Packs a lot into a short book -- starting a new school, bullying, heritage foods and cooking contests, missing your parents when they leave for major family matters and a little bit of mystery thrown in. Set in Calgary, and Alina has a faithful cockapoo dog and a youtube channel (not sure how, given that she's definitely not a teenager). On the whole, a great book -- good messages, good heart, and I love that her family is East Indian out of Kenya. Lots of good food celebrations as well.

Some things I find curiously unexplained and would be more annoyed about in a longer book:
Why do Kim and Liam (the 2 kids she connects with) get to leave school for lunch at home each day?
Why does Liam wear a sherwani on International day? Is it part of the message not to judge other people without learning more about them? -- that was a great message, by the way.
The illustrations are cute but kind of crude -- there are size differences between Alina and Nani that are very odd, and the detail is lacking in kids' faces.

Honestly, I'm still just really impressed about how much story there is in this short chapterbook. Lots to engage with and get into. ( )