SAVING SUNSHINE

When their parents take away their phones, twins are forced to figure out how to be friends.

Pakistani American tweens Zara and Zeeshan Aziz are traveling from New York to Key West with their parents, Amma and Abba, for the conference where their mother will become the first Muslim woman honored with a pediatrician of the year award. The kids have different interests—nature lover Zara is a member of an animal rescue society, and Zeesh is into space exploration and NASA videos. Told to stick together, they go kayaking and walk on the beach, where Zara finds a sick loggerhead turtle she names Sunshine. They also meet a kindly veterinarian who’s checking on the turtle. The siblings later work together to help Sunshine return to the sea. While exploring without technology, they overcome their differences, learn more about one another’s interests, and start appreciating and supporting each other. Faruqi seamlessly weaves in flashbacks showing the history of their relationship as well as their parents’ memories and experiences of immigration and Islamophobia. Powerful scenes reveal Zara’s choice to start wearing hijab in sixth grade and how she was treated at school and Zeesh’s racist treatment by classmates that led to his quitting the after-school space club. Facts about animals and outer space appear in text boxes. Khan’s rich, detailed, watercolorlike illustrations enhance the story, capturing the siblings’ passions, emotions, and love for one another.

A beautiful, realistic, and important story focusing on family and sibling bonds.