The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Honorees for 2024

“Brother Alive chronicles the lives of three unrelated boys—Youssef, Iseul, and Dayo—who are adopted by an imam as infants and raised above a mosque in Staten Island. The boys are inseparable, but don’t know Youssef’s biggest secret: he has an imaginary, shape-shifting friend he calls Brother. Zain Khalid’s novel takes the brothers from childhood to adulthood and from New York City to Saudi Arabia, questioning the very nature of belief.”