Squire
by Nadia Shammas, illustrated by Sara Alfageeh
Quill Tree / HarperCollins
This YA fantasy graphic novel follows fourteen year-old Aiza, who trains to become a knight for a war-torn empire while hiding her true background as a girl from conquered lands.
Born a second-class citizen, Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It’s the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the Ornu people, her only path to full citizenship.
Now, ravaged by famine, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again. This means Aiza can finally enlist to the competitive Squire training program.
The camp is nothing like she envisioned. Hiding her Ornu status in order to blend in, Aiza must navigate friendships, rivalries, and rigorous training under the merciless General Hende. As the pressure mounts, Aiza realizes that the “greater good” Bayt-Sajji’s military promises might not include her, and that the recruits might be in more danger than she ever imagined.
Summary and cover image via Edelweiss
This review was originally published in School Library Journal.
Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year by Nina Hamza
HarperCollins/Quill Tree.
June 2021. 320p. Tr. $16.99. ISBN 9780063024892.
Gr 3-7–Ahmed Aziz recalls the year when he was 12 and forced to move from Hawaii, the only home he’d ever known, to his father’s hometown in Minnesota so that his father could receive lifesaving medical treatment for a genetic illness. Frustrated by his parents’ choice to move to Minnesota and his lack of control over his life, Ahmed reluctantly embraces his new community and faces the looming legacy of his late uncle’s life and death. When a neighborhood bully targets him, Ahmed must decide who it is he wants to be; it is an epic year indeed! In this moving and well-paced novel, Hamza sensitively offers a multidimensional portrayal of characters, young and old, and skillfully weaves in a narrative of the power of good teaching and literature. Young readers resistant to reading may relate to Ahmed’s initial feelings about books, while fans of the works discussed within (including Louis Sachar’s Holes and Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia) will be delighted. References to the family’s Indian heritage and Muslim religion are seamlessly interspersed throughout, offering a warm and authentic depiction of an American Muslim family.
VERDICT A strong debut destined to become a classic. Recommended for classrooms and libraries of all types, particularly where Zanib Mian’s “Planet Omar” series flies off the shelves.
Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi
HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books
Yusuf Azeem has spent all his life in the small town of Frey, Texas—and nearly that long waiting for the chance to participate in the regional robotics competition, which he just knows he can win. Only, this year is going to be more difficult than he thought. Because this year is the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—an anniversary that has everyone in his family on edge. After reading his uncle’s journal from that time, Yusuf feels like he almost understands what that nationwide fear and anger felt like. But when certain people in town start to say hateful things to Yusuf and his community, he realizes that the anger hasn’t gone away. And soon he will have to find the courage to stand up to the bullies, with understanding, justice, and love.
Publisher: HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books
ISBN: 9780062943255
Publication: 9/7/2021
Cover image: Hazem Asif
Formats: hardcover; audiobook; e-book
Cover image and summary via Saadia Faruqi
Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year by Nina Hamza
HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books
The Best at It meets John David Anderson in this Indian Muslim #ownvoices debut about a champion underachiever who must start over in a new state with the help of three classic books.
Ahmed Aziz is having an epic year—epically bad. His family moved from Hawaii to Minnesota because his dad got sick, and even though Minnesota is where his dad grew up, Ahmed can’t imagine a worse place to live—not that anyone asked him.
Being the new kid is tough, especially because Ahmed is the only brown-skinned student in a sea of white. But over the course of the school year, Ahmed—who never lives up to his potential—surprises himself by actually reading the three assigned books for his English class: Holes, Bridge to Terabithia, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Even more surprising, he doesn’t hate the books. At the same time, Ahmed is learning about the uncle he never knew—his dad’s brother, who died young, and who Ahmed takes after. Investigating his family history offers Ahmed comfort as his dad’s health hangs in the balance. Could Ahmed be warming to Minnesota?
In this memorable debut, Ahmed, an inimitable protagonist, deals with bullies, makes new friends, and uncovers his family’s past—all while finding himself in three good books.
Cover image and summary via Goodreads