An uneven but promising look at the coming-of-age of a Muslim American teen.
A teen engages with family, faith, and more over the course of a transformative Ramadan.
Dua Sheikh grew up surrounded by her parents’ Pakistani culture although they are the only desi family in the area. An only child, she is also keenly aware that her parents also wish there was more of a Muslim community in their small town. After being invited to spend Ramadan at the Queens home of one of her paternal uncles, her parents are thrilled. But Dua worries about how she’ll fit in with her cousins, who seem much more connected to their religion than she is and have been immersed in a community of Muslim peers. At first, a lot of her fears seem valid: Her cousin Mahnoor is standoffish, and even her 4-year-old cousin is eagerly memorizing sections of the Qur’an while she struggles to study and memorize surahs. But after discovering that two of her cousins are in Sheikh, Rattle, and Roll, a Muslim rock band, and that the band’s drummer is the cute and thoughtful Hassan, Dua wonders if she is finally finding the connections she’s lacked at home. The treatment of an instance of horrific Islamophobic violence halfway through the book feels underdeveloped and will leave readers with questions, but Beg’s novel is a warm and inviting story about a girl exploring her relationship to her cultural and religious heritage.
An uneven but promising look at the coming-of-age of a Muslim American teen. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48262-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Underlined
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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