Tag: Middle Grade Fiction

Call Me Al by Wali Shah and Eric Walters

Call Me Al
by Wali Shah and Eric Walters
Orca Book Publishers

In this middle-grade novel, eighth-grade student Ali Khan finds that writing poetry—first about his crush, then about what it means to be an immigrant and the anti-Muslim racism around him—helps him discover who he truly is.Ali is an eighth-grade kid with a lot going on.

Between the pressure from his immigrant parents to ace every class, his crush on Melissa, who lives in the rich area of town while he and his family live in a shabby apartment complex, and trying his best to fit in with his friends, he feels like he’s being pulled in too many different directions.

But harder still, Ali is becoming increasingly aware of the racism around him. Comments from his friends about Pakistani food or his skin color are passed off as jokes, but he doesn’t find them funny. And when Ramadan starts, Ali doesn’t tell anyone he’s fasting because it just seems easier. Luckily he finds solace in putting his feelings into words—and poems. But his father is dead set against him using art as a distraction when he’s got schoolwork and a future career as a doctor to focus on.

Ali’s world changes when he, his mom and his little brother are assaulted by some racist teens. Ali must come to terms with his roiling feelings about his place in the world, as a Pakistani immigrant, a Muslim and a teenager with his whole life ahead of him. With help from his grandfather, an inspiring teacher and his friend, Ali leans on his words for strength. And eventually he finds his true voice.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

The Door Is Open Stories of Celebration and Community by 11 Desi Voices edited by Hena Khan

The Door Is Open Stories of Celebration and Community by 11 Desi Voices
Edited by Hena Khan

The Door Is Open

Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in this warm-hearted novel of interconnected stories that celebrates the diversity of South Asian American experiences in a local community center.

Discover stories of fear, triumph, and spectacular celebration in the fictional town of Maple Grove, New Jersey, where the local kids gather at the community center to discover new crushes, fight against ignorance, and even save a life. Cheer for Chaya as she wins chess tournaments (unlike Andrew, she knows stupid sugary soda won’t make you better at chess), and follow as Jeevan learns how to cook traditional food (it turns out he can cook sabji– he just can’t eat it).

These stories, edited by bestselling and award-winning Pakistani-American author Hena Khan, are filled with humor, warmth, and possibility. They showcase a diverse array of talented authors with heritage from the Indian subcontinent, including beloved favorites and rising stars, who each highlight the beauty and necessity of a community center that everyone calls home.

Stories by: Veera Hiranandani, Supriya Kelkar, Maulik Pancholy, Simran Jeet Singh, Aisha Saeed, Reem Faruqi, Rajani LaRocca, Naheed Hasnat, Sayantani DasGupta, and Mitali Perkins

Cover image and summary via Hachette

Three Summers: A Memoir of Sisterhood, Summer Crushes, and Growing Up on the Eve of War by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess with Laura L. Sullivan

Three SummersThree Summers:A Memoir of Sisterhood, Summer Crushes, and Growing Up on the Eve of War
by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess with Laura L. Sullivan
Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan

An epic middle-grade memoir about sisterhood and coming-of-age in the three years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide.

Three Summers is the story of five young cousins who grow closer than sisters as ethnic tensions escalate over three summers in 1980s Bosnia. They navigate the joys and pitfalls of adolescence on their family’s little island in the middle of the Una River. When finally confronted with the harsh truths of the adult world around them, their bond gives them the resilience to discover and hold fast to their true selves.

Written with incredible warmth and tenderness, Amra Sabic-El-Rayess takes readers on a journey that will break their hearts and put them back together again.

Grounded by Aisha Saeed, S. K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Huda Al-Marashi

Grounded
by Aisha Saeed, S. K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Huda Al-Marashi
Abrams/Amulet

Four kids meet at an airport for one unforgettable night in this middle-grade novel by four bestselling and award-winning authors

When a thunderstorm grounds all flights following a huge Muslim convention, four unlikely kids are thrown together. Feek is stuck babysitting his younger sister, but he’d rather be writing a poem that’s good enough for his dad, a famous poet and rapper. Hanna is intent on finding a lost cat in the airport—and also on avoiding a conversation with her dad about him possibly remarrying. Sami is struggling with his anxiety and worried that he’ll miss the karate tournament that he’s trained so hard for. And Nora has to deal with the pressure of being the daughter of a prominent congresswoman, when all she really wants to do is make fun NokNok videos. These kids don’t seem to have much in common—yet.

Told in alternating points of view, Grounded tells the story of one unexpected night that will change these kids forever.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

The Kaya Girl by Mamle Wolo

The Kaya Girl by Mamle Wolo
Hachette / Little Brown

This rags-to-riches story by an award-winning Ghanaian author has page-turning appeal with luminous literary resonance. 

Writing with effortlessly engaging prose, Wolo showcases the interweaving layers of Ghanaian culture to create a prismatic, multifaceted world in which two young girls, against all odds, are able to find each other.

When Faiza, a Muslim migrant girl from northern Ghana, and Abena, a wealthy doctor’s daughter from the south, meet by chance in Accra’s largest market, where Faiza works as a porter or kaya girl, they strike up an unlikely and powerful friendship that transcends their social inequities and opens up new worlds to them both.

Set against a backdrop of class disparity in Ghana, The Kaya Girl has shades of The Kite Runner in its unlikely friendship, and of Slumdog Millionaire as Faiza’s life takes unlikely turns that propel her thrillingly forward. As, over the course of the novel, Abena awakens to the world outside her sheltered, privileged life, the novel explores a multitude of awakenings and the opportunities that lie beyond the breaking down of barriers. This is a gorgeously transporting work, offering vivid insight into two strikingly diverse young lives in Ghana.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

Friends Fur-ever by Saadia Faruqi (Must Love Pets #1)

Friends Fur-ever by Saadia Faruqi (Must Love Pets #1)
Scholastic

A new, young middle grade series that combines the heart and friendship of the Baby-sitters Club, with the irresistible appeal of adorable animals!

Pet-sitters for hire!

Imaan Bashir loves dogs, but she doesn’t have one. Yet. If only there were a surefire way to demonstrate her special canine connection to her mom. Then she’d be well on her way to pampering a pup of her very own.

When one of Imaan’s neighbors needs a last minute pet-sitter for her dog, Sir Teddy, a great idea is hatched. Imaan and her friends London and Olivia will step in as pet-sitters! Imaan’s mom will be so blown away by Imaan’s amazing animal abilities that she will beg her to adopt her own dog. Or something like that. . . But the reality of pet-sitting is a little more complicated—Imaan soon discovers that Sir Teddy is a real paw-full!

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

Nura and the Immortal Palace by M. T. Khan

Nura and the Immortal Palace by M. T. Khan
Hachette / Little, Brown – James Patterson Presents

Aru Shah and the End of Time meets Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away in this mesmerizing portal fantasy that takes readers into the little-known world of Jinn.

Nura longs for the simple pleasure of many things—to wear a beautiful red dupatta or to bite into a sweet gulab. But with her mom hard at work in a run-down sweatshop and three younger siblings to feed, Nura must spend her days earning money by mica mining. But it’s not just the extra rupees in her pocket Nura is after. Local rumor says there’s buried treasure in the mine, and Nura knows that finding it could change the course of her family’s life forever.

Her plan backfires when the mines collapse and four kids, including her best friend, Faisal, are claimed dead. Nura refuses to believe it and shovels her way through the dirt hoping to find him. Instead, she finds herself at the entrance to a strange world of purple skies and pink seas—a portal to the opulent realm of jinn, inhabited by the trickster creatures from her mother’s cautionary tales. Yet they aren’t nearly as treacherous as her mother made them out to be, because Nura is invited to a luxury jinn hotel, where she’s given everything she could ever imagine and more.

But there’s a dark truth lurking beneath all that glitter and gold, and when Nura crosses the owner’s son and is banished to the working quarters, she realizes she isn’t the only human who’s ended up in the hotel’s clutches. Faisal and the other missing children are there, too, and if Nura can’t find a way to help them all escape, they’ll be bound to work for the hotel forever.

Set in a rural industrial town in Pakistan and full of hope, heart, and humor, Nura and the Immortal Palace is inspired by M.T. Khan’s own Pakistani Muslim heritage.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

 

Anisa’s International Day by Reem Faruqi

Anisa’s International Day by Reem Faruqi
HarperCollins

From the award-winning author of Unsettled, meet Anisa, the adorable Pakistani American heroine of this irresistible younger middle grade novel about a girl who introduces her class to the art of mehndi for International Day. Filled with fun black-and-white interior art, recipes, and activities in the back matter and perfect for fans of Meet Yasmin!

Meet Anisa—she loves baking, turquoise, turtles, and ingenious ideas!

Anisa is super excited about International Day and can’t wait to share her mother’s samosas with her class. But when someone has the exact same idea, Anisa is crushed. Going to her aunt’s dholki party gives her an idea for the perfect activity instead – mehndi! There’s only one problem, Anisa’s best friend doesn’t seem to like the idea–she doesn’t even seem to like Anisa anymore. Will Anisa ever get to enjoy International Day? Reem Faruqi, the talented author of Unsettled, has written a heartwarming younger middle grade novel starring Anisa, a kind, driven, and courageous Pakistani American girl.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan by Salma Hussain

The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan
by Salma Hussain
Tundra Books/ Penguin Random House

Mona learns to find her voice over the course of a year that sees her immigrating from Dubai to Canada in this novel for fans of Front Desk by Kelly Yang.

 

Mona Hasan is a young Muslim girl growing up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when the first Gulf War breaks out in 1991. The war isn’t what she expects — “We didn’t even get any days off school! Just my luck” — especially when the ground offensive is over so quickly and her family peels the masking tape off their windows. Her parents, however, fear there is no peace in the region, and it sparks a major change in their lives.

Over the course of one year, Mona falls in love, speaks up to protect her younger sister, loses her best friend to the new girl at school, has summer adventures with her cousins in Pakistan, immigrates to Canada, and pursues her ambition to be a feminist and a poet.

Summary and cover image via Edelweiss

Bhai for Now by Maleeha Siddiqui

Bhai for Now by Maleeha Siddiqui
Scholastic

A fresh and fun new spin on the Parent-Trap story, by Indies Introduce author Maleeha Siddiqui

Ashar is busy with the ice hockey team, studying to get into the best school, and hanging out with his friends.

Shaheer and his father are always moving, following his dad’s jobs. Shaheer has given up hope of finding a place where he can put down roots, a place that feels like home.

The two boys have nothing in common.

But when they meet on Shaheer’s first day at his new school, it’s like looking in a mirror.

They quickly figure out that they’re twins, separated as babies. And they are determined to do whatever it takes—including secretly switching identities—to get to know the parent they’ve been separated from.

This is the story of two long-lost brothers who, while they might not like each other, just might need each other.

Bhai for Now is by turns heartwarming and hilarious, and with a unforgettable Muslim family and friendship story at its core.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss