Reviews with content warning for Racism - More to the Story

A very sweet retelling of Little Women from the perspective of an American-Pakistani family living in Georgia in modern day - we follow Jameela as she has to deal with some changes in ehr life including her father's long distance job, and a new kid called Ali. She also needs to deal with everything that comes with having 3 sisters - Maryam, Aleeza and Bisma, while vying to become the next editor-in-chief of her school newspaper.

This was just a lovely book that I definitely enjoyed for the short time it took to read it. The Little Women elements were done well, and I feel like some characters more than others were brilliantly crafted to be very much like their LW counterparts - Aleeza most of all, she was very Amy without being petty or mean. Just a slightly spoiled little girl who still loves her family.

I loved the family moments in this book, from the various conversations Jam had with her Baba and how close they were, to how they looked after Bisma when she got ill. I also really appreciated the look of extended family and family friends who were like aunts and uncle flocking to help the family when they needed them - it was honestly lovely.

There are some really nice, important moments in this book that would serve a younger reader really well such as Jam's experience with casual racism and her response to teach her school about micro-aggressions. I liked how Jam's school newspaper experience was portrayed as well in the book, and I think if I was a younger kid reading the book in a country where schools had their own newspapers, I would be tempted to join in.

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