[PRE-ORDER] The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue (UK edition) (Expected 11/06/2026)

What if you felt like you’d cried all the colours away? The heart-wrenching new story of friendship, loss and identity from the author of international bestseller As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow.

Joining an exclusive high school should be a fresh start for Jihad after her mother’s sudden death. But she’s the only Muslim student there; her hijab and even her name make her new classmates suspicious.

Only one person treats her with kindness but Jihad can’t help questioning his motives. It’s hard to trust anyone when she meets indifference or hostility all around her. As tension mounts, she finds refuge in an old sketchbook and in the stories her mama used to tell her. She is determined to focus on making it to art school and a brighter future, but as she starts illustrating her mother’s memories, her canvas becomes bigger than she could ever have imagined.

Can Jihad become as resilient as the true meaning of her name, and let the colour back into her life?

About the Author

Zoulfa Katouh is the award-winning and bestselling author of the novel As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, which has been translated into over 25 languages and was a Governor General’s Award finalist and a Yoto Carnegie Medal nominee. Zoulfa holds a degree in pharmacy and a master’s in Drug Sciences. She resides in Switzerland.