Scan barcode
bookishmillennial's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Wow, this was such a precious coming-of-age story about Omar 😭 He gets accepted to an elite academy where there are tons of extracurricular activities, art classes, and more, on a scholarship, along with a few others kids. He makes friends with Naveen and Kareem, but they all quickly realize that the scholarship has many limiting guidelines regarding how they can engage at school. They must complete chores, are not allowed to join extracurricular clubs during their first year, and they must maintain an A+ grade average. None of these restrictions are placed upon non-scholarship students, so our wide-eyed kids are quickly disillusioned as to how magical their experiences will be. This is told in first-person, present-tense POV of Omar, and takes place in Pakistan.
This book is very fast-paced, plot-oriented, and can be read in one sitting. Omar was easy to root for, especially as he remained “stubbornly optimistic.” I loved his journey of dedicating himself to his studies, and then standing up against being treated like a second-class citizen at the academy. He went from being a bit naive to recognizing oppressive systems, and also learned how to name his feelings and ask for help 🥹 Through it all, he kept his kindness and his hopeful spirit!
I loved the appearances from Amal, and all of the lessons Omar learned about optics, advocating for yourself, gratitude, and community. What a precious story for younger readers & anyone who needs an inspiring pick me up 🤎
cw: classism
Wow, this was such a precious coming-of-age story about Omar 😭 He gets accepted to an elite academy where there are tons of extracurricular activities, art classes, and more, on a scholarship, along with a few others kids. He makes friends with Naveen and Kareem, but they all quickly realize that the scholarship has many limiting guidelines regarding how they can engage at school. They must complete chores, are not allowed to join extracurricular clubs during their first year, and they must maintain an A+ grade average. None of these restrictions are placed upon non-scholarship students, so our wide-eyed kids are quickly disillusioned as to how magical their experiences will be. This is told in first-person, present-tense POV of Omar, and takes place in Pakistan.
This book is very fast-paced, plot-oriented, and can be read in one sitting. Omar was easy to root for, especially as he remained “stubbornly optimistic.” I loved his journey of dedicating himself to his studies, and then standing up against being treated like a second-class citizen at the academy. He went from being a bit naive to recognizing oppressive systems, and also learned how to name his feelings and ask for help 🥹 Through it all, he kept his kindness and his hopeful spirit!
I loved the appearances from Amal, and all of the lessons Omar learned about optics, advocating for yourself, gratitude, and community. What a precious story for younger readers & anyone who needs an inspiring pick me up 🤎
cw: classism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
emily_mh'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was such a hopeful book! Omar, the MC, faces a multitude of challenges when he starts his new school, and the book handles each one with care, with morals that are greatly instructive and useful for the target audience.
The story delves into the pressure that schools put on students to do well, the sacrifices kids have to make to get good grades. It stresses the need for balance between work, play, and sleep for students. Along the same lines, the novel expounds that it is okay to ask for help. It’s okay to lean on friends and family for emotional support, and teachers for academic support.
I appreciated the nuance Saeed brought to the conversation on luckiness. She builds the narrative so that it clearly sends the message that while you can be lucky for some things in your life, that doesn’t mean you can’t be unlucky in others and should put up with terrible situations. Omar may be lucky that he got into Ghalib, but that doesn’t mean he should put up with classism, and speaking out against this oppression doesn’t mean he is ungrateful for what he does have.
Perhaps the most important theme was the power of collective action and solidarity. I think it will be inspiring and affirming for middle-graders to see kids coming together and enacting change - it sure was for me.
The boarding school setting was a great fit for this story. It’s always a setting I enjoy, although here I especially appreciated how Saeed used it to illustrate the aforementioned themes of academic pressure, classism, and community.
I didn’t realise this book was a companion to Amal Unbound (ideally read after it, whoops), so I’m keen to pick it up and read more about Amal, who was a great SC in this story!
As a final note, this was my favourite quote: “I know that no matter what galaxy I get spun into, I will rise to face the challenge. I will be okay.”
Rep: Pakistani MC, Pakistani SCs
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, Bullying, Misogyny, and Death
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Death of parent
More...