The story follows , an 18-year-old pharmacy student thrust into the role of a trauma surgeon at a makeshift hospital.
The novel shows this explicitly. When Layla goes into labor during a bombing raid, Salama doesn't recite poetry or pray. She focuses on the lemons in the kitchen. She makes lemonade. The act of squeezing the fruit becomes a meditation, a rebellion against the chaos. As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow
—on the shores of Lampedusa, in the backyards of Berlin, in the community gardens of Detroit—the story of Homs continues. The story follows , an 18-year-old pharmacy student