Reem Faruqi

1.I would recommend this book to middle to higher elementary school students.
2.This book goes through the story of a girl named Amira and her struggle to want to take a class photo during Eid (which is a holiday celebrated by Muslims). The only issue is that she has to skip school on picture day because of Eid. Which upsets her a lot. IN the end she ends up handing out goody bags to her class and wearing her dress for Eid to school pictures.
3.I would definitely recommend this book in a classroom that is learning about other peoples cultures.… (más)

Representation: Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Hospitalisation and death of a brother and a child in a body of water, grief and loss depiction
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

Someone recommended Call Me Adnan to me but I thought no library had it. That is until I discovered an eBook, not physical, edition of Call Me Adnan, so I picked it up. When I read and finished Call Me Adnan, it was enjoyable but a heavy read, and I felt the story borrowed elements from others whilst remaining original.

It starts with the titular character, Adnan, living with his family, and most importantly, his younger brother, Rizwan (he plays a role later on.) It turns out that he trained himself to be a professional at table tennis according to the book, and now he and his family will go to Florida for the Ultimate Table Tennis Championship. The author dedicates part one to Adnan's run in the tournament, eventually reaching the finals before losing to another sportsperson, finishing as a runner-up. Did I mention Adnan is colourblind and does not prefer to lose?

Part two revolves around Adnan and his relatives celebrating until the worst happens--Rizwan dies. Adnan detailed that Rizwan wore floats in the water, making the latter think he could swim. But he couldn't. I knew something tragic would happen according to the blurb, but I didn't expect that event to catch me by surprise. Call Me Adnan got heavier from there as Adnan and others process what happened and weather through the storm of grief. I liked Adnan as a character and the other people, which made it hurt more when one person died. The poetry is also remarkable as it is never too repetitive or unimaginative. Parts three and four concern the later stages of grief, as Adnan recovers and moves on from Rizwan's death. Adnan has a new sister now, Nusaybah. The conclusion is about Adnan's family learning from the mistakes that killed Rizwan so that a similar incident will never happen again. What a story.

To summarise, Call Me Adnan is a novel in verse that initially sounded promising, but this time the author's latest fictional composition fulfilled my expectations.… (más)

This COMING-OF-AGE, MIDDLE GRADE novel in VERSE is about Aafiyah Qamar, a Pakistani American girl who comes from a well to do family, loves playing tennis, reading weird but true facts and hanging out with her best friend, Zaina.

Unfortunately for her, Aafiyah is also drawn to pretty things and she cannot help but occasionally “borrow” them. In a turn of events, her father is accused and arrested for a crime that he did not commit.

What follows is the journey of a teenager forced into unforeseen circumstances, trying to find a way to put her family together again. What she has to discover still, is that doing what’s right isn’t always easy.

This is a very well written middle-grade verse dealing beautifully with complex emotions that a teen goes through when forced into such situations. What I absolutely loved is the authors take on kleptomania, especially the delicate nature with which its presented.

The author also managed to refrain from any clichés that are usually found in abundances in stories with south-east Asian backgrounds. This is a good book that you might finish in just one sitting and will not disappoint with its representation and quality.… (más)