Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame By Supriya Kelkar Lee & Low/Tu Books India, 1857 Meera’s future has been planned for her for as long as she can remember. As a child, her parents married her to a boy from a neighboring village whom she barely knows. Later, on the eve of her thirteenth birthday, […]
Malaika’s Surprise (The Malaika Series, 3) by Nadia L. Hohn Illustrated by Irene Luxbacher Groundwood Books/House of Anansi When Malaika finds out she is going to have a new baby brother or sister, she worries that her mother will forget about her. But a surprise arrives on Malaika’s birthday that gives her more reason to […]
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 […]
Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi Penguin Random House/G.P. Putnam’s Sons Fourteen-year-old Iranian-American Parvin Mohammadi sets out to win the ultimate date to homecoming in this heartfelt and outright hilarious debut.Parvin Mohammadi has just been dumped–only days after receiving official girlfriend status. Not only is she heartbroken, she’s humiliated. Enter high school heartthrob Matty Fumero, who […]
Hani 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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]