We are thrilled to host Samira Ahmed to celebrate the release of her newest book, The Singular Life of Aria Patel. Join us for an event on Friday, May 16th at 6:30pm, where Samira will be joined in conversation by Don Martin. This event will also have a pop-up of delicious treats for sale by Maa Maa Dei. More information below!
Please note: This event is free to attend, but registration is required. Masks are required for our in-person events during the main portion of the event, where everyone is seated. After the event, folks will be eating in the space.
For fans of You’ve Reached Sam and See You Yesterday, this captivating and mind-bending second-chance romance explores what it means to love—even across the multiverse.
Aria Patel likes stability, certainty, predictability. It’s why she’s so into science. It’s why she dumped her boyfriend before they went to different colleges because the odds were that something would go wrong, eventually. In a life that’s already so chaotic, why obsess over complicated relationships and shadowy unknowns when the scientific method gives you direction and a straight path to avoid all the drama.
But there’s no avoiding anything when Aria finds herself suddenly falling through parallel universes and there’s no formula that can save her. She can’t explain why she’s been waking up in a new reality almost every day, or why Rohan, and a poem from her English class, seem to be following her through every new life.
As Aria desperately attempts to find a way home, she eventually ends up stuck in a parallel world very similar to her own. She cherishes this new version of her family, and she finds herself unable to deny the yearning she has for Rohan…but it’s not her life or her Rohan. It belongs to another Aria, another girl, and unless Aria can get back home, she’ll have taken this happiness away from someone else forever. And she may never find her own.
This whirlwind novel from New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed will whisk you through worlds unknown, all while putting a multiverse spin on one of BookTok’s favorite tropes: second chance romance.
Samira Ahmed is the New York Times bestselling author of Love, Hate, & Other Filters and Internment. She was born in Bombay, India, and has lived in New York, Chicago, and Kauai, where she spent a year searching for the perfect mango. She invites you to visit her online at samiraahmed.com and on Twitter and Instagram @sam_aye_ahm.
Don Martin was born in Appalachia and now lives with his husband on a horse ranch outside of Chicago, where he produces his inquisitive interview podcast, Head On Fire. Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire is his debut novel.
Maa Maa Dei is a pop-up food endeavor by Jaye Fong that continues to push the boundaries of what is new but nostalgic, modern but traditional. Sweet and savory treats that seek to capture the experience of growing up as an Asian-American restaurant kid in the Midwest. Ordering instructions coming soon!
Accessibility: This event is hosted at the bookstore, which is a wheelchair accessible space. Masks are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Note: There will be food at this event and we ask attendees to keep their masks on when not eating or drinking, as well as to refrain from eating until the speaking portion of the event has concluded and we are able to more effectively spread out. To request ASL interpretation for this event, please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com by no later than 14 days before the event. For other questions or access needs, please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com.
