"Unsettled" by Reem Faruqi
Release Date: 5.11.2021

Nurah and her family move from Karachi, Pakistan, to Peachtree City, GA. She doesn't want to leave her family and friends. Nurah just wants to do is blend into her new school and neighborhood. Instead, she stands out. People notice her accent, her kurtas, and tea-colored skin, and she feels excluded. She eats lunch by herself. Nurah decides to go to swimming tryouts, where she meets Stahr. Nurah wants to stand out with her swimming, not live in her brother's shadow.

This was such a great story. Written in verse, the reader is immersed into Nurah's life, finding out the transition for each family member is difficult. Inspired by the author's real life experience in her move to the U.S., it will mirror many of my students' feelings and experiences. I enjoyed seeing Nurah's maturity through the novel, showing how she reacted to each challenge and disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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This was OK. It felt a little underdeveloped, but I would definitely buy it for the library. I felt the subplot/plot thread about Nurah's decision to wear hijab was the strongest; this book is more of a tapestry, and some plot threads were stronger or weaker than others.

Yes !
Consumed in one sitting, a must for the classroom. Nurah moves to Georgia,USA with her family from Pakistan and the novel follows the ups and downs of their big move.
Nurah loves her family, swimming, and art. She’s thoughtful, determined, and brave, an excellent MC. Through her eyes we see the ups and downs of other characters’ lives too from colorism/xenophobia/racism, relationship physical abuse/ bullying, miscarriages, and mental health( depression, Alzheimer’s). All of these pieces are included in a way that felt both real enough, but still light enough for middle grade— which is a true feat in itself.

I’m amazed so much was packed into this novel in verse. It managed to be simple and clear, while also poking at all sorts of topics and feelings. Bravo.

Wow, this book is so beautiful! I have gone back through and re-read multiple lines and sections over and over. The way that Farugi describes things and how they words flow together so beautifully. I just really loved it. I loved seeing this perspective of coming to America and how everything was different. It was seeing the world through different eyes, but the way she describes everything makes it all sound so beautiful. Yes this is a hard story because it it about relocating and starting over but it's beautifully written and really well done.
Just a glimpse into the writing:

"Yet America with
its pure air
and people stuck inside
all day
is known as
the land of the free.

Pakistan with
its free people everywhere
and dirty air
is known as
the land of the pure."


Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

The perfect middle grade novel in verse that you can pick up and finish in one sitting. Nurah is uprooted from Pakistan and tries to find a new home with her family in the US. She goes through a cycle of ups and downs, and everything in between. She feels excluded and "seen" for all the wrong reasons. She eats lunch alone under the stairs at school, her accent is noticeable, and her clothing doesn't blend in. Things do not start to change until she meets Stahr and joins the swim team. I loved the parallel to a flower’s life cycle throughout: starting at part one-uprooted and ending at part nine-flowering.

Faruqi draws on her own experiences growing up as a Pakistani immigrant in the United States in the lyric novel Unsettled. Within its pages tells the story of Nurah and her family adjusting to American life.

Nurah and Owais’ relationship with each other is at the heart of this story, especially as the two join a local swim team to make new friends and better integrate in a new place. Nurah is a flawed and realistic protagonist, who is trying her best to become a strong swimmer while also becoming jealous of her older brother’s natural talent for the sport. After an incident happens at the pool between her and her brother, Nurah evaluates her current self as well as the person she hopes to become.

There are other challenges that are discussed and touched on in this narrative beyond accustoming to a new life in a different country, ranging from dementia, miscarriages, and domestic violence. I appreciated that Nurah had other challenges to overcome in the story, such as learning to speak up for others and adjust appropriately to her classes. Another nice touch was also watching Nurah’s family members find friends and meaningful connections throughout the story.

Although the story is fast paced and simply written, the story never feels forced or overwhelmed by its plot points. This is a great read for a cultural community bookshelf, and will likely help Muslim students to feel seen in their classrooms.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Make sure to preorder this book or pick it up from a local library once it comes out!

Beautiful novel in verse! When uprooted from Pakistan and brought to America, Nurah must begin again in Georgia, but will she find confidence, voice, and acceptance in this new place? Will she smile again?

Enjoyed this book that shows Nurah and her struggle to fit in once her family has moved from Pakistan to Georgia. She feels invisible when problems happen and is afraid to speak up. As she slowly becomes acclimated to school and the swim club, she finds her rough beginning is fading away. Does she find her voice? Loosely based on the author’s life.

This is a stunning upper middle grade novel in verse about Nurah, a Muslim girl who moves to Georgia from Pakistan because her father gets a new job. No one in the family seems particularly excited about the move and Nurah really struggles to make friends and speak up for herself. Thankfully, she and her older brother can swim at the local rec center, which helps them stay connected to their life in Pakistan. This is a quick and engaging read about issues that many immigrants face.

I absolutely loved this book! This story is presented in such a beautiful way. Short poetic glimpses, each telling us about Nurah. Incredibly gorgeous writing leads us through the feelings and experiences of a young girl immigrating from Pakistan to the United States. Just a beyond lovely reading experience. This is one I will preorder for myself. Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is one of those stories that sits with you long after you finish reading.

Readers will be captivated by Faruqi's poetic verse and find themselves immersed in Nurah Haqq's life as she navigates life in Peachtree City Georgia. A place that is so different from Karachi, Pakistan. This story offers an authentic and real look at the challenges immigrants face, the hardships, disappointments, and joys. The verse makes this story accessible to a larger audience. Grades 4-7

This beautiful, lyrical story about ones identify and belonging is perfect for fans of A Thousand Questions and Other Words For Home. Five stars for me and must have for school libraries.

A lyrical novel in verse filled with with beautiful imagery. Reem Faruqi weaves a unique yet universally relatable immigrant story. The short chapters are accessible to young readers yet each line also carries so much weight. A wonderful balance that students will enjoy. Highly recommended.

This book is a great OWN voice, middle grade coming of age book that rings with truth and hope in its poetic lines that sweep you up and keep you cheering.  Over 352 pages the author's semi-autobiographic story of coming to Peachtree City, Georgia from Karachi, Pakistan beautifully unfolds.  I absolutely loved this book and the way it is told, in verse.  The details, often small, ring with such sincerity that even those that have never moved to a new country, or been to a new school will feel for young Nurah Haqq and be inspired by her success, touched by her hardships, and disappointed in her mistakes.

SYNOPSIS:

Nurah's best day is spent on the beach with her best friend Asna, playing in the warm waves and riding camels.  However it ends up also being her worst day, when she returns home to her father's news that they are moving to America.  Strong, confident Nurah who spends time with her grandparents, swimming with her older brother Owais, and excelling at math in school is reluctantly leaving it all behind to start anew.

When they arrive in Georgia the family of four settles in a hotel until they find a house.  Everything is different and new, and the transition with no friends and family difficult for the entire family.  The way words are pronounced, the way the air feels and the birds chirp all make Nurah long for home.  When they find a swimming pool at the rec center, things start to slowly change.  Owais was a medal winner in Karachi, and will be one here too, people start admiring him, and Nurah tries to bask in his light.

School starts and math is a relief, but people are white, so white, and a boy reaches out to shake her hand.  She feels betrayed that she has been told the schools in America are better, and lunchtime, with no one to sit by is a huge stress.  She questions her clothing, her appearance, and the weather.

Her and Owais try out for the swim team and make it, and Nurah makes her first friend, Stahr. Stahr lives a few houses down from their new house and when Nurah's mom has a miscarriage, it is Stahr's mom who comes to show support and give comfort.  The support is reciprocated when Stahr and her mom need help escaping from her abusive father.

As Nurah works to win swimming races and be more like her brother, she works to find her voice and use it to defend others and herself.  A terrorist attack committed by someone claiming to be Muslim sets the family up to be targets.  In a moment of jealousy, Nurah doesn't intervene to help her brother and the consequences are huge.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love the details and how they are articulated.  I related to so much of Nurah's feeling and impressions, that I reached out to the author and found her to be just as endearing as her character.  The feeling of being different when swimming because of your decision to be modest, the role of food to comfort you and make you feel at home, the older brother that you so desperately want to resemble and be like: All of it hit close to home for me.  I love how religion and culture are so much a part of the story and about the character's identity, not to be made preachy, just to understand her and her experiences.  She goes to the masjid, she prays, she starts to wear hijab. I love how she finds her voice and defends those that can't, but that her path is not easy.  She makes mistakes and she has to challenge herself to do what is right.  The backdrop is always trying to "settle" in a new place, but the story has it's own plot points that are interesting and simply made more impactful by Nurah's unique perspective.

There are lots of little climaxes and victories for Nurah that show her to be well-rounded and relatable.  You cheer for her early on and enjoy the journey.  The only slight hiccup I felt was the name confusion of her Nana and Nani (Nana), it is explained, but it was a little rocky for me, it might be based on a real thing in her family, but once that is resolved, the book flows beautifully and smoothly.

FLAGS:

Nothing a 3rd/4th grader would find alarming, but none-the-less:

Crushes: Nurah has a crush on a boy at school when he shakes her hand and picks her for a lab partner, but she moves on from him while still maintaining a crush on her brother's friend Junaid.  Nothing happens, she just thinks they are cute.

Miscarriage: Her mother has a miscarriage and it details a blighted ovum and the mental strain on the mom and family in the aftermath.

Abuse: Stahr's father is abusive

Hate: There are bullies, discrimination, physical violence.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

The book is a little below level for my middle school book club, but I think it it was on a bookshelf and a middle schooler picked it up, they wouldn't set it down until they were done reading it.

Unsettled is a beautiful novel in verse for middle grade readers, coming out in 2021, that I was able to read via NetGalley. I fell in love with Nurah and her hope and resilience throughout a challenging transition from Pakistan to the US. Sat down and simply devoured it at once, and couldn’t help but think about poetic novels offering entry and access to kids needing non traditional narrative styles. Gorgeous, important story.

Unsettled is a beautifully written story of a young girl longing to "fit in" in a new country while missing her friends and family far away. The main character, Nurah is easy to relate to on so many levels. Many of us have experienced feeling different--for our size, hair color, skin color, religious beliefs or a myriad of other reasons. Nurah has to deal with many of these at once, all while learning to navigate a strange new culture.

Ms. Faruqi's language is lovely and lyrical, and I found myself rooting for Nurah--desperately wanting her to find her voice. The novel, which is told in verse, touches on all the hallmark issues of middle school in a way that perfectly resonated with me. All of the emotions Nurah experiences, I can still remember experiencing myself. Some experiences are universal.

I highly recommend this book for any middle school library or classroom. The note to readers in the beginning lets us know that the author based the story on her own experiences as a child. I was immediately drawn into the journey the character was going to take me on during the story. And I wasn't disappointed! There's a glossary of terms and even a recipe in the back matter. Excellent book!

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the chance to read and review this eARC. Unsettled by Reem Faruqi is a thought-provoking book exploring the topics of immigration, fitting in, siblings, friendship, and family relationships. Despite Nurah's resistance, Nurah's family moves from Pakistan to Georgia, USA when she is about 13 or 14. A time when all you want to do is be like everyone else. But when you are the only brown skinned person in the room, it is inherently difficult. It becomes even MORE difficult if you add in being Muslim, thus occasionally wearing a hijab, and covering up when you swim,. As she navigates these new waters, she makes some missteps along the way leading to learning who she is and what she is willing to stand up for.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC on @NetGalley.

This is a book I wish I had when I was younger and I think it's perfect for fans of Once Upon an Eid! It touches on what it's like to be the new kid and to be a Muslim kid which isn't something I've seen a lot of so I absolutely love that about Unsettled. If you've got a kid in MS or you enjoy reading Middle-Grade books then I highly recommend adding this one to your shelves!

I really enjoyed this book! It is written in beautiful verse. Each poem seems to stand alone but also be connected to create a engaging an powerful story. I think middle grades students would be engaged and relate to this story of being a new kid, feeling different among ones peers and sibling rivalry. The book follows a young girl who moves from Pakistan to Georgia and has to acclimate to an entirely new culture, experience racism and Islamophobia and her mothers miscarriage.

Really enjoyed this verse novel for middle schoolers about moving, being the "new kid," fitting in, and finding the courage to be yourself. The verse was very quiet yet powerful with white space at the end of each poem almost forcing the reader to focus on each subject to let it truly resonate before moving on to the next. Relatable characters and emotional punch at the end. AND can I just end with how much I love this cover!!!!