As he struggles to trust others and stay true to himself, a fiercely guarded family secret keeps his father at a distance, and even his piano teacher, Miss Eleanor—who is like a grandmother to him—can’t always protect him. But Joseph is not alone, and with a little help from his friends, he finds the courage to confront his fears and discovers he can inspire others to find their courage, too.
Just a Hat is an authentically one-of-a-kind YA debut that fuses the humor of Firoozeh Dumas’s Funny in Farsi with the poignancy of Daniel Nayeri’s Everything Sad Is Untrue.
S. Khubiar is a retired federal law enforcement officer, and she is now self-employed as a subject matter specialist. She holds a BS and MEd from East Texas State University and a PhD in philosophy. A student of her Persian ancestry, she incorporates (Mizrachi) Middle Eastern Jewry into her fiction. Also an avid student of archaeology, she travels to volunteer for digs. Khubiar is a sometime resident and always fan of most things Texas.