Saadia Faruqi

Eighth-grader Mo Mirza moves from New York City to Houston, TX with his schizophrenic father. Mo has lost the little support network he had - his best friend Zed and his neighbor, Patel Uncle - but living with his aunt and cousin Rayyan offers something of a new support system. Mo has cultivated a tough shell: if he doesn't care, he can't be hurt. But of course, he does care: he cares that his father is both predictable and unpredictable, sometimes a "monster," and that his mother has taken show more a job away from them, working on bringing clean water to a refugee camp in Greece. Both Mo and his dad feel like she has abandoned them to help others when they need her help too. Mo navigates his new situation with as much strength as he can; he finds an outlet in boxing and painting, and solace at the mosque with his aunt and cousin. When his father's condition worsens, Mo's uncle (his mother's brother) comes to help, as does - finally - his mother. Mo even connects to a classmate, Frankie, who was bullying Rayyan, but whose own mother has bipolar disorder.

Quotes

"You can't run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be." -Jason Reynolds, Ghost, quoted p. 31)

Maybe, one day, I'll be able to ask for what I need. (76)

Here's the problem. I hate this man so much that I can't even agree with him when he's saying the right thing. (87)

It's not even missing at this point. It's more like a fiery hatred at what she's done. Just left me. Left me alone with a monster. (99)

It's like looking into a mirror, but seeing your insides instead of your face. (Mo looking at his painting, 112)

"You don't have all the information....You should ask some questions..." (Rayyan to Mo, 136)

Sometimes art is just a way to vomit all your pain out of you. Sometimes art is medicine. (148)

"...the strongest heart is the one that keeps beating." (Imam Shamsi, 260)

I hate feeling sad most of all. There's no action in being sad. Nothing you can do to make it better. (286)

My fears may be scary, but they're also comfortable. Familiar. (328) show less

Sixth graders Sara and Elizabeth could not be more different. Sara is at a new school that is completely unlike the small Islamic school she used to attend. Elizabeth has her own problems: her British mum has been struggling with depression. The girls meet in an after-school South Asian cooking class, which Elizabeth takes because her mom has stopped cooking, and which Sara, who hates to cook, is forced to attend because her mother is the teacher. The girls form a shaky alliance that show more gradually deepens, and they make plans to create the most amazing, mouth-watering cross-cultural dish together and win a spot on a local food show. They make good cooking partners . . . but can they learn to trust each other enough to become true friends? show less

Yusuf Azeem has lived in the same small Texas town his whole life, but as the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 (2021) approaches, "Patriot Sons" come out of the woodwork to threaten the Muslim community and make them feel unwelcome, challenging their new mosque, harassing them in public and in school, and even breaking the front window of the Azeems' shop. Fortunately, although the Patriot Sons are loud and angry, they are a minority, and the Muslim community rallies together, with interfaith show more support from pastors and some teachers, to stand firm. Meanwhile, Yusuf leads a robotics team to a competition, and reads through his uncle's journal from 2001. An engaging, affirming tale of standing up to bullies of all ages.

Quotes

Two weeks. He had some time to convince his classmates he wasn't a terrorist. (84)

"Listen, just keep your head down and don't make waves. Like your parents and my parents, and everyone else around here. Since when did you start to challenge things? Dangerous things?" (Kamran/Cameron to Yusuf, 183)

"Sometimes I worry too much about how people are viewing me. Us. But you see, it's also important the the values we learn from childhood are actually visible to others." (Abba to Yusuf, 207)

"Me? I wasn't bullying him. It was literally the other way around."
"That's how they think. That everything is theirs and you guys are taking it over." (Yusuf and Jared, re: Ethan, 230)

How could one argue with a person who believed they were right? (230)

"My grandma says you can only make enemies with strangers. If you get to know someone, it's hard to hate them." (230)

Why did he suddenly have to be the spokesperson for every single thing relating to Muslims? (247)

"Never mind what people call you, okay? Be proud of who you are. Because if you're not proud of yourself, how can you expect others to see you that way?" (Mrs. Levy the librarian to Yusuf, 267)

"Assimilate. It sounds like you have to give up everything that makes you, you." (282)

"What power does love have?"
"It's got the same power as hate. If one can do a lot of harm, then the other can do a lot of good." (Abba, 311)

"The only way to fight bigotry and hatred is through accurate information. Human beings fear what they don't know, so the best thing is to get to know each other." (324) show less

Wow, this one is pretty powerful, told in two different timelines:
one with Yusuf, a newly minted middle schooler in 2021, and with Yusuf reading his uncle's journal written in 2001 around the 9/11 attacks.
Along with being a new middle schooler and all that entails, Yusuf is being bullied for his ethnicity and religion. His entire small Texas town is also experiencing heightened tensions around the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Preparing for a robotics competition is also prominent in the show more storyline. One horrible event (based on a true-life event and which I was reminded of when reading this book) brought me to tears remembering the injustice. show less