Driving by Starlight

Sixteen-year-old best friends Leena and Mishie live in Saudi Arabia. Leena’s father, a leader in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, is imprisoned, while Mishie’s father works for the government. Leena supports Mishie’s small challenges to strict expectations for girls, but her own future is constrained by her father’s imprisonment, her family’s finances, and Saudi laws. After meeting Ahmed, an admirer of her father, Leena wonders whether he and his friends might help free him. Her growing relationship with Ahmed strains her friendship with Mishie.