (literal and metaphorical) gives their future a lot of much needed clarity and closure.

💫 The narration was good, and the narration swaps between the siblings were well-timed.
💫 The sibling relationship was written so well, I had multiple breakdowns over it.
💫 I loved their journey and I very much loved the happy ending!!
💫 And I also loved the underlying themes of adults taking responsibility and owning up to their mistakes, and taking steps to correct it. A lot of what had happened in the past/present was because of very complicated abuse scenarios as well as emotional decisiveness, and the author has done a wonderful job of weaving all those arcs and resolving them ❤️

TWs - estranged parent(s), alcoholism, drunk driving, mentions of manslaughter due to drunk driving, PTSD from war, racism against Muslims, racism against Muslims after 9/11, domestic abuse, depression, anxiety, a teenager forced to take on the responsibilities of an adult, miscarriages (multiple times)

--- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

This was a refreshing read! Samira and Henry lead very different lives. While motivated and haunted by different things, they're brought together by the same need to learn more about the father they never knew. It's an unforgettable journey exploring family relationships and how the past shapes us.

I loved the complexity of the characters and how they evolved throughout the book. They have their flaws, but you ultimately understand where they're coming from. It's a tricky balance, but the author did it so well. It's unlike any other YA novel I've read and I would highly recommend it to others.

Things I liked about this book:
-Multicultural characters/backgrounds.
-Different kinds of family relationships.
-Mental health and its affect on everyone.
-Dual narrative. Henry was a gem. I would've loved to see more of him.
-The author's note at the end sharing her connection to this story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review