"A Indian American boy endures a family move from Hawaii to frigid Minnesota and, with the help of three life-changing books he reads in school, he learns to like reading, and ultimately, himself"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Moving from Hawaii to Minnesota, Ahmed Aziz is having the worst year until he deals with bullies, makes new friends and uncovers his family’s past—all while finding himself in three books assigned for his English class. 40,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

This hilarious and poignant tween debut—which SLJ heralded as “destined to become a classic” in a starred review—tackles evergreen topics like dealing with bullies, making friends, and the power of good books. A great next read for fans of Merci Suárez Changes Gears and John David Anderson.

Ahmed Aziz is having an epic year—epically bad.

After his dad gets sick, the family moves from Hawaii to Minnesota for his dad’s treatment. Even though his dad grew up there, Ahmed can’t imagine a worse place to live. He’s one of the only brown kids in his school. And as a proud slacker, Ahmed doesn’t want to deal with expectations from his new teachers.

Ahmed surprises himself by actually reading the assigned books for his English class: Holes, Bridge to Terabithia, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Shockingly, he doesn’t hate them. Ahmed also starts learning about his uncle, who died before Ahmed was born.

Getting bits and pieces of his family’s history might be the one upside of the move, even as his dad’s health hangs in the balance and the school bully refuses to leave him alone. Will Ahmed ever warm to Minnesota?

* A Chicago Public Library Kids Best Book of the Year * A BookPage Best Book of the Year * A Bank Street Best Book of the Year * Finalist for the Minnesota Book Award * 

Booklist Reviews

Narrated by Ahmed when he's slightly older but still sarcastic, this debut novel is an affecting reflection on the boy's tumultuous sixth-grade year. His story begins with a sudden move from Hawaii to Minnesota, where his father can get the risky but lifesaving medical treatment he needs. Compounding an already stressful situation is the fact that Ahmed is the newest target of his class' bully, the white and überpopular Jack, which Ahmed assumes is due to his brown skin, courtesy of his Indian heritage. Hamza has a lot of nuanced plotlines in play—and she does an admirable job of keeping them all relevant to the main narrative and following them to completion—some of the themes of which are family, finding yourself, faith, dealing with hate crimes, and friendship. A particular touchstone will be the language arts class where Ahmed has a bit of a breakthrough while studying classics many readers will be familiar with. As for Ahmed, he is a kind, intelligent underachiever whom readers will feel for as he struggles and perseveres. Grades 5-8. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Twelve-year-old Ahmed Aziz has never lived anywhere other than Hawaii, where everyone in his neighborhood knows everything about him. When his Indian American Muslim family moves to his father's hometown in Minnesota-one of three places in the world where his father can get the treatment he needs to recover from an inherited form of hepatitis C-Ahmed is anxious, heartbroken, and afraid. Things do not get off to a promising start. On Ahmed's first day at his mostly White school, his neighbor Jack bullies him. Plus Ahmed is assigned to an accelerated section of language arts, a class taught by his father's old friend Janet Gaardner-even though he hates to read. Ahmed's homesickness only intensifies as he struggles to find a place among his peers and as his father's illness worsens. However, he begins to find comfort in places he never expected, including in hearing memories of his uncle, who died at the age of 12 in the same hospital where Ahmed's dad is now fighting for his life. Eventually Ahmed realizes that he is best loved and happiest when he is himself. This well-paced book tells a compassionate and authentic story about how families deal with intergenerational grief. The author seamlessly incorporates details of Ahmed's heritage alongside his father's Midwestern childhood, in the process accurately and unapologetically portraying Ahmed's multifaceted identity. An emotionally perceptive book about grief, identity, and change. (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

PW Annex Reviews

Moving away from everything you've ever known is difficult for anyone, but 12-year-old Ahmed Aziz, who is Indian American and Muslim, has an especially difficult time as he and his family relocate from Hawaii to his father's hometown of Farthing, Minn. While the move allows Ahmed's father, who has cirrhosis, to receive experimental treatment, Ahmed is less than enthused that his parents selected Minnesota over the other two locations offering the treatment—California and Japan. Immersed in a mostly white environment and forced to deal with bullies for the first time in his life, Ahmed copes by doing something he rarely does: reading. As Ahmed and his classmates dissect Louis Sachar's Holes and other children's novels in their accelerated language arts class, Ahmed slowly begins to develop a love for reading, with his deepening understanding of the characters and analyses helping him to navigate interpersonal issues and change in his own life. Hamza writes with verve and a palpable fondness for her nuanced characters in this quietly absorbing debut middle grade novel, which offers discerning lessons on reading, love, and adaptation. Ages 8–12. Agent: Alyssa Henkin, Trident Media Group. (June)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 3–7—Ahmed Aziz recalls the year when he was 12 and forced to move from Hawaii, the only home he'd ever known, to his father's hometown in Minnesota so that his father could receive lifesaving medical treatment for a genetic illness. Frustrated by his parents' choice to move to Minnesota and his lack of control over his life, Ahmed reluctantly embraces his new community and faces the looming legacy of his late uncle's life and death. When a neighborhood bully targets him, Ahmed must decide who it is he wants to be; it is an epic year indeed! In this moving and well-paced novel, Hamza sensitively offers a multidimensional portrayal of characters, young and old, and skillfully weaves in a narrative of the power of good teaching and literature. Young readers resistant to reading may relate to Ahmed's initial feelings about books, while fans of the works discussed within (including Louis Sachar's Holes and Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia) will be delighted. References to the family's Indian heritage and Muslim religion are seamlessly interspersed throughout, offering a warm and authentic depiction of an American Muslim family. VERDICT A strong debut destined to become a classic. Recommended for classrooms and libraries of all types, particularly where Zanib Mian's "Planet Omar" series flies off the shelves.—Mahasin A. Aleem, Oakland P.L., CA