Unlike many places in Syria, Jude's city, which is not as large or bustling, is safe from the war.

Jude lives in an apartment across a courtyard from her extended family, and her best friend is her cousin, Fatima, with whom she eats her afternoon snack.

As Jude enjoys her childhood, meeting a new friend with Fatima and exploring the city, she hears about the Syrian Civil War from her older brother, Issa (eye-sa).

She feels like her brother is changing too much as he attends protests, and she hears about the horrors of the war from her father.

On the drive home to their house in Clifton, a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Sarah makes fun of how Jude speaks English.

She continues to be amazed by her new home, even though she feels grief from leaving her family, and Aunt Michelle is very nice to her.

Jude is given a schedule but struggles to read it and is late to math, where she has difficulty with the problems because she has to explain them.

Jude finds safety in her ESL class, where there are students like her who do not speak English as their first language, and the teacher is nice.

However, she gets to know the students in her ESL class: Ben from China, Grace from South Korea, and Omar from Somalia.

Jude discovers Ludlow Avenue, a busy street in Cincinnati, and she finds a restaurant called Ali Baba which is Middle Eastern.

She meets a girl named Layla who is in eighth grade, a year older, and whose parents are from Lebanon.

Her mother makes fried cauliflower for dinner and brings cuisine from Syria to the table, where it is enjoyed.

She goes to a meeting and considers joining the stage crew, as Layla suggests, but also gets a packet with tryout instructions.

Jude begins to learn more English, but as she improves, she gets the terrible news from her mother that Issa has moved to a more dangerous city.

Jude is with Ethan, who is the star, Ruth, who works on sets, and Miles, a boy from her math class.