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renatasnacks
weirdly GoodReads doesn't have the audiobook edition listed here but I listened to this on audio and thought the reader was great!
I think there's a lot to like about this book and I love Nimra as a main character. I kind of couldn't get over how overly-complicated and sweaty I found the central conflict to be here, though.
STILL despite my grumpy misgivings, a fun contemporary story that will inform some tweens and make others feel represented.
I think there's a lot to like about this book and I love Nimra as a main character. I kind of couldn't get over how overly-complicated and sweaty I found the central conflict to be here, though.
Spoiler
Like, Nimra transfers from a private Muslim school to public school and is nervous about not fitting in...but THE most popular boys at public school are all Muslim members of a band that specifically does Muslim-themed songs...and SHE'S never sung before except for her prayers and they happen to overhear her singing her prayers and INSIST that she joins the band...which she does even though her family's personal interpretation of the Quran forbids music so she feels very guilty about it and has to keep it a secret...until they perform at a talent show at the mosque.....like.....just seems like this whole plot could have been slightly simplified!!! But go off I guess?STILL despite my grumpy misgivings, a fun contemporary story that will inform some tweens and make others feel represented.
hm I thought this would shine in audiobook but it didn't totally click for me--I understand the desire for the author to read their own book but since the protagonist is a girl, a female reader might have been better IMO?
That aside, it's wild that there are already books set during COVID and I think this is one that can both universally help a lot of kids process the trauma and weirdness of early lockdown while also specifically sharing Wabanaki stories. Plus: dogs! Lots to like.
That aside, it's wild that there are already books set during COVID and I think this is one that can both universally help a lot of kids process the trauma and weirdness of early lockdown while also specifically sharing Wabanaki stories. Plus: dogs! Lots to like.
I'm not a big audiobook listener generally but in an effort to get through a lot of books for end-of-the-year listmaking I put aside my podcasts and listened to 3 audiobooks in the last week, and of those 3 I think for me, I liked [b:Barakah Beats|55977910|Barakah Beats|Maleeha Siddiqui|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610397087l/55977910._SX50_.jpg|84283994] more as an audiobook than I would have in print, I think I liked [b:Rez Dogs|55873270|Rez Dogs|Joseph Bruchac|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608628435l/55873270._SX50_.jpg|87088268] less as an audio than I would have in print, and I think this one was maybe neutral.
I think the tone of this is just right in conveying what an absolutely shitty hand in life Kadir has been dealt here without being way too depressing but also without sugarcoating it. It's a compelling story that I think could be a great window for a lot of kids (American and elsewhere) into some issues they might not have learned about. Fans of "survival" stories (I put it in quotes bc it's not like, Hatchet, but somehow those kind of vibes) I think will enjoy this. It's fast paced and wraps up neatly in a way that's maybe a littttttle implausible but not wildly unrealistic IMO, and mostly you're just like, thank god this kid finally got a break.
I think the tone of this is just right in conveying what an absolutely shitty hand in life Kadir has been dealt here without being way too depressing but also without sugarcoating it. It's a compelling story that I think could be a great window for a lot of kids (American and elsewhere) into some issues they might not have learned about. Fans of "survival" stories (I put it in quotes bc it's not like, Hatchet, but somehow those kind of vibes) I think will enjoy this. It's fast paced and wraps up neatly in a way that's maybe a littttttle implausible but not wildly unrealistic IMO, and mostly you're just like, thank god this kid finally got a break.
LOVED thissssss. Great for a pretty wide age range IMO, interesting historical details, the Paul Bunyan-like legends are fun, the way the book refuses to let "good white people" off the hook is so powerful, and Mei is a rad protagonist. I also really appreciated the author's historical note at the end where, among other things, they specifically address why the book doesn't include any indigenous characters. Also the art is gorgeous. TOP TIER BOOK!!!
SO lovely. my gosh.
not to GIF repeat but this one also made me
not to GIF repeat but this one also made me
yes. YES! YESSSSSSS!!!! This is a TRULY great readalike for Harry Potter that has all the fun worldbuilding elements like secret places/beings only visible to those with the sight, plus an intricate system of badges and sorting that are so fun to imagine yourself in. BUT it's starring a Black American girl and as far as I know the author isn't violently transphobic so like HELL YEAH
anyway SEQUEL PLEASEEEEEEEE I need it now. I want this book to become a smashing series. I want it to have a theme park. GIVE AMARI EVERYTHING
anyway SEQUEL PLEASEEEEEEEE I need it now. I want this book to become a smashing series. I want it to have a theme park. GIVE AMARI EVERYTHING
yo this book went SO FUCKING HARD, gonna blow a lot of tween minds in the way that The Giver did.