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UNEXPECTED SUPER SPY by Zanib Mian

UNEXPECTED SUPER SPY

From the Planet Omar series, volume 2

by Zanib Mian ; illustrated by Nasaya Mafaridik

Pub Date: Sept. 29th, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-10924-3
Publisher: Putnam

Omar, his friends and family, and his big imagination return, this time in a united effort to save their local mosque.

When Omar learns that their mosque is in danger of shutting down, lacking the funds to replace the roof, he immediately donates the money he was saving to buy a Nerf blaster, knowing how important the mosque is to his family. Learning that they will have to postpone their epic battle, friends Charlie and former bully Daniel help fundraise by doing chores, selling cookies and crafts to other students, and getting permission from the school to hold a fundraising talent show. Though their efforts are praised by all, Omar’s sister, Maryam, is hostile to him for reasons he can’t figure out, and when the money from the talent show goes missing, Omar and his friends need to find the culprit and the money in time to save the mosque. This sequel to Accidental Trouble Magnet (2020) retains the lighthearted humor of the first and continues to seamlessly weave Islamic and Pakistani cultures and Arabic and Urdu terms into the everyday lives and practices of Omar’s British Pakistani family. With the transformation of former antagonists into friends, this volume does not address Islamophobia and casual racism as in the previous book but rather focuses on the importance of community and the spaces that foster identity, growth, and love.

A charming follow-up for an endearing hero.

(Fiction. 8-12)