A masterfully written, deeply resonant tale.
A football-loving, Syrian American Muslim boy must find the courage to confront feelings of being stuck in between the worlds of home, school, and wider society.
The start of seventh grade couldn’t have gone worse for Kareem: His best friend moved away, and Kareem was cut from the football team. His integrity is challenged when a chance for a spot on next year’s team comes with strings attached—helping Austin, the coach’s son, cheat by writing an essay for him. Kareem’s desire to fit in also affects Fadi, the Syrian Christian refugee classmate his mom has asked him to help. Tensions rise when Kareem’s mom is stranded in war-torn Syria as she tries to bring his grandparents to the U.S. Now Kareem must find confidence at school (where xenophobic Austin bullies Fadi) and at home (where Mama’s absence is keenly felt). Safadi’s verse novel is set during the 2016-17 school year, amid the build-up to then–President Donald Trump’s executive order affecting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria. The author uses line breaks, concrete poetry, and changes in the alignment of the text to powerfully and evocatively convey conflict between senses of identity and self and to accentuate the story’s action. She seamlessly integrates football, literary, Islamic, and Arabic language references into the plot. The book’s messages of finding the confidence to stand up against injustice and be true to one’s heritage are critically expressed without feeling contrived.
A masterfully written, deeply resonant tale. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9780593699263
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Breathless action and engaging puzzles make this a page-turner.
In this follow-up to The Mystery of Locked Rooms (2024), young escape artists rashly accept a mysterious game designer’s offer to get a sneak peek at a challenging new set of escape rooms.
Worried by announcements of a new, high-tech fun house that might drive their employer, the Delta Game, out of business, middle schooler Sarah and her friends Hannah and West jump at the chance to give Mystery Mansion a try before it opens to the public. More’s at stake than they suspect, but Currie dispenses with the backstory in a perfunctory way at the end. Her real focus—and the chief appeal here—lies in the set of fiendishly clever escape rooms that she’s devised for the trio and the team dynamics that carry them through: Hannah is the reckless thrill seeker, West is the observant brainiac, and anxiety-prone Sarah has a knack for making correct choices. The story cranks up the suspense, and the Deltas call on all the courage and smarts they can muster, sweeping readers along as they work urgently against the clock to complete the course. Hannah is cued white, West is described as dark-haired, and narrator Sarah isn’t physically described.
Breathless action and engaging puzzles make this a page-turner. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781464234941
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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