Publisher's Weekly Review
Originally published in Australia, Abdel-Fattah's novel about a blossoming teenage romance could hardly be more timely; although set in Sydney, the book is acutely relevant to American readers. Michael's first glimpse of Mina is from the opposing side of a protest: she is demonstrating for refugees' rights, and he is with Aussie Values, a nationalist group founded by his father. Smitten, Michael is surprised to find that Mina is a new student in his prestigious and predominantly white high school. Their testy first exchange sets the stage for a typical opposites-attract story, except that it reveals their deep-seated differences about Mina's presence in Australia. An Afghan refugee who arrived by boat ("jumping the queue," according to Aussie Values) more than 10 years earlier, Mina has left her diverse neighborhood and school thanks to a scholarship. As she adjusts to her new environment, Michael struggles to align his evolving feelings with his family's outspoken principles. Abdel-Fattah (Where the Streets Had a Name) delivers an engaging romance within a compelling exploration of the sharply opposing beliefs that tear people apart, and how those beliefs can be transformed through human relationships. Ages 12-up. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Acclaimed author and Islamophobia expert Abdel-Fattah pens another timely story. As a child, Mina came to Australia by boat, a Muslim refugee escaping turmoil in her native Afghanistan. Now, as a teen, she enters an elite preparatory school on the other side of Sydney, on scholarship. Michael, a natural-born Australian citizen, hasn't spent too much time second-guessing his parents' involvement in a local anti-immigrant group, until he sees Mina, and his unquestioning trust in his parents begins to fray. Told in chapters alternating between Mina and Michael, this mature, nuanced novel explores the forces that feed anti-immigrant sentiment and the hypocrisy that festers in hateful beliefs. There are no easy answers here, and, indeed, several uncomfortable moments as Michael resists his parents' deeply held beliefs. Though a novel like this could easily become didactic, Abdel-Fattah expertly sidesteps heavy-handed lessons, instead deeply rooting the story in the experiences of these two teenagers, rendering their story, encompassing romance, a testament to friendship, and a powerful call to action, in utterly real and sympathetic terms. Though the setting is Australia, readers will find direct parallels to current situations in the U.S., and given the fallout of the 2016 election, this book could not be more necessary. Deserving of wide readership and discussion.--Barnes, Jennifer Copyright 2017 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Mina, her mother, and her stepfather, Afghani refugees in Sydney, Australia, are moving out of multicultural Auburn into a more homogenous, wealthy neighborhood to open a halal restaurant. Michael is the obedient son of the founder of Aussie Values, an anti-immigration group. The two teens meet at Mina's new school, where she is on scholarship. Michael is immediately smitten with witty, self-possessed, intelligent Mina. He falls hard and has to figure out what he believes, because if he is anti-immigration, he is anti-Mina. Mina struggles with trusting Michael, whose family is clearly no ally to hers and whose best friend is a complete jerk. Told from the protagonists' alternating perspectives, this work presents a multifaceted look at a Muslim teen. Mina and Michael's relationship is threatened by direct attacks perpetrated by Aussie Values on Mina's family's restaurant. Their love develops amid (mostly) well-meaning but flawed family and friends. Abdel-Fattah explores teen nerdiness, sexuality, cruelty, compassion, family pressure, neglect, and loyalty. She is a master at conveying themes of tolerance, working in humor, and weaving multiple emotionally complex points of view. VERDICT A timely and compassionate portrait of the devastating losses of refugees, political conflicts within a family and a nation, and the astounding capacity of young people to identify hate and yet act with empathy and love. A must-purchase for all collections.-Sara Lissa Paulson, City-As-School High School, New York City © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Guardian Review
A beautiful, heart-breaking exploration of family bereavement, how to get a knighthood and sinister goings-on during detention For the very youngest picture-book fans this month, Nosy Crow's collaboration with the British Museum yields two enticing board-books, 123 and ABC. The alphabet book features stylish photographs of exhibits from around the world, ranging from Japanese porcelain elephants to Austrian woodcuts of oranges; the counting book gives infant curators the delightful illusion of handling ancient hats, dolls, keys and rings. Meanwhile, CBeebies luminary Cerrie Burnell and illustrator Laura Ellen Anderson join forces in Fairy Magic (Scholastic), starring Isabelle, who uses a hearing aid, and discovers that her silence-filled world allows her to understand fairy speech. A gentle, empathy-fostering story, full of light and flowering forests. The Night Box (Egmont) by Louise Greig and Ashling Lindsay is a bedtime book with a difference, in which a small boy unlocks a secret box to release the night. Tender and domestic, luminous and star-shot, Lindsay's illustrations perfectly complement Greig's soaring, unrhymed poetry, creating a sense of night's scale, richness and enveloping magic. For five and up, beauty and heartbreak combine in The Pond (Graffeg) by Nicola Davies and Cathy Fisher, an account of grief told via the progress of a garden pond. Dad dug the hole, but died before he could fill it; now its muddy emptiness sits like a raw wound in the family psyche. Eventually, the children and their mother line and fill the pond, and new life grows within it. Fisher's vivid mixed-media images, evoking the contrasts between black-brown mud, turquoise water and wriggling tadpoles, prompt both deep sadness and a sense of hope. Full of splendid silliness, Elys Dolan's Knighthood for Beginners (Oxford) will have readers cackling from start to finish. Even though he's a small, green, book-loving dragon, Dave wants to be a knight. With the help of his faithful steed Albrecht (a glossy-coated, German-speaking goat) and a handy guide to knighthood, Dave tries to foil Sir Gnasty's plan to take over the kingdom. A highly illustrated hoot, full of outrageous medieval mashups. More serious young historians will relish Spot the Mistake: Lands of Long Ago (Wide-Eyed) by Amanda Wood and Mike Jolley, illustrated by Frances Castle. Scan spreads set in the stone age, ancient Rome or during the Mughal empire, and spot the 20 anachronisms -- some glaring, others subtle -- revealed on the next page. This large, lively book taps into children's delight in gloating over grownup errors, encouraging critical scrutiny along the way. For eight and up, there's derring-do downstairs in The Last Duchess (Macmillan) by Laura Powell, illustrated by Sarah Gibb. Thirteen-year-old Pattern, exemplary student at Mrs Minchin's Academy of Domestic Servitude, is excited to be sent to Elffinberg as a lady's maid to the young, recently orphaned grand duchess. Once there, though, she finds a wilful mistress and a duchy riven with feuds and suspicion. Can Pattern foil a deadly plot armed only with smelling salts, a sewing basket and her own sharp wits? An atmospheric, intriguing mystery. More nefarious plans unfold in Lorraine Gregory's Mold and the Poison Plot (Oxford), set in the marshy kingdom of Pellegarno. As a baby, big-nosed, scrawny Mold was adopted by grog-swilling herbalist Aggy. When Aggy is framed for poisoning the king, Mold must fight to clear her name. Full of ripe smells and perilous thrills, this is an engaging debut, told in a dialect-rich first person. Despite its American setting, Victoria Jamieson's graphic novel Roller Girl (Puffin) should resonate with UK readers nervous about starting secondary school. Astrid and Nicole have been best friends for ever -- but when Nicole signs up for dance camp, leaving Astrid to brave roller-derby training alone, their bond fails to withstand the strain. A refreshing, witty story of trying, failing, reinvention, ambition, team spirit and how to be a decent friend. For teenage readers, a school detention takes a sinister turn in One of Us Is Lying (Penguin) by Karen M McManus. When a beauty, a brain, an athlete, an outcast and a criminal are kept back in class, they aren't expecting one of them to die. Which of the remaining four is guilty -- or is the real murderer still on the loose? Twisty plotting, breakneck pacing and intriguing characterisation add up to an exciting, single-sitting thrillerish treat. More secrets saturate Catherine Barter's debut, Troublemakers (Andersen), starring 15-year-old Alena, who has been brought up by her older brother Danny and his boyfriend. Now Alena needs answers about the activist mother she never knew. But there's a bomber on the loose in London, and Danny, increasingly protective, wants to shut out the past. When he begins working for a controversial politician, Alena does something with far-reaching consequences ... A thought-provoking, richly layered YA novel about politics, love, grief and coming of age. In The Lines We Cross (Scholastic), Australian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah interweaves racial politics with thoughtful, believable romance. When Mina gets a scholarship, her family, former refugees, move to the Sydney suburbs; there she meets Michael, whose parents, founders of a nationalist organisation, are lobbying for tighter controls on "boat people". Coming from such disparate backgrounds, is there any chance of their finding common ground? Told via a light-touch dual narrative, this is a credible, funny change-of-heart story, dodging cliched tropes and easy answers. Finally, in pared-to-the-bone prose, Anthony McGowan's Rook (Barrington Stoke) spins a super-readable tale of two brothers and a wounded bird. Nicky's rage at school bullies leads to a misstep that might obliterate his future. Will hope win -- or is it pointless to expect anything but the worst? Lucid and sharp as broken glass, it's a book filled with raw, elemental emotion. - Imogen Russell Williams.
Kirkus Review
An Afghani-Australian teen named Mina earns a scholarship to a prestigious private school and meets Michael, whose family opposes allowing Muslim refugees and immigrants into the country. Dual points of view are presented in this moving and intelligent contemporary novel set in Australia. Eleventh-grader Mina is smart and self-possessedher mother and stepfather (her biological father was murdered in Afghanistan) have moved their business and home across Sydney in order for her to attend Victoria College. She's determined to excel there, even though being surrounded by such privilege is a culture shock for her. When she meets white Michael, the two are drawn to each other even though his close-knit, activist family espouses a political viewpoint that, though they insist it is merely pragmatic, is unquestionably Islamophobic. Tackling hard topics head-on, Abdel-Fattah explores them fully and with nuance. True-to-life dialogue and realistic teen social dynamics both deepen the tension and provide levity. While Mina and Michael's attraction seems at first unlikely, the pair's warmth wins out, and readers will be swept up in their love story and will come away with a clearer understanding of how bias permeates the lives of those targeted by it. A meditation on a timely subject that never forgets to put its characters and their stories first. (Fiction. 12-17) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.