Which Book Deserves Your Vote for Brookdale’s 2027 Global Read?

Which Book Deserves Your Vote for Brookdale’s 2027 Global Read?
Three books. Three unforgettable journeys. One choice.

Brookdale Community College’s 2027 Global Read invites readers to explore stories that cross borders, cultures, and generations. This year’s selections—Solito, The Future Is Peace, and The Lion Women of Tehran—each offer a different perspective on what it means to understand people whose experiences may be very different from our own.

Before you cast your vote, take a closer look at the three selections.

📖 Solito by Javier Zamora
What would it be like to cross countries at just nine years old, separated from your parents and relying on strangers for help?

In Solito, Javier Zamora recounts his two-month journey from El Salvador to the United States as a nine-year-old traveling to reunite with his parents. The memoir is both harrowing and hopeful, focusing not only on the dangers of migration but also on the kindness of the people Zamora encounters along the way. The Harvard Crimson praised the memoir for its humanity, cultural detail, and powerful depiction of a child’s perspective.

Read the review of Solito

Choose Solito if you want: a deeply personal memoir about family, migration, identity, resilience, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.

🕊️ The Future Is Peace by Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon
Can people on opposite sides of a conflict find common ground?

The Future Is Peace brings together Palestinian peace activist Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon. Following profound personal losses connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the two authors travel together through Israeli and Palestinian communities, listening to people affected by decades of violence.

Rather than simply discussing peace as an abstract idea, the book explores what connection, empathy, forgiveness, and cooperation might look like in practice. Kirkus describes the book as a powerful demonstration of how fellowship can bridge seemingly entrenched divisions.

Read the Kirkus review of The Future Is Peace

Choose The Future Is Peace if you want: a timely exploration of conflict, reconciliation, cross-cultural understanding, and the possibility of building peace.

🦁 The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
What can friendship survive?

Set against decades of political and social upheaval in Iran, The Lion Women of Tehran follows Ellie and Homa, two girls who become friends in 1950s Tehran. Their lives take very different paths, but their friendship continues through political change, personal loss, separation, and difficult choices.

Homa becomes an outspoken advocate for women’s rights, while Ellie follows a more traditional path. Their story explores friendship, courage, political persecution, sacrifice, immigration, and the complicated ways people respond to change. Kirkus calls it a touching portrait of courage and friendship.

Read the Kirkus review of The Lion Women of Tehran

Choose The Lion Women of Tehran if you want: historical fiction centered on friendship, women’s rights, Iranian history, and the choices that shape a lifetime.

🌎 Three Books. Three Perspectives. Your Vote.
Each selection offers a different way to see beyond our own experiences:

Want a moving true story? Vote for Solito.
Interested in peace and understanding across divides? Vote for The Future Is Peace.
Looking for historical fiction about friendship and courage? Vote for The Lion Women of Tehran.
There isn’t one “right” choice—the point of the Global Read is to read, reflect, discuss, and discover.

Ready to choose?
Explore the three selections, then cast your vote for Brookdale’s 2027 Global Read.

SOLITO • THE FUTURE IS PEACE • THE LION WOMEN OF TEHRAN

📚 Read. Think. Discuss. VOTE.