Kareem Between
by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
Middle School    Putnam    336 pp.
9/24    9780593699263    $18.99
e-book ed.  9780593699270    $10.99

Seventh grader Kareem dreams of becoming the first Syrian American NFL player. He hopes to make the middle school football team as quarterback—not likely since the coach’s son, Austin, is up for that position, though Austin offers to get Kareem on the team if he’ll do his homework for him. Conflicts with Austin propel the story, and Kareem must learn to stand up against him and for his new friend Fadi, a recent Syrian refugee. Kareem is a reader, and his books—Holes, Locomotion, Hatchet—help him make sense of his world. The story turns dark when Kareem’s mother travels to Syria in order to bring her parents to America, but then–President Trump’s Executive Order 13769—the “Muslim ban”—goes into effect at the same time, trapping them in Syria. Kareem joins protests against the ban and is bolstered by how widespread those demonstrations are, showing him the power of people taking a stand. Safadi’s verse is at times somewhat wordy and didactic, but the story itself is heartfelt and personal, anchored in one boy’s perspective and the author’s own experiences. From midpoint on, it gathers momentum, becoming a tale of true depth, with characters to care about and a solid resolution. An author’s note is appended.

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.