Tag: friendship

The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship by Ibtihaj Muhammad and S. K. Ali

The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship
by Ibtihaj Muhammad and S. K. Ali
Illustrated by Hatem Aly
Little Brown / Hachette

What kind of world do you want?

Faizah knows just how to answer her teacher’s question: She wants a kind world, as special as her sister’s hijab, a world of friends helping one another. Faizah spends school-picture day finding fun ways to help her classmates. But when picture day takes an unexpected turn, Faizah learns that acts of kindness can come back to you in beautiful ways.

In empowering words and breathtaking illustrations, the award-winning, bestselling team behind The Proudest Blue celebrates the beauty of faith, family, and friendship.

Cover image and summary via Little, Brown

Sunflower by Ingrid Laguna

Sunflower
by Ingrid Laguna
Text Publishing

Jamila is happy in her new home in Australia, though she still misses her old life in Iraq. She and her new best friend Eva sing side-by-side in the choir at school and have picnics together on the weekends. One day, Jamila receives some exciting news: Mina, her oldest friend from Iraq, is coming to Australia. Jamila can’t wait to see her and introduce her to Eva. But when Mina arrives, things do not go as planned. Jamila feels torn between her two friends, and sad that Mina isn’t the same person she remembers. Can Jamila be a true friend to Mina, and help her feel safe and happy in her new home? In this follow-up to Songbird, Ingrid Laguna once again tackles themes of friendship, family, and belonging.

Summary and cover image via Edelweiss

 

Tittle-Tattle Talia by Salwah Isaacs-Johaadien

Tittle-Tattle Talia
by Salwah Isaacs-Johaadien, illustrated by Ali Lodge
Kube Publishing

A delightful story reminding about the importance of speaking good about others.

Tittle-tattle Talia is a story about a young girl who can not resist a juicy story. She is always talking about other people and she loves the attention she gets from those who listen to her tales. Despite warnings to stop, she doesn’t see why a bit of fun is such a problem, but wait…where have all her friends gone?

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun by Hena Khan, illustrated by Wastana Haikal

Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun by Hena Khan
Illustrated by Wastana Haikal
Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

From the beloved author of Amina’s Voice comes the first book in a humor-filled middle grade series starring a young Muslim girl with an endless list of hobbies who searches for ways to maximize fun for her family and neighborhood friends.

Meet Zara Saleem, the queen of the neighborhood.

Zara’s in charge of it all: she organizes the games, picks the teams, and makes sure everyone has a good time…and they always do.

When a new family moves in across the street, suddenly Zara’​s reign is threatened by Naomi, who has big ideas of her own about how the neighborhood kids can have fun. To get everyone to notice her again, Zara decides she’s going to break a Guinness World Record—if her little brother Zayd doesn’t mess things up.

But when she finds herself increasingly alone in her record-breaking quest, Zara starts to wonder if sharing the crown and making a new friend might end up being the best rule of all.

Cover image and summary via Simon & Schuster

Posted in Books, Reviews

Review: Unsettled

Posted on by Mahasin Abuwi Aleem

This review was originally published in School Library Journal, April 1, 2021. Unsettled will be published on May 11, 2021.

Review: Unsettled

by Reem Faruqi. HarperCollins. May 2021. 352p. Tr $16.99 ISBN 9780063044708

Gr 4–6—At home in Karachi, Pakistan, Nurah Haqq enjoys a life surrounded by family, friends, and visits to the ocean. A perfect day at the beach becomes the worst day when Nurah’s father announces that he has accepted a job offer in America. Her immediate family—father, mother, and older brother Owais—will soon relocate to the United States. Uprooted, the family settles in Peachtree City, GA, where Nurah discovers a nation of unfamiliar sights, sounds, smells, and strange pronunciations. The challenges they face in America, including Nurah’s complicity in an attack on her brother, will force the girl—whose name means “light”—to face her own weaknesses, reconnect with the light within, and blossom into someone she is proud of.

Told in verse in short chapters and divided into nine sections which are illustrated with floral mehndi patterns, this is an insightful and moving narrative that tackles a wide range of salient topics, including ableism, bullying, assimilation, colorism, racial profiling, friendship, miscarriage, and domestic abuse. The brevity of some verses allows the engrossing narrative to move quickly, but also leaves some topics feeling underexamined. Faruqi beautifully weaves Urdu and Arabic terms, and Islamic concepts throughout the text, crafting an unapologetic and authentic look at what it means to grow up Pakistani and Muslim in America. Back matter, which includes a glossary of Arabic and Urdu terms, author’s note, and recipe for aloo kabab, offers additional context and opportunities for understanding and engagement.

VERDICT A thought-provoking and engaging coming-of-age story recommended for libraries of all types; will particularly appeal to fans of Jasmine Warga’s Other Words for Home, Kelly Yang’s Front Desk, and Hena Khan’s Amina’s Voice.

—Mahasin A. Aleem, Oakland P.L., CA

Sadiq and the Big Election by Siman Nuurali (Sadiq Series)

Sadiq and the Big Election by Siman Nuurali (Sadiq Series)
Illustrated by Christos Skaltsas
Capstone/Picture Window Books

Ms. Battersby has announced that Sadiq’s third-grade class will be having elections for student government! Everyone is buzzing with excitement, but Sadiq isn’t sure about any of it. Should he run for one of the positions? He does lots of research and gets good advice from his parents and siblings. Watching an inspiring speech finally helps him decide exactly what he wants to do. But when a good friend has the same idea, Sadiq questions his decision. Can friendships survive an election?

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

Narya and the Djinn by Iasmin Omar Ata

Narya and the Djinn by Iasmin Omar Ata
Penguin Random House/Viking Books for Young Readers

In this coming-of-age graphic novel with a fantastical twist, Nayra Mansour, a Muslim American girl is helped on her journey to selfhood by a djinn.

Nothing is going right for Nayra Mansour. There’s the constant pressure from her strict family, ruthless bullying from her classmates, and exhausting friendship demands from Rami –the only other Muslim girl at school. Nayra has had enough. Just when she’s considering transferring schools to escape it all, a mysterious Djinn named Marjan appears.

As a djinn, a mythical being in Islamic folklore, Marjan uses their powers and wisdom to help Nayra navigate her overwhelming life. But Marjan’s past is fraught with secrets, guilt, and trouble, and if they don’t face what they’ve done, Nayra could pay the price.

In this beautifully illustrated graphic novel, Iasmin Omar Ata has created a realistic coming-of-age story with an enchanting dose of the fantastical about strength, identity, and, most of all, friendship.

Summary via Edelweiss

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

FakeDating_cover_FINAL-1365x2048.jpgHani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar
Page Street Books

When Humaira “Hani” Khan comes out to her friends as bisexual, they immediately doubt her. Apparently, she can’t be bi if she’s only dated guys. Cornered into proving her sexuality, she tells them she’s dating someone—Ishita “Ishu” Dey, the straight A student who seems more concerned with studying than relationships.

When Hani approaches her about fake dating, she agrees on one condition–that Hani help her become more popular so she can win the school’s head girl election. It’s the perfect plan to help them achieve their goals, until Hani’s friends become jealous that she’s spending more time with Ishu. They’ll do everything they can to drive a wedge between them and ruin Ishu’s chances of becoming head girl.

Now, Hani has a decision to make: does she break off her relationship with Ishu for the sake of her friends? Or does she tell Ishu how she really feels and turn their “fake” relationship into something real?

Cover image and summary via author website

Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi

Perfectly Parvin by Olivia AbtahiPerfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi
Penguin Random House/G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Cover image and summary via Penguin Random House

The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga

The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga
HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray

Cora hasn’t spoken to her best friend, Quinn, in a year.

Despite living next door to each other, they exist in separate worlds of grief. Cora is still grappling with the death of her beloved sister in a school shooting, and Quinn is carrying the guilt of what her brother did.

On the day of Cora’s twelfth birthday, Quinn leaves a box on her doorstep with a note. She has decided that the only way to fix things is to go back in time to the moment before her brother changed all their lives forever—and stop him.

In spite of herself, Cora wants to believe. And so the two former friends begin working together to open a wormhole in the fabric of the universe. But as they attempt to unravel the mysteries of time travel to save their siblings, they learn that the magic of their friendship may actually be the key to saving themselves.

The Shape of Thunder is a deeply moving story, told with exceptional grace, about friendship and loss—and how believing in impossible things can help us heal.