Such an interesting book on an important issue, with fun and light-hearted characters. Reads for the younger side of young adult fiction!

This was an interesting read and an amazing plot. I loved getting to know the characters and i really enjoyed this one!

Loved this book throughout! I'm glad to have gotten a copy through NetGalley. I'm always up for a diverse read and this didn't disappoint.

Compelling story about a Muslim girl in high school. Choosing between wearing her hijab or not was a part of her storyline and I really felt something as small to someone like me felt so much bigger hearing it in her words.

Books with representation like this are so very important! I loved how it focused on the experiences of young, Muslim girls, who are the type of people who would never usually get their own book. However, Sadia felt like a good 'introduction' for those unfamiliar with the Muslim faith rather than being a book for Muslim kids themselves. In saying that though, there is obviously nothing wrong with a book that opens the eyes of people unfamiliar to the struggle of minorities. In fact it is a good thing! And this book definitely has its heart in the right place. Here's to more diverse books being written and shared in the future!

I was super excited to be given a copy of this book from NetGalley. I haven't read many books with Muslim main characters, but this year I've been working on reading more diverse books. Hence why I requested this! 

What I liked from the beginning was the fact that this book is MG, as much as I love YA I do also like to see that diversity is getting into all age groups. This is definitely a book I would like to get someday for my children's future library. 

Sadia is a fairly quick read, it's around 240 pages and is fast-paced. While I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style, I did enjoy everything else about the book.  Sadia herself is a great character. She's smart and kind and a good friend. I think it was interesting to see the contrast in the three girls, Sadia, Amira and Nazareen. 

I think the only thing that I didn't really care for were Sadia's parents. They weren't terrible, but I did feel like they put some pressure on Sadia to conform to their religion the way that they wanted her to. Instead of giving her more of a choice. But then I'm very sensitive to religion in books and how parents act in books, so that could have just been me.

Either way, I still liked this book at the end of the day.  And I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

I was automatically approved to read this one on Net Galley, so I thought I'd give it a go. The blurb was really interesting, and thought it would help me with a project I'm doing. While it had a promising start, it wasn't sustained all throughout. There were also a few red flags along the way, especially on how Muslim girls are represented (note that this not an #ownvoices book). Might be a good read for those looking for an introduction on young immigrants and/or Syrian culture.

This. This is the novel that will make people feel beautiful and special. This is the novel of the year. Read everyone because it will change your life. Thank you to the publishers for giving this to me!

This was a wonderful book about representation in Canada. Where I live in Canada something horrible has happened, a woman started screaming at a man to "go back to his country" and other horrible things. This book shows what it's like to be a POC in Canada. Especially talking about refugees from Syria and the Muslim religion. We as a people (white people) don't like things that aren't what we perceive as normal. We need to be more accepting. We need to let the Muslim girls play and accept that they are are just as human as we are.

This is the story of Sadia, Nazreen and Amira. Sadia and Amira are Syrian Muslims, while Nazreen is an Egyptian Muslim who have all found their way to Canada. Sadia and Nazreen have been in Canada for a while and they have had the time to adjust to the ways of life there. Amira, on the other hand, is new to Canada and has a lot of hurdles to cross before she can settle in. The language barrier is just one example. The book explores the barriers and conflicts that these girls face.

Frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the book. On one hand, the blurb of the book indicated that it would be informative about the cultural differences. On the other hand, I wasn’t really sure if the Canadian Author would be able to do justice to the protagonist’s characters. I actually checked out the author’s Goodreads profile and website to see if she had any related experience. Only thing I could connect is that she has been a teacher for about a decade and so may have had interactions with Muslim girls as her students.

The author has done a good job with her portrayal of Sadia, Nazreen and Amira. At least I feel so because the characters felt very real to me. First is Amira, a Syrian refugee. I could understand, if not relate, to her homesickness as she was forced to leave her country. Leaving Syria and moving to Canada was not a choice that she or her family consciously made. Sadia on the other hand, had moved to Canada before the borders were locked down. She sees it as a blessing in a form. I admired her conviction and faith. Nazreen confused me though. I kind of understood the peer pressure she had trouble handling. What I did not understand was her attitude towards Sadia. Was she just jealous that she did not have the same faith or conviction? Or was she just indifferent and used Sadia when needed?

The characters and the narrative style of the author really hold the book together. The book is easy to get into and it is easy to like the protagonists for what they are because of the author’s narrative style. The voices in the book rang true. The plot was weak though. For most parts, there weren’t any major conflicts and the minor conflicts that were depicted were handled pretty easily. At times it felt like the author was looking for easy resolution rather than fleshing the plot. Also, real life is much more difficult and messier than this.

I started this book but do not plan to finish; I appreciate what the author is trying to do but right now I prefer to focus on Own Voices work about Muslim young people.

Sadia is a Syrian-Candian whose family immigrated before everything got really bad in Syria. This not only saved her family from death but also kept them from seeing a lot of the horror that the refugees have had to live in.

Sadia has acclimated to Candian life fairly easy as her family had been in the UK before for a few months. Now she is used to Candian life and even plays a sport basketball!

She also has a best friend Miriam who is also an Immigrant. They've both connected over the years through church and how they are the only two in their school to wear a hijab.
As well as a surprise character that I was not expecting but showed me how hard it can be to acclimate to a whole new life in real time.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. It is for the 9th-grade reader as well! Sadia and Miriam are such relatable girls and while this book does focus a lot on the hijab. It feels like at times the only things Miriam and Sadia have in common is their religion and their solidarity in wearing the hijab. Outside of that though we see them both grow as individuals, as well as still being there for each other.
I do highly recommend this book, but also take it with a grain of salt. I say that because Miriam and Sadia are told they will be wearing the hijab by their parents at a certain age. This makes it kind of look like they had no choice in the matter as is shown by Miriam's struggle with it as time goes on.
I also really liked how we got to see Sadia's brother doing something, and them interacting as real siblings! I love seeing this in YA books as well as parents that are actually involved in the child's life.

If I am wrong about anything I said in this trilogy please let me know and I will change it to the correct information.

At first glance, this appears to be an "issue" book. But really, what's wrong with that? A novel is a great way to get young readers to engage with a difficult topic, in this case racism and islamaphobia. But it's also more than that. Nelson uses this platform to explore sportsmanship, the ways we judge people, trauma. Sadia is judged by her appearance, yes, but she also judges Mariam for her decisions without considering her intense personal struggle. She takes actions that she thinks are best for others without considering their opinions. So we're left with some great discussion topics for middle grade readers. All with fairly round characters and easily understood writing.

I really enjoyed the book as it explored Sadia's relationship with her various identities (basketball player, muslim, canadian, syrian). It was a slow start for me at times but when i got to page 50 i was sucked in and fell in love with this book. It was interesting to see how the life that Sadia led was affected by her life in Canada. Even though i'm not a basketball fan, i was enchanted by her obsession with it and her fight to play, The dynamic between her and her friends and the new syrian refugee was interesting and it was interesting to see how the new girl adjusts to the country and how that affects her.

Sadia lives in Canada. She is 15, canadian, loves basketball and school, she has friends problems and boys problems. Sadia is also an immigrant, she moved from Syria when she was 11.

This is a story of friendship and family, but I would say that the main theme of this book was perspective.

It was a really beautiful story that left me wanting more.
The characters were great and the relationships between them, deep and captivating.
I could not stop reading and it stayed with me for a long while.
It mentioned some very important thematics and I truly think this should be read in schools everywhere.

I was really excited to read Sadia, the synopsis as well as the cover just screamed Sana Bakkoush and my curiosity peaked.
This was a bit of a confusing read. I go into reading YA knowing very well that I'm not the target audience, but with this book I'm not sure that YA is the target audience either. It definitely doesn't feel like a book for muslim YAs, it over explained the simplest of details. I would best describe this book as a children's introduction to Islam.
With that aside, I think the writing style is decent. The plot was okay, I really enjoyed the basketball story arc, but I wasn't feeling the rest. I can't help but think about how much more could've been done with the characters. What I expected to be the main focus, the experience of being an immigrant in Canada, didn't really deliver.

Honestly, this book was okay. The author did a lot of research with this (since it is not an own voices novel) and it was pretty on point. I asked my friend (she is not Muslim but has Muslim friends) about the whole hijab situation and she said that some people do not wear hijabs. It struck me as weird but nonetheless, it can be a serious topic. It was pretty much predictable and it felt like I was watching a Nick JR show because it remained safe and there were no action scenes or risky business. The novel overall is empowering towards not only Muslim females but female Muslim athletes as well.

It was really not bad, I would recommend it to someone that likes contemporary novels. However, it seemed a bit long at times, but it is worth reading for fun.

I got this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story focuses on Sadia Ahmadi (the main character)'s life and the lifes of people around her. Sadia is a fifteen year old girl from Syria who moved to Canada with her parents and an older brother. They moved because of the war in Syria. Sadia has a thing for basketball and she is really good at it. The story revolves around her.

In my opinion, it's great really! I love the diversity being told in the book. I love how this book is easy to read. I love the characters. They develop really well. Ughh, but Nazreen annoys me. Haahah. But, the plot is very slow and it makes me bored. The conflicts are not that heart-squeezing. That's another reason that makes me bored. However, I like the concept of this book. Yet, it feels like this book can be more than that.

Also, I love the If you give a kid a camera project and would like to do it with my future students. I too, play sports, it's Pencak Silat and I know how it feels when your hijab gets in the way... 😢 I can relate to the kinship in Sadia's team. It is great to have a team that feels like a family.

Overall, this book is great! I want to be a teacher like Mr. Letner.
Thanks for writing this book, Colleen.

Canadian Syrian Sadia is a Grade 9 student who is incredibly passionate about basketball. She jumps at the chance to join this year's co-ed tournament team and her talent speaks for itself. The hijab that she wears as a Muslim, though, can pose a problem on the court. Surrounded by her teammates, her coach and teacher, and a new friend, a Syrian refugee named Amira, she learns to stand up for herself and fight for what's right.

This novel does a very good job to raise awareness and promote compassion between people. It's also a decent story if you're reading it for the basketball elements. This quick novel has been promoted YA, but it definitely reads tonally as MG. It's actually quite tame, but it still manages to raise several important questions - both on a personal and institutional level. In regards to the characters, as much as I liked getting to know Sadia, her friends, and family, I actually found myself rooting for their coach a little more. He's the sort of teacher I would have been honored to have as a high school student.

Sadia by Colleen Nelson is an inspiring story of a girl standing up for what she believes in and is passionate about. That said it doesn't particularly standout of the crowd. I also have to admit that I was expecting more from some of the basketball games we see on the page after all of that buildup. Just so you know, this novel doesn't qualify as #OwnVoices, but Colleen Nelson still offers insight as she is also a Canadian teacher who has taught refugee students.