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jennybeastie's review against another edition
4.0
Mimi and her mother journey to Karachi, Pakistan to visit her grandparents for the summer. Mimi is missing her long-gone father and makes friends with Sakina, the daughter of the cook. Sakina wants desperately to go to school and needs a better grade on the English portion of an admissions test, and a friendship is born.
This book does a fabulous job with the two points of view -- Mimi's very American perspective, and Sakina's Pakistani one -- they are able to comment on, be puzzled by and work out the many cultural differences they encounter on their road to friendship, and that is a beautiful journey. As an American reader, there are many hard realities to accept in the book about the education of children and the scale of poverty worldwide -- we have plenty of our own, but it presents a different face here. Both of the girls are great characters and the story is well written and entertaining.
This book does a fabulous job with the two points of view -- Mimi's very American perspective, and Sakina's Pakistani one -- they are able to comment on, be puzzled by and work out the many cultural differences they encounter on their road to friendship, and that is a beautiful journey. As an American reader, there are many hard realities to accept in the book about the education of children and the scale of poverty worldwide -- we have plenty of our own, but it presents a different face here. Both of the girls are great characters and the story is well written and entertaining.
kristinakg's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
readingwithcats's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Chronic illness
jaymeshaw's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the alternating perspectives of the two girls. I did learn a lot more about the Pakistani culture for sure. And I think this would be a great middle school read for any classroom.
ipushbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The dual narration is the strongest feature of this book.
caitlinsgarden's review against another edition
5.0
An absolutely stunning middle grade novel about Mimi, a Pakistani American girl and Sakina, a Pakistani girl. It's a hard-hitting powerful story about female friendship, which I adored about it. Mimi comes to visit some family in Pakistan and there she meets the young girl who's a servant for the family - Sakina. Mimi wants to find her father whom she hasn't seen in ages and Sakina wants to learn to speak English better so she can go to school. It also deals with things like extreme poverty, class differences, and complicated family dynamics. As always, I was so impressed by how well it blended the painful topics with so much hope. It's SO beautiful and I highly recommend it.
quirkybibliophile's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
CW: Poverty, Classism, Chronic Illness (Diabetes), theft, breaking and entering, absent father
Thoughts and Themes: I picked this one up at the library but it was taking a while for me to get into it so I tried it as an audiobook and really enjoyed it. I like that the audiobook has two distinct voices for each of the girls which makes it easier to tell them apart.
There was a lot that I really enjoyed about this book but my favorite are the scenes in which Sakina and Mimi are teaching each other about their culture. I love how Sakina is hesitant at first to allow Mimi into her world and how Mimi doesn’t understand why Sakina responded to her in a way she deemed rude. I liked when Sakina would ask Mimi things about America and Mimi got to explain what was familiar to her and felt like she belonged somewhere.
I also really enjoyed the moments in which Mimi realized how different Sakina’s life was from her and the different expectations that were put on each of them. I also like that both of the girls are keeping things from their families and they trust each other with this information. It was nice getting to see them talk each other through things that they were struggling with.
Characters: This book centers around our two main characters, Sakina and Mimi, and through them you get to meet several other characters in this book. You get to meet both of their families as well as some other people they interact with while they are both navigating Pakistan.
I really liked getting to know both of our main characters and liked reading as their friendship develops. I thought it was great that at first they both needed something from each other which is why they were speaking to each other but that develops into more. I thought it was great that Mimi felt like she could open up to Sakina and share her feelings with her.
I also do enjoy getting to know each of the girls apart from each other and getting to see them act their age when they are with each other. There are times in which the girls are interacting with adults that you forget that they are still kids because they have been forced to grow up quickly because of the struggles their families are going through. I liked getting to see them react like children though and get to see them allow each other feelings that were messy and complicated.
Writing Style: This book is told in the first person through the dual perspectives of Sakina and Mimi. Sakina is a girl who works for Mimi’s mother’s family in Pakistan and lives in poverty, and Mimi is an American girl who is visiting her rich grandparents in Pakistan. I really enjoyed getting the chance to see this story unfold through both of their perspectives because when you first start reading you think that they are so different from each other and come from two different worlds. It isn’t until you keep reading and get to see them interact that you realize that they have some things in common.
Thoughts and Themes: I picked this one up at the library but it was taking a while for me to get into it so I tried it as an audiobook and really enjoyed it. I like that the audiobook has two distinct voices for each of the girls which makes it easier to tell them apart.
There was a lot that I really enjoyed about this book but my favorite are the scenes in which Sakina and Mimi are teaching each other about their culture. I love how Sakina is hesitant at first to allow Mimi into her world and how Mimi doesn’t understand why Sakina responded to her in a way she deemed rude. I liked when Sakina would ask Mimi things about America and Mimi got to explain what was familiar to her and felt like she belonged somewhere.
I also really enjoyed the moments in which Mimi realized how different Sakina’s life was from her and the different expectations that were put on each of them. I also like that both of the girls are keeping things from their families and they trust each other with this information. It was nice getting to see them talk each other through things that they were struggling with.
Characters: This book centers around our two main characters, Sakina and Mimi, and through them you get to meet several other characters in this book. You get to meet both of their families as well as some other people they interact with while they are both navigating Pakistan.
I really liked getting to know both of our main characters and liked reading as their friendship develops. I thought it was great that at first they both needed something from each other which is why they were speaking to each other but that develops into more. I thought it was great that Mimi felt like she could open up to Sakina and share her feelings with her.
I also do enjoy getting to know each of the girls apart from each other and getting to see them act their age when they are with each other. There are times in which the girls are interacting with adults that you forget that they are still kids because they have been forced to grow up quickly because of the struggles their families are going through. I liked getting to see them react like children though and get to see them allow each other feelings that were messy and complicated.
Writing Style: This book is told in the first person through the dual perspectives of Sakina and Mimi. Sakina is a girl who works for Mimi’s mother’s family in Pakistan and lives in poverty, and Mimi is an American girl who is visiting her rich grandparents in Pakistan. I really enjoyed getting the chance to see this story unfold through both of their perspectives because when you first start reading you think that they are so different from each other and come from two different worlds. It isn’t until you keep reading and get to see them interact that you realize that they have some things in common.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness
nadjatiktinsky's review
Mimi is less than enthusiastic about spending her summer in Karachi, Pakistan, living with wealthy grandparents she's never met. Pakistan is different from America - boiling hot, with too-spicy food and confusing rules about how to treat servants versus the upper class. But when she befriends Sakina, the daughter of her grandparents' cook, things start to get interesting. Sakina needs to learn better English to pass school entrance exams, and Mimi needs to track down her estranged father to convince him to come back and put her life back to normal. This is a fun adventure story with a hint of mystery and an emotional undercurrent.
thebooknerdmom's review
5.0
I received a free e-ARC of this book thanks to Edelweiss and Quill Tree Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
In this story we are following a young girl, Mimi, who travels with her mother to spend summer vacation in Pakistan at her grandparent’s house. There she befriends the cook’s daughter, Sakina, and agrees to teach her English. In exchange, Sakina agrees to help Mimi search for her long-lost father who Mimi discovers is in Karachi.
This story was written in dual perspectives; we read from Mimi’s perspective, an American on vacation in Pakistan, and Sakina’s perspective, a young Pakistani servant who has never been to school but dreams of going. I liked the dual perspectives as we are able to see how different things are for those with money vs those who don’t have it. One glimpse of this is when it comes to Sakina’s father and his diabetes. Dual perspectives also let us read the story as a native's perspective vs an outsider's perspective, so we as readers get a unique viewpoint.
Faruqi did a great job of showing the growth of the characters. We can see the change in how they view other cultures and in how they carry and present themselves.
I loved the descriptions of Karachi. From the food, to the clothes, to the traffic, we get vivid descriptions of the city. I loved being able to picture what the girls were eating or wearing.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. It tells an important message about acceptance and learning to open your eyes to other’s cultures without prejudices.
In this story we are following a young girl, Mimi, who travels with her mother to spend summer vacation in Pakistan at her grandparent’s house. There she befriends the cook’s daughter, Sakina, and agrees to teach her English. In exchange, Sakina agrees to help Mimi search for her long-lost father who Mimi discovers is in Karachi.
This story was written in dual perspectives; we read from Mimi’s perspective, an American on vacation in Pakistan, and Sakina’s perspective, a young Pakistani servant who has never been to school but dreams of going. I liked the dual perspectives as we are able to see how different things are for those with money vs those who don’t have it. One glimpse of this is when it comes to Sakina’s father and his diabetes. Dual perspectives also let us read the story as a native's perspective vs an outsider's perspective, so we as readers get a unique viewpoint.
Faruqi did a great job of showing the growth of the characters. We can see the change in how they view other cultures and in how they carry and present themselves.
I loved the descriptions of Karachi. From the food, to the clothes, to the traffic, we get vivid descriptions of the city. I loved being able to picture what the girls were eating or wearing.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. It tells an important message about acceptance and learning to open your eyes to other’s cultures without prejudices.
wordnerd153's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written and engrossing story about two girls who form an unlikely friendship and the ways their lives change over the course of a few weeks.