Blurb
In an ancient house behind stone walls in the Old City of Jerusalem, an unexpected phone call reignites a past Fatima has long buried. Thousands of miles away in the British countryside, a family heirloom buried beneath an attic floor forces Layla to journey into the darkest parts of Palestinian history. Separated by distance and time, the lives of these two women are stitched together in a way neither of them could have imagined.
Yassini Girls is a multi-generational novel that explores trauma, belonging, and preserving tradition against all odds to secure our present. Based on the author’s own experience following a BBC documentary film, Yassini Girls reminds us how our past will always be part of our future.
“Truth must never be immured in silence and Malherbe’s Yassini Girls is able to harvest voices from the past and dares to cast light on hidden carnages to unveil man to man, and unveil man to himself”
Yousef Khanfar – Founder of the palestine prize foundation
Media
2025
Literature Festival
Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
Book Tickets : A Conversation & Book Signing with Shereen Malherbe
Shereen Malherbe: The Holy Land and Me
In 2023, British Palestinian author Shereen Malherbe appeared in the BBC documentary The Holy Land and Us, an experience which led her to discover details of her family history in Palestine of which she had been previously unaware. The drive to preserve this history is at the heart of her moving new book, Yassini Girls — a multigenerational novel that explores trauma, belonging, and the vital importance of preserving tradition and honouring the past to secure our present. Malherbe sits down with Deema Al Alami to discuss resistance, resilience, and her most personal writing project yet.
November 19, 2024
Publication
World Literature Today : Book Review
The Language of Survival and Resistance: A Review of Shereen Malherbe’s Yassini Girls
by Zeynep Alp
2025
Publication
The Muslim 500. The World’s Most Influential Muslims 2025
Yassini Girls features in The Muslim 500.
Now showing on BBC iplayer
TV
The Holy Land and Us – Our Untold Stories
Personal, profound and deeply moving. Rob Rinder and Sarah Agha explore how their family’s histories, and others, were changed forever by the 1948 founding of the state of Israel.
This is Malherbe’s journey that inspired her to write Yassini Girls.
14/04
Youtube Channel
The Mother of All Talk Shows
Watch Malherbe’s appearance on Galloway’s show as she discusses Gaza, children and the need for Palestinian narratives.
19/05
Book Event
Palestine Museum US
Madafeh – A book talk with Palestine Museum US with Shereen Malherbe, hosted by Christa Bruhn & Faisal Saleh.
15/06
Podcasts
Unsung Heroines and Unsung Heroes Across the Globe
Listen to Malherbe’s journey from her first novel to her upcoming release and everything in between!
31/06
Live TV
Live on Islam Channel
Awaiting link
2024
Book social
Goodreads
Add Yassini Girls on your Goodreads Book List.
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For Enquiries:
Shereen Malherbe 
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