A sweet sequel.
Amina develops her musical talents and her identity in this follow-up to Khan’s popular middle-grade novel Amina’s Voice (2018).
A monthlong family trip to Pakistan wraps up as summer ends. Although the trip was dotted with moments when she didn’t feel Pakistani enough, as Amina returns home to Wisconsin it’s as though she’s leaving a piece of her heart behind. Seventh grade brings new activities and a new friend, Nico. While she settles back into routines with community service, time with friends, and FaceTime with family back in Pakistan, Amina works on writing song lyrics to capture her feelings about being attached to two places, and Nico teaches her to mix music on the computer. Is the excitement she feels around him about the music and having a new friend, or is it something more? And how can she keep her promise to her uncle to show Americans the beauty of Pakistan when her project about Malala Yousafzai only makes her classmates pity girls in Pakistan? Readers will enjoy being along for the ride as Amina sorts through mild middle school turbulence and finds satisfying ways to express and share her true self. A diverse cast of characters (Nico is French and Egyptian; Soojin is Korean; Emily is, presumably, White) situates Amina in a realistic small American town, and her story offers a hopeful example for young readers who are figuring themselves out, too.
A sweet sequel. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5988-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato.
The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot.
Ben Hardy has never cared for potatoes, and this distaste has become a barrier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben balances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle–grade narrative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, readers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s other good pal, is Latina.
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11866-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Energizing and compassionate.
An aspiring transgender Junior Olympian swimmer finds the strength and pride in his identity to race toward his dreams in this debut coming-of-age novel by groundbreaking trans athlete Bailar.
Starting over after his abusive and discriminatory swim coach excluded him from the team, Obie Chang, a biracial (White/Korean) transgender boy worries about catching up to the other boys and proving that he is “man enough.” Although his family supports him, one of his best friends at school and the pool has turned into his biggest bully, and the other is drifting away toward the mean, popular girls. As he dives from the blocks into the challenging waters of seventh grade and swims toward his goal of qualifying for the Junior Olympics, Obie discovers belonging in his community and in himself. Affirming adults—including his parents and grandparents, a new swim coach, and his favorite teacher—play significant supporting roles by offering encouragement without pressure, centering Obie’s feelings, and validating Obie’s right to set his own boundaries. Vulnerable first-person narration explores Obie’s internal conflict about standing up for himself and his desire to connect to his Korean heritage through his relationship with Halmoni, his paternal grandmother. A romance with Charlie, a cisgender biracial (Cuban/White) girl, is gentle and privacy-affirming. Short chapters and the steady pace of external tension balance moments of rumination, grounding them in the ongoing action of Obie’s experiences.
Energizing and compassionate. (author's note, resources, glossary) (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-37946-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
PROFILES
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