Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald Review

Title: Veil of Roses
Author: Laura Fitzgerald
Pages: 309 p.s (paperback)
Publisher: Bantam Books 2007
Rating: * * * */5

This book is from the P.O.V. of a an Iranian woman named Tami. She's 27 years old, but I just kept forgetting that- she seemed so innocent, like she was 14 or something!
Tami is from Iran, but her parents get her a visa on her 27th birthday to go to America and "wake up her luck." She is supposed to find a husband before her visa expires. Her parents' hope is that Tami will never return to Iran, which means she has just 3 months to do that.
She goes to live with her sister, Maryam, and Maryam's husband Ardishir. She has all kinds of wonderful adventures her in America, things she would never do in Iran, where she has always been forced to wear a veil and live in fear, like her first Victoria's Secret bra, first ride on a motor scooter with an American man, as well as a country line dance. She picks up an interest and talent in photography, taking pictures of "tiny acts of rebellion." But the fact that she has to concede to an arranged marriage soon looms over her fun and freedom. To make matters worse, her feelings for Ike, the American boy who works at Starbucks, are becoming harder and harder to ignore.
The plot was good, but it didn't make sense at the end. It wasn't resloved right- it was really sweet, as obviously much of this book was, but it didn't go along with the whole "expired visa, must go back" thing.
Now to my favorite part, the characters! Ike was really sweet, if a little under-developed than I would have liked. Tami was very sweet and the author wrote this book in what seems to be an authentic way. It had just the right amount of minor characters, who all did their jobs in an enjoyable way. I also liked it because it taught me a lot about a culture I didn't know anything about before, and made me appreciate the freedom we in America have.