An unsparing-yet hopeful-account of what it means to grow up in Jerusalem today as told through the candid exchange of letters between a Palestinian teenager and an Israeli teenager Palestinian Amal Rifa'i and Israeli Odelia Ainbinde met three years ago on a student exchange program to Switzerland. A few weeks after they returned, the latest, violent Intifada broke out. More than ever, the unlikely friendship that these very different teens had begun seemed impossible. But in the summer of 2002, former Middle East correspondent Sylke Tempel encouraged eighteen-year-old Amal and Odelia to develop their friendship by facilitating an exchange of their deepest feelings through letters. In their letters, Amal and Odelia discuss the Intifada, their families, traditions, suicide bombers, and military service. They write frankly of their anger, frustrations, and fear, but also of their hopes and dreams for the future. Together, Amal and Odelia, who live in the same city, but worlds apart, give us a renewed sense of hope for eventual peace in the Middle East.