Books about North American Muslim life are badly needed, but this short novel is too pedantic, albeit well-meaning, to...
Farah, a fifth-grade student of Indian Muslim origins at a fancy girls’ school in Los Angeles, must bring in something representing her mom for International Women’s Day, but the usually creative student can’t imagine what would impress her classmates.
When her mother finds her looking through her closet, Farah feels guilty, but her mother reveals that she herself has a secret. Widowed a few years before, Farah’s mom is opening “The Hijab Boutique,” a store selling Muslim headscarves. Farah finds a topic for her speech, and her mom makes a new start. Some explanations of Islamic practice are woven into the novella, particularly a discussion of why some women wear the hijab. The contemporary story has subplots concerning friendship and cliques, but the leaden prose will limit readership. Narrator Farah reflects on her father’s gold convertible: “I find the courage to stare at the symbolic fruit of his hard work.” In the final chapter, “Conclusion,” Farah too quickly tells readers that the “Cool as Ice” girls aren’t so important, and she feels good in a new neighborhood, where she has joined the Muslim Girl Scouts and has a new friend. The realistic black-and-white pencil illustration that accompanies this summation shows her wearing a hijab.
Books about North American Muslim life are badly needed, but this short novel is too pedantic, albeit well-meaning, to appeal broadly . (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-86037-468-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Kube Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
A fizzy mix of low humor and brisk action, with promise of more of both to come.
Heroic deeds await Isaac after his little sister runs into the school basement and is captured by elves.
Even though their school is a spooky old castle transplanted stone by stone from Germany, Isaac and his two friends, Max and Emma, little suspect that an entire magical kingdom lies beneath—a kingdom run by elves, policed by oversized rats in uniform, and populated by captives who start out human but undergo transformative “weirding.” These revelations await Isaac and sidekicks as they nerve themselves to trail his bossy younger sib, Lily, through a shadowy storeroom and into a tunnel, across a wide lake, and into a city lit by half-human fireflies, where they are cast together into a dungeon. Can they escape before they themselves start changing? Gibson pits his doughty rescuers against such adversaries as an elven monarch who emits truly kingly belches and a once-human jailer with a self-picking nose. Tests of mettle range from a riddle contest to a face-off with the menacing head rat Shelfliver, and a helter-skelter chase finally leads rescuers and rescued back to the aboveground. Plainly, though, there is further rescuing to be done.
A fizzy mix of low humor and brisk action, with promise of more of both to come. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62370-255-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Simplistic, but a straight shot on goal.
Despite poor first impressions, an aggressive new student earns a spot as goalkeeper on the local soccer team.
Loud, pushy new arrival Shane definitely seems to come with an attitude problem in this simple tale, told from the perspective of one of Shane’s teammates and originally published in 2021 in the U.K. A few days later, however, the source of the chip on his shoulder becomes clear when the North Park Juniors take the pitch. When Shane shows up to play, his bossy, verbally abusive stepfather, Mick, is in tow, screaming orders and insults from the sidelines. The story, which is printed with what the publisher calls “dyslexia-friendly fonts and paper tones,” is laid out with extra spacing between the short sentences and paragraphs. The author also takes multiple breaks to examine historical feats and foibles of renowned goalies of the past. The plot goes on to follow a fairly direct course. After the police haul Mick away in the wake of a chair-throwing tantrum, a more emotionally stable Shane shows up the following weekend to perform heroic exploits in a hard-fought climactic match. Physical descriptions in the text are minimal; young players and adults in Chalik’s frequent illustrations are woodenly drawn but feature a mix of light- and dark-skinned faces.
Simplistic, but a straight shot on goal. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781454954842
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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