PRESS RELEASE

Young Adult Title Features Iranian/American Relations

JANUARY 9, 2020: Cloud of Witnesses (Jane Hertenstein, Golden Alley Press), set during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis, provides newly relevant discussion points.

In Athens, Ohio, Roland Tanner is a hillbilly, an outsider within his family and community. Tested as gifted, he is bused from his rural trailer to the town middle school where he meets Hassan, whose family has relocated from Iran. Their friendship is challenged when hostages are taken when the U.S. Embassy in Tehran is overrun in November 1979.

While crowds in the streets of Tehran chant “Death to America,” news outlets depict Americans burning the Iranian flag. Roland is forced to examine his alliances and loyalties. He and his friend Hassan have a lot in common—they both feel like they don’t belong.

Hassan: “The kids at school think I’m a terrorist.”

Roland: “People think that because I live in a trailer, I’m an ignorant hillbilly.”

Historical analogies in Cloud of Witnesses are relevant now more than ever, and YA books featuring Iranian/American characters are few. 

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Cloud of Witnesses, Golden Alley Press
ISBN 978-1-7320276-2-6 print | 978-1-7320276-3-3 ebook
Download press kit, reading guide for teachers, other resources:
https://goldenalleypress.com/jane-hertenstein/media-kit-for-cloud-of-witnesses/ 
Ages 11-14 | 232 pp | 5×8 | $8.99 retail 
Themes: being an outsider, cross-cultural friendship, family life, grief, loyalty, bravery, bullying
Distributed by Ingram and Golden Alley Press
Available online and in bookstores
Please contact publisher for bulk discount purchases