March 4, 2025 by Quill Tree Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Mo Mirza and his father Mumtaz move from New York City to Texas to live with Mo's Aunt Naili and her son Rayyan. Rayyan's father was killed in a convenience store robbery, and his mother is working as an administrative assistant at the family's mosque. Mo's father has mental health struggles, and is having trouble finding a job, so having the support of another adult, especially one who cooks delicious food, is helpful. Being the new kid at school is slightly easier with his cousin around, although Rayyan is very academically focused, and some other students give him a hard time for this. Mo has never been as interested in school, even though his mother is a scientist who is working in Greece on a fellowship to help local people who have a hard time getting water supplies, but is more interested in school since he is working with his cousin. He also agrees to volunteer at the mosque with Rayyan, who needs volunteer hours for National Junior Honor Society. The boys work with young children and help them with art projects. Mo finds some solace in painting as his father spirals further into his paranoid schizophrenic episodes, since he has stopped taking his medicine. Even though he talks to his mother once a week, he does not let her know the extent of the father's problems, although he does contact her brother, who lives in the area. Mo is a huge fan of folk tales, and tries to use them to put his life in perspective, but will he be able to have a happily ever after?
Strengths: Moving from New York to Texas would be quite a culture shock, but it was good to see that both Mo's father and his aunt were able to help each other out a little bit, since they both had challenging circumstances. Mo's mother's devotion to her work is understandable, but it was also see her find a way to be closer to Mo. The cousins got along, even though they didn't seem to share as many interests at the beginning of the book. This had a more well-developed bully than I've seen in many books, and he was more interesting, too. There's a nice balance of scenes between home, school, and the mosque, and this gives us the whole picture of Mo's life.
Weaknesses: While Mo's stories drawn from folklore are interesting, they took my attention away from his real life in a way that slowed the book down. My students aren't a huge fan of the story-within-a-story and tell me they frequently skip these inclusions.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who are interested in reading what it would be like to deal with a parent with mental health challenges and who enjoyed Hiranadani's The Whole Story of Half a Girl , Baldwin's Where the Watermelons Grow, or Keller's The Science of Breakable Things.
Strengths: Moving from New York to Texas would be quite a culture shock, but it was good to see that both Mo's father and his aunt were able to help each other out a little bit, since they both had challenging circumstances. Mo's mother's devotion to her work is understandable, but it was also see her find a way to be closer to Mo. The cousins got along, even though they didn't seem to share as many interests at the beginning of the book. This had a more well-developed bully than I've seen in many books, and he was more interesting, too. There's a nice balance of scenes between home, school, and the mosque, and this gives us the whole picture of Mo's life.
Weaknesses: While Mo's stories drawn from folklore are interesting, they took my attention away from his real life in a way that slowed the book down. My students aren't a huge fan of the story-within-a-story and tell me they frequently skip these inclusions.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who are interested in reading what it would be like to deal with a parent with mental health challenges and who enjoyed Hiranadani's The Whole Story of Half a Girl , Baldwin's Where the Watermelons Grow, or Keller's The Science of Breakable Things.
No comments:
Post a Comment