The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim
HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books
To cure her post-senior year slump, made worse by the loss of her aunt Sonia, Noreen decides to follow her mom on a gap year trip to New Delhi, hoping India can lessen her grief and bring her voice back.
In the world’s most polluted city, Noreen soon meets kind, handsome Kabir, who introduces her to the wonders of this magical, complicated place. With the help of Kabir—plus Bollywood celebrities, fourteenth-century ruins, karaoke parties, and Sufi saints—Noreen discovers new meanings for home.
But when a family scandal erupts, Noreen and Kabir must face complex questions in their own relationship: What does it mean to truly stand by someone—and what are the boundaries of love?
Cover image and summary via HarperCollins
Yasmin the Scientist by Saadia Faruqi
Illustrated by Hatem Aly
Capstone
Everyone seems to have an idea for the science fair except for Yasmin! After some failed experiments, Yasmin’s snack break with Nani inspires an idea. Together they use kitchen science for sweet success!
Cover and summary via Capstone
Magnificent Ms. Marvel, Vol. 3: Outlawed (Magnificent Ms. Marvel #3)
by Saladin Ahmed
Illustrated by Minkyu Jung and Joey Vazquez
Marvel
There’s a new hero in Jersey City! Introducing Fadi Fadlalah, a.k.a. Amulet! What secrets is this gentle giant hiding? Is he friend or foe? Why is he showing up now, just when Kamala has gotten her life back on track? And is this town big enough for both of them?! Then, while recovering from a traumatic ordeal, Ms. Marvel finds herself an unwilling martyr for a movement she hates. If she wants to reclaim her narrative, she’ll have to wake up first! The anti-teen-hero task force, C.R.A.D.L.E., is scouring Jersey City to apprehend its young protector – and that isn’t the only problem on Kamala’s plate. Several of her family members support the new law – and if they discover her secret identity, it’s game over for Ms. Marvel!
Cover image and summary via Goodreads
Hannah and the Ramadan Gift by Qasim Rashid
Ilustrated by Aaliya Jaleel
Penguin Random House/Viking
The debut picture book by author and human rights activist Qasim Rashid that celebrates good deeds during the month of Ramadan.
It’s the first day of Ramadan and Hannah wants to be a part of this important month every way she can. But if she’s too young to fast, how can she observe Ramadan? By saving the world, Dada Jaan tells her. And so Hannah learns that by helping her friends and neighbors and by showing kindness and generosity, she can make the world a better place.
The debut picture book by human rights activist and attorney Qasim Rashid tells a timely story full of warmth and heart about the observance of Ramadan and the power of good deeds.
Cover image and summary via Penguin Random House
Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan
Scholastic
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low, trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family’s dependent visa status while they await their green card approval, which has been in process for almost nine years.
But one day her tormentor, star football player Tyler Benson, takes things too far, leaving a threatening note in her locker, and gets suspended. As an act of revenge against her for speaking out, Tyler and his friends vandalize Zara’s house with racist graffiti, leading to a violent crime that puts Zara’s entire future at risk. Now she must pay the ultimate price and choose between fighting to stay in the only place she’s ever called home or losing the life she loves and everyone in it.
Cover image and summary via Scholastic
Amina’s Song by Hena Khan
Simon & Schuster/Salaam Reads
In the companion novel to the beloved and award-winning Amina’s Voice, Amina once again uses her voice to bridge the places, people, and communities she loves—this time across continents.
It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Amina has loved every minute of it. The food, the shops, the time she’s spent with her family—all of it holds a special place in Amina’s heart. Now that the school year is starting again, she’s sad to leave, but also excited to share the wonders of Pakistan with her friends back in Greendale.
After she’s home, though, her friends don’t seem overly interested in her trip. And when she decides to do a presentation on Pakistani hero Malala Yousafzai, her classmates focus on the worst parts of the story. How can Amina share the beauty of Pakistan when no one wants to listen?
Cover image and summary via Simon & Schuster
Yasmin the Librarian by Saadia Faruqi
Illustrated by Hatem Aly
Capstone/Picture Window Books
It’s library day, and Yasmin is the helper! She loves shelving books, but suddenly, Yasmin discovers that her own special book is missing. How will she find it among all the other books?
Cover image and summary via Capstone
Yasmin the Singer by Saadia Faruqi
Illustrated by Hatem Aly
Capstone/Picture Window Books
Yasmin is excited to attend a wedding party. But when the singing starts, Yasmin is too shy to join in. She finds a quiet spot to hide. So how does Yasmin suddenly find herself in the spotlight?
Cover image and summary via Capstone
This review was originally published in the November/December issue of Horn Book magazine and can also be found on the Horn Book website.
I Hope You Get This Message
by Farah Naz Rishi
High School HarperTeen 420 pp. g
10/19 978-0-06-274145-5 $17.99
e-book ed. 978-0-06-274147-9 $9.99
When the world learns that omnipotent aliens will decide humanity’s fate in eight days, chaos erupts, and three teens strive to make their (potentially) final days count. Cate is charged by her mother, who has schizophrenia, to find the father who abandoned them — and who her mother believes is an alien. Adeem, an amateur hacker, searches for his sister, estranged from their Pakistani American Muslim family after she came out as a lesbian. Crossing paths in Reno, Cate and Adeem head to Roswell, where Jesse, the third teen, is convincing desperate people that he can (for a fee) transmit their pleas for salvation to the aliens, using a machine created by his now-deceased ne’er-do-well father. Rishi’s debut novel skillfully addresses complex contemporary issues on both the global (environmental damage, war, greed) and personal (identity, mental health) scales. It also tackles prejudice and the ways existential fatalism can inordinately affect marginalized people. But even given these themes and the novel’s dark story line, Rishi ends on a hopeful note of possibility, using an adapted quote from Rumi: “Your pain is where the light enters you.”
From the November/December 2019 Horn Book Magazine.
This review was originally posted in Horn Book on September 24, 2019
More to the Story
by Hena Khan
Intermediate, Middle School
Salaam/Simon 262 pp. g
9/19 978-1-4814-9209-6 $17.99
e-book ed. 978-1-4814-9211-9 $10.99
In a novel inspired by Little Women, thirteen-year-old Pakistani American Jameela Mirza, second oldest of four sisters and an aspiring journalist, lives with her family in Atlanta. This Eid holiday has brought changes: their beloved father is missing Eid for the first time ever to look for a new job, and Ali, a (good-looking) nephew of a family friend, arrives from London. At school, Jameela is named newspaper features editor but is in constant conflict with the editor in chief, who never approves her hard-hitting pitches. When her father takes a job overseas, the family is distraught, and Jameela is determined to write an article that will make him proud. Her assigned piece on Ali goes awry, complicating her feelings for him and her journalistic aspirations. But when her younger sister Bisma is diagnosed with cancer, Jameela must reevaluate her priorities and figure out how she can truly support what matters. Khan (Amina’s Voice, rev. 3/17) tells the story of a modern-day Pakistani American family while retaining the charm, familial warmth, and appeal of Alcott’s classic (this novel’s first line is, “This is the worst Eid ever!”). Cultural norms about dating, clothing, food, and prayer in the family’s Atlanta community and overseas are subtly alluded to, while characters grow and impart valuable lessons without sounding overly didactic.
From the September/October 2019 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.