Imagine a family grieving the loss of one of their children. Imagine two families grieving such a loss. Imagine these families are next-door neighbors and very friendly. Imagine that one family's child is the cause of the other's death. Now imagine that the family is Egyptian and Muslim in a post 9/11 world and you have the basis for In The Language of Miracles by Rajia Hassib.

Hosaam Al-Menshawwy has committed an unthinkable act. He has murdered his neighbor's daughter, his former best friend, his former girlfriend and he has committed suicide. Hosaam's family is left trying to pick up the pieces of their suburban American life, grieving not only the loss of their son but their neighbor's daughter while feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. Najla, Hosaam's mother, feels as if she should have known what her son was thinking and been able to stop him. Khaled, Hosaam's younger brother, feels an overpowering sense of responsibility to be the "good" son, as well as feeling blamed for and overshadowed by his brother's actions. Fatima, Hosaam's younger sister, wants to get away from the guilt and shame her family must bear and move to another town. Ehsan, Hosaam's devout maternal grandmother, is simply trying to keep her daughter's family together and make some sense of the insensible. Samir, Hosaam's father, feels guilt and shame because of his son's actions but naively believes that he can make amends to his neighbors and community. He also feels that his family shouldn't run away from this shame and that eventually things will get better.

In The Language of Miracles is a poignant tale of one family's search for common ground. How is a family expected to cope with this type of tragedy when neither their cultural/religious traditions nor their current societal traditions can make sense of their son's actions? The Al-Menshawwy family is a Muslim family residing in the West and for some in their community that is the sole reason for their son's actions. The action within the story takes place over the course of one week leading up to a community memorial service for the neighbor's daughter. The reader bears witness to this family's turmoil. It's been a year since the tragedy happened and this family will forever bear a public shame, as it appears many in the community are willing to blame the entire family for the action of one person, one seemingly disturbed person. It is easy to imagine this scenario in the wake of recent tragedies in Aurora CO and Newtown CT. I found In The Language of Miracles to be a fascinating glimpse into the juxtaposition of Middle-Eastern/Muslim culture compared to Western/American culture. I found this to be a fast-paced and engrossing read. How engrossing was this story? I put water in my electric teakettle, turned it on, and never got up to make a cup of tea. I didn't respond to text messages, email notifications or even answer the phone while I was reading this book. (Yes, it is that good!) If you enjoy reading about diverse cultures, want to find out how this family copes, or simply want a good book to read, then run out and grab a copy of In The Language of Miracles.