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4.37 AVERAGE
4.37 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lovely and heart-wrenching by turns: a very important story!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel in verse definitely gives The Crossover vibes. It Carrie’s a football metaphor throughout and the struggles this middle school Syrian boy faces as he tries to make friends, fit in, make the team and deal with a greater world issue affecting his family.
Kareem is trying to fit in at school. He is a first generation Syrian-American, and he doesn’t want to stand out. He wants to be as American as everyone else. And he desperately loves football. He wants to play it, and thus he falls into a trap, because someone on the football team tries to bully him into doing his homework for him, in exchange for getting him on the team.
And that could just as well have been the major plot point.
But wait, the year this is happening is 2016. And what happened after the 45th president got into office. Yes, the Muslim ban.
So, Kareem is dealing with that, and having family stranded abroad, and everything else.
Told in blank verse, that somehow works. I usually don’t like to read books done in poetry, but this worked, and worked well. I, of course, always get frustrated with protagonists what do dumb things, because they think they will be liked more, but I’m glad that Kareem finally figured it out.
A quick read, and well written, with a lot of references to Football. And of course, the Muslim ban.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out on the 10th of September 2024.
And that could just as well have been the major plot point.
But wait, the year this is happening is 2016. And what happened after the 45th president got into office. Yes, the Muslim ban.
So, Kareem is dealing with that, and having family stranded abroad, and everything else.
Told in blank verse, that somehow works. I usually don’t like to read books done in poetry, but this worked, and worked well. I, of course, always get frustrated with protagonists what do dumb things, because they think they will be liked more, but I’m glad that Kareem finally figured it out.
A quick read, and well written, with a lot of references to Football. And of course, the Muslim ban.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out on the 10th of September 2024.
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A compelling and important book to understand this perspective and reality in the US. However, boys this age and football hold zero interest to me. So, good book, not one for me though.
I really loved this novel in verse and would recommend reading this especially if you like reading Crossover.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes