When I want something quick to read I always look to Young Adult novels. I love the quick pace of them, but also that they are usually full of emotion. I wanted to read Sadia because it was a perspective of someone different from me, and I think that diversifying your reading can help you be a more understanding person. I thought the author did a great job of letting us see high school and the world through Sadia's eyes. Her parents are pretty laid back for Muslims (I grew up in a house with a pretty strict Muslim step parent), but shows that just like in any religion there are varying degrees of personality through her two Muslim friends. I also liked that the author touched on the crisis going on in Syria. It is good to expose kids and young adults to current events. I loved that basketball was Sadia's passion, and enjoyed seeing her team have her back when she ran into some problems with rules and regulations, but I absolutely loved the side plot about the photography and passion projects. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA fiction or anyone who may want to step into someone else's shoes for a few hours via Sadia's story.

Colleen Nelson's experience as an educator prompted her to write this important novel. The main characters are muslim girls, which isn't prevalent enough in our novels. Sadia, a young teen who wears a hijab as part of her religion, is passionate about basketball. Throughout the novel, Sadia struggles with various situations and expectations, as most teens do, but the reader is exposed to the additional challenges a minority teen faces.

I appreciate that the teens' struggles are handled in a realistic, but also positive manner. The novel promotes honesty, acceptance, unity, and friendship. Nelson's novel works to break down stereotypes and encourages the reader to consider their own actions.

I believe this novel will have a wide-range of appeal, open to all genders, races, religions, and athletic abilities!

I really liked this book. It presents social issues that teens can learn from.

Sadia is a Muslim girl who wears hijab and loves to play basketball. She is accepted by her peers at school and makes the co-ed basketball team. It’s when they get to the tournament that problems arise with other teams not accepting her different style of uniform. Still, Sadia doesn’t want to remove her hijab for this because she feels deeply connected to her reasons for wearing it in the first place.

Sadia’s friend, Nazreen, has begun removing her hijab (un-jabbing) at school along with changing her more modest clothing to clothing that’s more trendy. Although Sadia doesn’t agree with Nazreen’s choice, she wants to remain friends and keeps her opinion to herself. When the first challenges come with Sadia’s hijab coming undone while playing, Nazreen (who is an aspiring fashion designer) designs her a sleek uniform that will allow Sadia to remain covered but also give her more freedom of movement.

I liked this book a lot. I loved the character of Sadia. She was committed and very sure of herself. I loved how her team stood up for her and how the story ended up.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader ecopy of this book. All opinions are my own.

SADIA is a timely and important book that looks at the experiences of a Muslim teenager living in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Sadia moved to Canada three years ago from Syria before the ymass exodus from the country, and wears a hijab as part of her religious beliefs. When her best friend, Nazreen, decides to start de-jabbing at school, a distance starts to develop between them. With the arrival of Amira, a recent refugee from Syria, Sadia takes on the role of helping another girl to navigate the waters of life to a new country, while at the same time dealing with a developing crush, and the difficulty of playing basketball in her hijab. Throughout the story, Sadia is forced to examine her beliefs, and make choices that her and everyone around her.
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I thought this was an excellent read, and is an insightful look the issues that a Muslim girl could face at the start high school. There is a big gap in the literature about the immigrant experiences of Syrian teens, and I’m happy to see someone bringing some much-needed light to the matter. I think this would be a valuable addition to a classroom and/or library.

This book for teenagers gives some insight in the situation of young Muslim immigrants in Canada. I'm not sure if the hijab is really their greatest problem, but these three girls are described quite believably.
Besides the multicultural isssues this is also a great book for all those who love basketball.

Sadia is a novel about a Muslim teen's experience in high school as she plays basketball and her relationship with her friends and family.
I went into this book with high expectations and thought that it would be similar to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas meaning that it would address issues plaguing society today. This book went in that direction but it didn't quite hit the mark.
Colleen Nelson provided examples of problems that I know are faced by Muslims today and I really enjoyed that, because it gave me more insight into the issue faced today. The way Colleen Nelson tackled these issues were thought-provoking and informative.
The main reason why it didn't hit the spot for me was that the plot just wasn't there. I felt like the plot wasn't well executed and instead of being one synonymous plot where these occasions happened, it was more as if they pieced together microagressions and racist occasions together to make the book. There wasn't really a conflict, so nothing got resolved and it didn't follow the arc that is usually taken for writing books.
At the end of the day, this book was quite enjoyable to read and I found myself interested to find out what happened next. I recommend this book for everyone because the message is so important and kudos for touching on a subject that is controversial in today's society!

Note: This review is based on an uncorrected proof and therefore quotes may not reflect the published book.

I love how much I learnt from this book. Sadia follows the story of three young Muslim girls as they navigate a Canadian high school, fitting in, pleasing their families, and being true to their faith.

The MC, Sadia, is not a refugee but rather an immigrant from before the war reached her home in Syria. Now, Sadia is between Nazreen, her best friend - who is exploring how she fits in with her non-Muslim friends, while also adhering to her parent's strict rules in culture and faith - and Amira, a recently arrived refugee who is still reeling from the trauma of the war in Syria.


"After living in refugee camps for the last and a half, she'd proven that she was a survivor. There was no way high school was more challenging than the life she'd left behind."



This book explores so much about being a Muslim, navigating life as a diverse teenager, and the barriers life can present for those from diverse backgrounds.

The whole story is lovely, easy to read, and delightful to explore. The encouragement from Global Issues teacher, Mr Letner, to engage in 'passion projects' and viewing the world from a different perspective was also great, tying the whole story together wonderfully.

I l o v e d the diversity throughout this book, all the side stories to explore and the overall message the story brings. A great effort from an author, while not ownvoices, that wished to create a story for her students to relate to. I am truly looking forward to seeing how ownvoice readers respond to this book.


"'If you give a kid a teacher...' I whispered.
'She'll want to learn,' Nazreen added, with a smile.
'And if she wants to learn...' Amira continued quietly.
'She'll want to change the world.'"

Sadia has just started high school and is playing on a co-ed basketball team. Her best friend, Nazreen, has been removing her hijab when she gets to school each day, and Sadia isn't sure how she feels about that. Amira is a new girl at school - a Syrian refugee who is learning Canadian culture and English and trying to recover from the horrors of war. Sadia finds herself in a balancing act between assisting Amira with her assimilation, keeping Nazreen's de-jabbing a secret, and wondering whether her basketball team will be able to compete in the playoffs with the rule about no headgear.

This is an adorably sweet story. Sadia is a very likable narrator, and she provides the balance between Nazreen, who wants to fit in with everyone else, and Amira, who is devoted to her family and faith. The story centers around the 9th grade world studies class and their "if you give a kid a camera" project, which morphs into students sharing their "passion projects" - things they do outside of class to help the world, without expectation of a grade, etc. - with each other. Through the photography project, the class learns more about each other.

I would definitely put this book on the shelves in my tween area, as it reads as a book for 9-12 year olds. The students have crushes and want to sneak out to go to parties and suchlike, but it doesn't read like a story for older students even though the characters are in high school.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: a few gentle mentions of racist remarks Sadia's mother faces; a few mentions of war - nothing graphic or scary or violent
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Operation Yes, The Wednesday Wars, The Red Pencil

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purposes of review.

No one wants to be a refugee. No one wants to leave their homeland to live somewhere far away, away from friends, away, from family, away from things that aren't familiar.

And Sadia isn't technically a refugee. Her family emigrated to Canada when her father decided Syria had gotten too dangerous, so while she had seen some bad things, they left before it got really bad. Sadia is interested in basketball, and her friends and family. She does not want to be reminded about coming to Canada, and having to fit in. It is hard enough to fit in with her hijab, without having to help a new refugee from Syria, who just came to Canada, and speaks little to no English.

I liked how this story is told from Sadia's point of view. Although she is the "other" for most readers of this book, those who are not emegrants, and are not muslim, because she has lived her long enough to know the customs, she brings the reader into her world, so we can see what is going on with her, from racial rules that say she can't play basketball with a hijab, to her mother being sworn at the bus stop.

Good story for all kids. Good for muslim kids who need to see themselves in books, so they know they have a place in Western society. Good for everyone else to see the same.

And the underlying them, of helping others, that runs very strongly through this book, but does not hit you over the had with a two-by-four. These kids are very human, and make mistakes, but when they see a problem, they try to solve it.

Great book. Good additon to any library, or school, or home.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.