Saira Mir

Each page and moment carries love and warmth with lovely illustrations to fit the mood.

A young girl is very excited to learn that she's going to have a younger sister. Sure, she has an older brother, but that's definitely not the same. She dreams of all the wonderful things her sister and her will do in the future, each moment more special than the last. But then, news arrives that something went wrong and her sister isn't going to come after all.

The book starts out with amazing positivity. It's cute to see all the things the girl hopes to do with her sister one day, and since the illustrations build the sister right into these scenes, it's almost as if she's really there. This is a clever way to make emotions and hopes come across and let the disappointment and feelings of loss come across clearly when things don't turn out as planned. It's potent, yet gentle and brings across the point in a meaningful way. Even the moments of dealing with the disappoint and acceptance afterwards are done with care and leave on a hopeful note.

The illustrations are pretty and have a dreamy flair. The colors remain bright and cheery, not allowing this one to sink into depression. Instead, the scenes offer support and encouragement the entire way through.

While this isn't a book which will resonate with every reader, those who do need the extra support will find this to be a wonderful read.… (meer)

Brief biographies and beautiful, cartoon/comic-style portraits of over a dozen Muslim women, each with very different careers, intersectional identities, and connections to Islam. I enjoyed that this book shows that to be Muslim is as diverse an experience as it is to be Christian — something that is rarely discussed by the dominant media. For example, we meet English and Japanese fashion designer Hana Tajima, who converted to Islam and designs modest clothing options for major fashion retailers. We also meet Nura Afia, a makeup vlogger and model from Colorado; Maria Toorpakai Wazir, a Pakistani woman who disguised herself as a boy in order to play squash and other street games; Ilhan Omar, Somali-American congresswoman; and many more such fascinating, inspiring individuals. I would have loved to see a self identified queer or gender queer individual biographied in the book!… (meer)