Cover Image: Golden Girl

Golden Girl

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Member Reviews

A solid book! Have recommended to parents and librarians and buyers. Would have eaten it up as a kid.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

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I was blown away by this realistic and heart wrenching novel in verse. I loved the cover initially, but I think it may be a little bit mismatched for the emotionally resonant novel in contains.

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This is another great middle grades novel told in verse by Reem Faruqi. I really liked that it dealt with the fallout from the main characters need to take things.

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Excellent story. Well done weaving together a real story of stealing and a made up story of stealing. How it can effect everyone weather it's real or not.

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Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing the E-ARC of this book.

I thought it had good representation and brings up concepts such as identity, forgiveness, as well as racism that Aafiyah faces. I always love reading books in-verse and it was a nice surprise to see in "Golden Girl." For me, I just thought that the way each problem came up could have been tied in more neatly than it was. It just felt like it was all over the place and wanted it to be more cohesive.

I also read the physical copy of the book, and it was a better experience than reading it as a e-book, in my opinion.

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The writing was fantastic and the representation of Pakistani culture was great. I didn't really like the story though. Aafiyah was not a very easy character to sympathize for, especially when she is talking about how rich and privileged her family is. The ending was wrapped up a little too tidily as well.

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I didn't connect with this story. Is being rich and stealing a thing a lot of kids experience? Not my kid of book.

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As with other novels-in-verse that I've read, Reem Faruqi's GOLDEN GIRL was a slow burn. However, I *am* glad that I stuck with it to see how the MC learns to be accountable for her choices.

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I am diversifying my stacks and recently added two copies of this book to our school library. Golden Girl is a favorite among readers. Reem Faruqi's novel in verse is absolutely fantastic. The main character, Aafiyah Qamar loves hanging out with her friends and reading her favorite book, Weird but True Facts. But, she has a troubling habit of “borrowing” pretty things, which she doesn't consider a problem as long as she returns them.
When her father is falsely accused of a crime, Aafiyah is determined to help him. She devises the perfect plan that includes help from Weird by True Facts.. But, will the plan be enough? What if her plan means giving in to the habit that she is trying hard to quit? This book is great for a summer reading program.

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This was a quick read, but that’s not to say it was simple. Faruqi packs so much meaning into her poetry, and it is beautiful to read. I also enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end and learning which parts of the story were drawn from her own life. Finally, I thought it was quite masterful how Faruqi wove together the idea of Aafiyah’s struggles with kleptomania with the discrimination the character’s father was facing. Overall, another excellent middle grade verse novel that I will be purchasing for my library.

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I love novels in verse, and this one was solid but not my favorite. Novels in verse can be tough sometimes because the writing is so sparse, and I felt this didn't really work for this particular story. I think I would have liked this story better if it was told in prose. But I can see my students liking it for sure!

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Love the cover of this! I could see this book getting picked up lots in my elementary school libraries because of the beautiful cover. This book was all about Aafiyah and the cover gorgeously shows her as the star of her story.

I wish it would have fleshed out some things, like some of the details of the dad's trouble but I did like how close Aafiyah got to her mom.

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Aafiyah has many blessings. She has a prosperous, loving family who want for nothing, a genuine best friend, and she plays the sport she loves. However, sometimes even the people who seem to have it all keep secrets and those secrets can destroy friendships and family.

When Aafiyah’s father is detained by police at the airport, Aafiyah’s mother makes the difficult decision to return home without him and seek legal counsel. His absence, Dada Abu’s chemotherapy treatment, and mounting legal bills cause Aafiyah to consider the unthinkable to help her family.

Golden Girl is a swift novel in verse that captures the reader from beginning to end. The topic of Kleptomania is covered with such sensitivity and authenticity, you empathize with each of the characters’ positions. The families are Muslim Americans who are affluent and faithful, and the Kleptomania topic is one rarely discussed openly. A welcome addition to school libraries.

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Novel in verse, great for middle grade, important to add to my school library to give a glimpse into the life of a young teen who is Muslim American and the culture and traditions of a family who is different from 97% of my students. Aafiyah is also very similar to our junior high students as she navigates being a girl experiencing new attractions because of her body, playing sports, and building and sustaining relationships.

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I really enjoyed this novel in verse. Aafiyah is a normal seventh grader who loves to play tennis and hang with friends. But under the surface she is struggling with family challenges and a troubling secret. This middle grade book kept me engaged and moved quickly. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens.! A great one for anyone who has family living in another country or who just loves entertaining reads! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book.

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Golden Girl is a middle grade book told in verse. I have previously read Unsettled by this author.

The book is divided into 13 parts.

The narrator is 13 year old seventh grader Aafiyah Qamar, a Pakistani American girl who lives with her family in Atlanta.

The book is a quick read and I found it easy to follow. I really enjoy reading books told in verse.

I was intrigued by Aafiyah. She loved tennis and Weird but True facts. She also has a big secret. She has a very bad habit. I liked seeing how that was dealt with in the story.

Also there was a big storyline to do with her father. And it was interesting to see how that played out.

This was an original way to tell a story. I would definitely recommend reading the author's note at the end as it really tied together the whole story for me. The author used so many elements from her own life. And the author's note actually made me like the book more.

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A great Coming of Agen story written in verse! The story started a little slow, but picked up. Not a long story, but it packs a punch of family and friendship.

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This is outstanding! Aafiyah has developed a bad habit of “borrowing” things she likes without asking, and this is a topic I don’t recall being addressed in middle grade fiction. This author’s verse writing is amazing, and I could not put down this book. It’s a must for classrooms and libraries.

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Golden Girl is a thought-provoking middle-grade novel in verse that makes readers think beyond their own situations and concerns while still feeling relevant to a large cross-section.

Author Reem Faruqi’s sparse prose allows the spaces and silent moments to speak for themselves. It allows the pacing to ebb and flow and provides the perfect framework for Aafiyah’s story.

Aafiyah is a compelling character with a compulsion that adds to her complexity. She’s strong and smart but at odds with her need to take things. It’s one of the best depictions of this I’ve read in a middle-grade novel.

Golden Girl is a fairly quick read that should resonate with a wide variety of middle readers.

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