Plot Summary for Amala's Hope: In 2011, the Najjar family decides to flee from their home in Aleppo, Syria, as the civil war comes closer and closer. The grandparents stay behind to take care of the family business. The Najjars drive to Jordan to stay with an uncle, but his house is very crowded and uncomfortable. As the war goes on, they go to a refugee camp, where they wait five years to be cleared for resettlement in America. Finally they arrive in Texas, where a church sponsors them. Only the daughter, Amala, speaks some English, but with the help of a neighbor, Marisol, they begin their new life. First, the children need to begin schooling, but with inadequate English they are placed below their normal grade level. Amala is relieved to discover three other Muslim girls wearing head scarves at the high school. Although the community is very supportive, they are harassed by anti-Muslim people, and the local mosque is burned. Meanwhile, back in Syria, the grandparents escape to a refugee camp in Turkey, where the grandmother dies. The grandfather is resettled in Germany as America closes its doors to Muslim immigrants and refugees. Despite their difficulties, the family gives thanks for what they have at their neighbor Marisol’s Thanksgiving dinner.