The Good Country by Laleh Khadivi

This was such an interesting and important book.  How does a upper middle class AMERICAN young man of Iranian descent become radicalized?  He has everything going for him. Good looks, excellent academics, acceptance into UC Berkeley, a beautiful girlfriend, and great parents who love him and give him everything he wants.

From Kirkus: 

At first, Rez is a “typical” American teenager, blissfully numbing himself with surfing and drugs to the complexities of his life and world. But after the Boston Marathon and another massacre closer to home, Rez can’t ignore the fact that he is treated with suspicion and prejudice by the same white community with which he has spent his entire life.

His girlfriend is first attracted to some friends who are becoming fundamentalist and draws Rez into it. But he is the one who takes them on a journey to Syria to join the movement.

More from Kirkus:

His radicalization takes place gradually, the result of a countless number of small intertwining factors rather than one overwhelming reason. That makes Rez’s journey believable, his psychological transition vivid and real. You’ll sympathize with Rez even as you find yourself devastated by his ultimate choices. Khadivi’s feat is a crucial one, especially at this moment in time, when young Muslim men are dehumanized by white Americans far more often than they are understood to be complicated, and individual, human beings.

It's such a powerful book with such an important message. I highly recommend it. She's an excellent writer, too!