Book overview
Accolades for The Wire-Walker
Nautilus Gold Medal for Best Fiction of 2025 from a Large Press
the Indie Reader Discovery Award in Overall Fiction (2nd Place)
the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press
finalist for the Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence
finalist for the Montaigne Medal
Albuquerque Journal, the most widely read newspaper in New Mexico, chose The Wire-Walker as one of the best five books in 2025.
Independent Publisher Book Awards highlights 2025's Outstanding Books in fiction and non-fiction; among the thousands of books entered, The Wire-Walker is among the top eleven.
In the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, Palestine, sixteen-year-old Amal Tuqan finds her escape in tightrope walking. Living in an alley so narrow that "the walls hold their breath," she practices tirelessly on thin wires and slippery rebar. Her extraordinary talent leads her to Tel Aviv in the summer of 2019, where she joins The Flying Kids, a circus that brings together Israeli and Palestinian children.
There, she forms a deep friendship with Tali Glazman, a Jewish Israeli juggler, and they discover they share a painful bond: both have lost their fathers to violence. As their friendship defies the deep-seated animosities that divide them, The Wire-Walker reveals more than just a tale of friendship; it is a raw and powerful commentary on the daily struggles faced by Amal and her community in the occupied West Bank.
Set against the backdrop of 2019-2020, this poignant tale serves as a prequel to the struggles that have unfolded since, highlighting the enduring spirit of youth amidst conflict.