Upon its publication, Rooftops won critical acclaim as an Indie Next Notable [1] and was selected in the Outstanding Debut Category by the American Booksellers Association.

[8] In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran's sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed.

Here he dreamed about his future and wrestled with a crushing secret: his love for his beautiful neighbor, Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to Pasha's friend and mentor, Doctor, a university student and political activist on the SAVAK hunt list.

Despite Pasha's guilt, the long, hot summer days transform the couple's tentative relationship into a rich emotional bond.

But the bliss of their perfect, stolen summer is abruptly shattered in a single night when Pasha unwittingly guides the Shah's secret police to Doctor's hiding place.