This book was a great modern adaption of Little Women. I love how it incorporated issues surrounding family, race, religion, and micro aggressions. The cover is absolutely beautiful and you will be drawn in from the very first sentence. I highly recommend this for middle grade readers or anyone who is young at heart and enjoys wholesome reads!

I loved this re-telling of Little Women, creating a middle grades accessible version that also highlights diverse voices and experiences. The story is quite sweet, exploring the strengths of sisterhood and the bonds of friendship.

More to the Story by Hena Khan is a wholesome novel that follows Jameela, a strong, level-headed seventh grade girl. Her family celebrates Eid just as her father leaves overseas for a job. She and her sisters (think Little Women) must hold the family together as one of her sisters falls ill. At the same time, Jameela makes an ethical blunder while writing for the school paper. As in Amina's Voice, the main character has great internal thinking that helps you feel her anxiety in the situations she finds herself in.

What I liked about this book is that it is a story about a regular Muslim girl in America, and her being Muslim is not the main focus of the story. When I am looking for literature for my classroom library, I am looking for books that represent all cultures, religions, and ethnicities without spotlighting oppression because of their culture, religion, or ethnicity. I appreciate that this is a family facing similar issues (illnesses, family stresses, school troubles, friendship blunders, etc.) as many kids today are facing, and they happen to be Muslim.

More to the Story by Hena Khan

More to the Story penned by Hena Khan is a realistic fiction of a Muslim family of girls who learn the true meaning of friendship, honor, family, and tenacity.
The characters learn a great deal about life, cultural importance, love, friendship, and empathy. The true meaning of caring genuinely for one another in times of difficulty is a central thread. As an educator of young children, this novel touches so many aspects of family relationships and friendships that can be missed in this fast-paced world.
The story elements were well defined, and readers can easily connect with this narrative.

Ms. Hena did a fantastic job of conveying warmth and compassion in More to the Story.
I highly recommend this book to all students in grade 5-8.

More to the Story is a good book to hand to middle grade readers. It’s a heartwarming story about friends and family, but it also covers some tough topics like prejudice, financial issues, and cancer.

A great diverse read. The recent interest in the Little Women story will help this each even more readers--which is awesome!

This heartfelt, contemporary story about four Muslim American sisters in Georgia was inspired by Little Women and is a really fun read for fans of that classic book. I loved picking out the imaginative ways that Hena Khan paid homage to Little Women in updated, realistic ways.

Hand this to fans of family stories that center around sibling relationships

This book was cute but more importantly while it took inspiration from Little Women it was it's own story. A story of sisters that that was brilliant and heartwarming all of the same.

If you wanted something more than anything in the world, would you hurt your best friend to get it? Jameela wants to be an award-winning journalist more than anything, just like her grandfather. The problem is that the editor of the school newspaper continues to shoot down any of her ideas. So when Jameela is assigned to write an article about the new boy at school with the British accent, she decides to use this article to tackle a much deeper issue - microaggression, the things people say that are based on stereotypes and how hurtful they can be. She is so excited that she can actually write an article that means something, the problem is that Ali, the boy who the article is supposed to be about, doesn't want her article to take this angle. Jameela is crushed but she doesn't want to hurt her friend so she rewrites the article. However, when the editor prints the wrong article, will Jameela lose her friend over this? While Jameela is dealing with all of this, she finds out that her dad is going to have to go out of the country for several months for work and one of her sisters becomes very sick. Jameela loves her family more than anything and she values her friendship with Ali. Will Jameela be able to find her way or will she get lost in all of the struggles in her life? Will she follow in her grandfather's footsteps of becoming a famous journalist or will she be fired from the school paper for writing information that should have been off the record? Will she lose her friendship with Ali? And how can she cope with her sister's illness without her father there? Read this amazing book to find out!

I loved this story so much! This family is such a close-knit family and they have a great support system of friends around them. They struggle with the same things all families deal with but when they need to be there for each other, there is no question that they will. Jameela is the voice of the book but Hena Khan does a fantastic job of involving all of the family members and friends. She lets you know what they are going through and feeling even if that character is not the narrator. This is a must read for 2019!

Such a great story, loved each of the sisters and their relationships were so realistic. I loved how Khan was able to take elements from Little Women and adapt them to her story, it would be a great introduction to that classic work. I love that this is an #ownvoices adaptation and that it is bringing some diversity to such a classic novel,

This re-imagining of Louisa May Alcott's 1868/69 novel Little Women has been wonderfully updated for today's readers. It is still the story of the four sisters and their parents, the Mirza family of Pakistani Americans Muslims, no longer living in 19th century New England, but in present day Atlanta, Georgia. And hurray, Laurie isn't gone either, he is now a British Pakistani boy named Ali, 14, sent to the US from London by his mother, who hopes to soon follow him to Atlanta with his sister. Ali is living with the honorary Auntie and Uncle of the Mirza sisters.

The novel is narrated by Jameela, 13 and an aspiring writer and author of a family newsletter called Mirza Memos and hoping to be the new Editor of the school newspaper. The story begins on Eid, and Jam, sisters Aleeza, 10, Bisma, 11, and Maryam, 15, are upset at the news that their father won't be there for the first time. Baba had recently lost his contract job at the Center for Disease Control and was in Maryland for an interview.

The good news for the family is that Baba does get a job - the family really needs the income, but it's setting up a hospital in Abu Dhabi, meaning he will have to live there for the length of his contract. The not-so-good news for Jam is that she's named Features Editor of the school paper, and her nemesis Travis is named Editor. Jam has always wanted to be an awarding winning journalist like her dada was, hoping to make her own father as proud of her as he was of his father. Since Jam and Ali are in the same school, she decides to do a interview with him for the paper. It's a great piece, within from a particular point of view, but using some off-the-record comments Ali made to her in confidence. Jam has to rewrite the article, leaving out those comments, but when the first article is inadvertently published, she has some hard lessons to learn about journalism and ethics. And now, Ali won't return her apology text messages.

Meanwhile, Bisma, who shares a room with Jameela, begins complaining of a lump in her neck. When it's diagnosed as leukemia, the family really pulls together while she is undergoing treatment. Not knowing what to do about Bisma, Jam sets up a blog on the CaringBridge website, enabling her to "keep a [private] journal, get comments from people who follow you, organize help with meals and rides and more." (pg 191) Slowly, Jam realizes that perhaps winning awards isn't as important as recording her sister's "journey to life" (pg 238) and subsequently making a difference for kids with cancer.

Oh, I just loved reading More to the Story. I loved the parallels to Little Women, so much came back to me despite not having read it since about 4th grade. But more importantly, I loved the differences, beginning with the wonderful close-knit Mirza family and Jam as a deliciously flawed protagonist. Yet, despite the trouble it causes, her article, for the school paper, especially, has something to teach us all about how important our words are: "...[kids']words can make as much of a difference as adults' do - if we can get an audience that's bigger than our teachers and parents." (pg. 89) Now, that audience would be the young readers discovering this wonderful novel.

So what was Jam's article about. Well, it was called "Pardon Me? What Did You Say?" and it was about microaggressions, and although that wasn't the main part of the novel, it was a very important part. First of all, how often do you see the word microaggression in a middle grade novel? Not often, perhaps not often enough. Jam's article does make a difference, even nemesis Travis admits he had never heard the word. But the most important take-away is this - microaggressions hurt, or to quote Jam's friend Thu: "People say things that I guess are microaggressions about being Asian that really hurt sometimes." (pg. 116) And as Jam learns, words can hurt as much as they can heal.

More to the Story is an excellent choice for readers who like diverse stories and family stories all rolled up in a well-crafted novel.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

The plot of this book didn't really head any of the places I expected it to go. On the one hand, I like having my expectations subverted. On the other hand, it feels like the plot changed lanes without warning. There were plot elements that were introduced but never resolved. Reading that this was inspired by Little Women certainly adds some context to the plot, but without that background all we have are plot holes. Now, there is some messaging that has a lot of value. Khan introduces the reader to microagressions, to the right way to talk to a seriously ill or grieving person. They'd be better if they'd been integrated naturally into the plot rather than being relayed as instructions by characters.

This lovely book follows the lives of four Muslim American sisters who live in Georgia: Aleeza is 10, Bizma is 11, Jameela Mirza is 13, and Maryam is 15. While not always obvious, the story is based on Louisa May Alcott's beloved Little Women. In fact, I had forgotten this little fact when something happened in the story and I thought, Hey, that reminds me a lot of Little Women! It's told from the perspective of the second oldest sister, Jameela Mirza, who has just been given the position of feature editor of her middle school newspaper. She hopes to write an award-winning article for the school paper this year and send it to her Baba (father) who has to been sent overseas for a 6-month position. Meanwhile, their father's best friend (who the sisters lovingly refer to as "uncle") brings his nephew, Ali, to Georgia from London.

While this was a fairly short book, each character is well developed. The plot line is nicely paced and the sisters share noticeable similarities to the March sister counterparts while also having their own personalities and unique experiences. Neatly woven into the story are important holidays and customs, and I especially appreciated the careful attention to explaining microagressions in a way that young readers can understand. I enjoyed this one so much and highly recommend it for any children's and young teen library.

My sincere thanks to Netgalley, Salaam Reads, and Simon & Schuster for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Let me just start out by saying that my name’s Rameela and I’m also from Georgia and am Pakistani so like, right off the bat I already relate?! (I mean I know Jameela isn’t the same thing, but that’s about as close as it will ever get, let’s be honest.) I’d also like to make a small confession… I actually haven’t read Little Women (yet– I WILL. I PROMISE).

ANYWAY, I do know some of the basic plot of the story this was inspired by so I was able to see a few parallels! I loved Jameela’s voice and her passion for being a journalist. Right from the start, I could see her love of writing and her ideas and I could also see her beautiful flaws (which is great, since she’s a middle schooler and wow, relatable. I was also kind of a “know it all” and obsessed with getting facts correct and being control!).

I FLEW through this book. The family dynamics were so beautifully written and the plot was interesting throughout! I loved the relationships between Jameela and her sisters (it felt so realistic and each character had a different dynamic with her which I really appreciated!) and her parents. Although the focus was on Jameela the majority of the time, the other siblings were brought in just enough so they weren’t just there for the sake of existing. They were important to Jameela and therefore important to the plot.

Of course, we can’t go through this review without talking about Jameela’s friendship with Ali! I loved the little middle school drama and the blossoming friendship. Ali was a charming little boy and honestly, he brought an extra light to this book that I definitely needed since I was crying SO MUCH at other things!

There was humor, family, friendship, sadness. And of course, just like with Amina’s Voice, Hena Khan also sheds some light on micro-aggressions and racism. I think it’s so important for all children (young and old) to read this book. It talks about such important topics and I never once felt like anything was being forced upon me. Everything felt natural and progressed at a perfect pace!

I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about desi culture in America, wants a book that can give you every feeling imaginable in the shortest amount of time, and shows a perfect example of imperfect children and family relationships. I would recommend this to girls who like to research even when they know they probably don’t want to know the answer, aspiring journalists, and people who are passionate about what they believe in. If you enjoy realistic family dynamics, cute friendships, and great character development this is definitely the book for you!

A modern spin on Little Women, More to the Story is a beautiful story of family and sisterhood. Jameela is excited to start the seventh grade as she becomes features editor for the school paper, there's a new cute boy in eighth grade that she'd love to get to know more and football is right around the corner.

But, when her family life gets turned upside down and she makes a major mistake with the newspaper, Jameela isn't sure seventh grade is going to be all that great. Although Jameela is struggling, the reader can see her growth as she grabbles with being strong for her family, while owning her mistakes and making things right again.

Hena Khan is a masterful storyteller, pulling in enough of a timeless classic, while creating her own characters thrust into modern-day life and all that means for a middle schooler. I'd love to use this title for a book discussion as there is so much to dissect in this story.

This was a sweet story that tackles a lot of topics - death of a parent, illness of a sibling, racism and battling stereotypes, and even the pillars of good journalism (as a former journalism major, I thought everything was on point!). Hena Khan does a good job of basing the story on Little Women but making it her own. There were a couple moments where the writing got lazy (Jam gives Bisma a book by "that author you like" and Maryam shows a picture of a famous person's hairstyle - some "actress I don't remember". Perhaps these moments are cleaned up in the finished copy?), and things felt rushed toward the end, but overall I enjoyed this (and even teared up a couple times!).

Jameela dreams of being a journalist and when she becomes an editor of the school paper she is thrilled. But life has been tough at home. First her dad lost his job and ended up having to go overseas for work. Then her younger sister ended up with lymphoma. To top it off there is always drama with her sisters and now a boy, Ali, is distracting her. Can Jameela figure out the truth of everyone's story and how to contribute in a meaningful way?
The afterward and promotional material talk about how this is inspired by Little Women. I never would have picked up on it without seeing those bits of info. It is a decent story with good diversity.

Inspired by Little Women, this modern-day story is narrated by seventh grader Jameela (Jam), the second oldest in a family of Muslim-American four sisters. She'd much rather be thinking about her next story for the middle school newspaper than dealing with the news of her dad's new job overseas. But the new school year brings even more challenges for Jameela and her whole family.

Readers already familiar with Little Women will enjoy recognizing the connections (big and small) to the original story - the sisters share names with matching first letters (Jameela / Jo for example). But I think even readers without any knowledge of Little Women will find a lot to connect to in this novel: from long-distance parents to navigating new friendships to learning to speak up for what you care about. This is a book I look forward to adding to my classroom library!

This book was so good. It was funny, emotional, and well-written. It was a realistic look at family dynamics and sisters. We see how a family comes together in the good times and the bad.

Hena Khan writes exactly the kind of books that should be as commonly on shelves as books about white kids: brown kids living their lives and going through challenges, with their cultures infused into what they do every day.

This story is an important story about the strength of family, about honoring the wishes of others, and about integrity.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to this book in my classroom and make my book collection as diverse as the world we live in.