Faruqi proves herself once again a master of middle grade verse novels. Golden Girl is a phenomenal story which will engage readers with its unique main character and plot. Faruqi maximizes the impact of her words and gives a story loaded with heart and hope.

This middle grade novel in verse is the story of Aafiya Qamar. When Aafiyah sees pretty things, they tend to end up in her pocket or her bag. She feels drawn to them and needs to have them for a short period of time. When her father is accused of a crime and is unable to get back into the United States, Aafiya decides to not just borrow but to steal from her best friend's mother in order to help her dad. This story did an amazing job of putting us into Aaifiya's head to see how this compulsion takes over her life. I am thankful to see that the author gives Aafiya real consequences for her behavior. This is a book that I hope will find its way into the hands of kids who need to know they are not alone.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the early copy. Another wonderful diverse book that's told in verse! Aafiyah is the main character and is a typical middle school.. Aafiyah does have a problem with "borrowing" things from others. Soon this problem is mixed in with more problems and she starts to feel like things are spiraling out of control. I think this will be a great read for middle schoolers and maybe something they can relate to as well. I look forward to recommending this to some of my more advanced readers.

Aafiyah isn’t a bad person, but she does one thing she knows is wrong - she steals things from her friends. No - she tells herself - she borrows them. She gives them back. Well, she usually gives them back. Aafiyah wants to stop, but when she sees something pretty, she feels a compulsion to take it, and she can’t help herself. Then, her father is accused of embezzlement, and she while she knows he’s innocent, she also knows it’s a similar crime to the one she’s actually been committing. But how can she get herself to stop, and how can she help her father?

The hard topics brought up in this book are all impactful. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a children’s book that focuses on a child who steals things not because they have to to survive but because they feel a compulsion to do so. There are kids who take things from their friends, and reading a book such as this one may help them understand how they’re feeling and how to deal with it.

Notably, Aafiyah focuses on taking pretty things. Aafiyah has also noticed that people think she, a seventh grader, has gotten very pretty. She’s started getting stares and comments from boys that are unwanted and make her uncomfortable. There’s a clear connection because Aafiyah’s joint pleasure and discomfort in her own changing appearance and the pleasure and discomfort she feels in seeing and taking pretty things. I felt like this aspect could have been addressed or wrapped up a little bit better, but I appreciated it being in the book at all.

Aafiyah also has hearing loss in one ear. Again, this is a topic I rarely see dealt with in children’s books that aren’t explicitly about hearing loss. It’s just one aspect of who Aafiyah is.

The one thing I wasn’t sold on was the poetry style of writing. It wasn’t poorly written, but it read like prose that was separated into line breaks rather than something lyrical or poetic. As a result, the writing itself did fall a little flat. However, I really liked the story and while the novel in verse format didn’t add anything, it didn’t detract too much, either.

Overall, a quick story that’s worth the read for any kid who likes realistic fiction.

“Golden Girl” is a middle grade novel-in-verse by Reem Faruqui, author of the powerful 2021 release: “Unsettled”. Like “Unsettled” "Golden Girl" is the story of a girl on the cusp of young womanhood, learning from her mistakes by drawing on the strength of her family. The main character is a Pakistani-American girl named Aafiyah. Aafiyah loves playing tennis and chess, collecting weird facts, and spending time with her best Zaina. Aafiyah also struggles with taking things that don’t belong to her. When Aafiyah’s family experiences some hardships, her way of coping with the stress is to steal more. This leads to some painful consequences, but also opportunities for Aafiyah to grow. Central to the story is Aafiyah’s strong family relationships, especially with her grandfather, Dada Abu, who is visiting from Pakistan in order to undergo chemotherapy. This novel is a poignant look at some of the hard lessons embedded in growing up.

Golden Girl by Reem Faruqi is the second novel in verse book that I have read from the author. Aafiyah is a seventh grader who is going through a lot personally. She has a problem with "borrowing" items from others. She also has to deal with her father being jailed for a crime he didn't commit, and the emotions she has as her grandfather goes through cancer treatment. I thought the main character was very relatable and "real." You can't help but root for her. The author told a beautiful story that was fast paced and easy to read. I can't wait for the next book from this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of Golden Girl to review.

Golden Girl packs a lot of issues in its few pages, and I loved that. Aafiyah is a middle-school girl of Pakistani descent who lives in Atlanta. Things are going pretty well at the beginning of this novel in verse: she's a great tennis player, loves spending time with her best friend Zaina, and is anticipating a holiday trip to Pakistan to visit and move her grandparents with them to the States.

What people don't know is that Aafiyah has kleptomania. She almost always returns the items soon after taking them, but she can't seem to stop the urge to take - especially from Zaina. Things are going along okay, though, until her father is detained as they try to return from Pakistan, for a crime he didn't commit. Aafiyah is heartbroken as her father spends months detained along with her grandmother; she returns with her mother, brother, and cancer-ridden grandfather to Atlanta to start chemo treatments.

Money becomes tight as they deal with the hospital bills and lack of her father's salary. Aafiyah finds herself contemplating taking something with real consequence this time.

In such short pages and verse, author Reem Faruqi tackles racism, immigrant experience, feelings about puberty and changing bodies, false detainment, kleptomania, and just the general growing-up woes. It's really an expert story and one I'll definitely share with my 12-year-old daughter.

Aafiyah is a girl who loves tennis, has a best friend named Zaina and has a problem "borrowing" things she wants. Follow Aafiyah as she deals with her father getting detained in Pakistan, supporting her grandfather through his cancer treatments and her struggles with "borrowing" things.

This is a powerful novel in verse. I LOVED this book and can't wait to share it with others. This is the first book I've read by Reem Faruqi and I can't wait to read others!!

Another amazing story in verse by Reem Faruqi! It is a quick but powerful read, perfect for middle school. Aafiyah is a well to do middle school girl who struggles with stealing from friends. She sees objects and wants to take them, not because she needs them and sometimes she even returns the items. She knows it is wrong but it is difficult for her to stop. This aspect of the book is explored very honestly and authentically. I like that it really allows the reader to see what she is doing is wrong but also showing her thought process and feelings. Her father is then trapped out the country because he is accused on committing a crime he did not commit. She then has to struggle with not knowing when her dad will come home, their changing financial situation, and her grandfather having cancer. The book tackles so many difficult topics authentically. I really loved this book and can't wait to share it with students.

Delightful novel in verse, revolving around a girl struggling with her need to take things and how she deals with this challenge, with the support of her mother.

Golden girl was incredible and full review will be up on pop-culturalist.com closer to the review date! I love Reem’s writing style and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

@ReemFaruqi, you’ve done it again! A fabulous new novel in verse that will resonate w/many MS Ss. Trying to control impulses & fitting in, helping your family reunite & lots of weird but true facts. I ❤️ it!

Novels in verse say so much with so little. This is a powerful book that students are going to love. I can’t wait to share it with them!

I am going to be absolutely honest: I love novels in verse. Love them, love them, love them. The author-poets of novels in verse are so succinct with their words, yet the words evoke so much beauty, life, tragedy, and the whole gamut of emotions that can be felt. Each and every word, punctuation mark, space on the page must help tell the story. I just finished Golden Girl by Reem Faruqi, after having read her Unsettled earlier this year, and I am convinced that Faruqi is a novel in verse virtuoso. Wow!

Also, honestly, I almost put Golden Girl on my abandoned list except for the promise of the “blurb” on the back of the book. I am so glad I did not abandon. The trajectory of the plot changed with “The Incident,” and it just rolled from there. It was just amazing.

Aafiyah has grown up with everything: wealth, health, a supportive family, a best friend, and yes, a “baby” brother who she loved and who at times annoyed her (like many brothers and sisters). Aafiyah also has a secret: she “borrows” things, especially from her BFF, Zaina. Aafiyah sees things she wants, she picks them up; then her want becomes a need, and she gives into her compulsion. Meanwhile her family encounters some obstacles, and Aafiyah has the compulsion to help.

This novel will go on my bookshelf in my middle school drama classroom; in fact, I will probably shelve several copies. It is just a marvelous story. I can see my students passing the book off to each other, using the poetry inside as playwriting inspiration, and maybe even using excerpts for classroom performances.


*This is a voluntary, honest review in exchange for an E-ARC from HarperCollins and NetGalley.

3.5, rounded up

Novel in verse

Aafiyah and her family are well-off Pakistani immigrants, with exploration of culture and class woven in the novel.

This story has a lot going on: protagonist often steals (especially from her BFF), struggles with body image/conflicting feelings about male gaze/wearing the hijab, loosely explores photography, loves weird facts that are interspersed and tied to her emotions, tennis practice; father stuck in Dubai on false embezzlement charges; family financial status changes and they no longer fly first class and mom must get a job; grandfather in cancer treatment; toddler brother constantly putting things in his mouth … much of it comes together at the end, but feels rushed. Aafiyah’s transformation seems forced, more out of regret for being caught and the conflict it causes with her friend then a genuine character development (which is both true to real life, and a bit disappointing as a reader).

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A novel in verse, Aafiyah and Zaina are best friends, and at times when they are hang out Aafiyah “borrows” things from Zaina. She gets that itch when she wants something. Aafiyah and her family are going to Pakistan to bring back her grandfather, Dada Abu because there are better cancer treatment centers by them. After visiting Pakistan and they go to head home, her dad is accused of embezzling and is forced to stay behind. While her dad says it’s a mistake and he’s innocent, it makes Aafiyah think of things she has “borrowed” and she says her hands will do better. When they get back home without dad, money is tight, and Aafiyah wants to help with legal bills for dad and so she “borrows” jewelry from Zaina’s sister. When people find out, Zaina doesn’t want to be her friend anymore. Aafiyah’s mom finds out about the theft and says for her to think of the consequences and the people you’re hurting. Can the girls repair their friendship? Is her father proven innocent and able to come home? Great book about soul-searching and realizing sometimes you have to start out low in order to soar.

Aafiyah borrows things. Like lip gloss. She lives with her family and has friends and the mosque and school to go to. Her father is detained on a routine trip and now their family is thrown into turmoil. Could borrowing Zaina’s family gold help Aafiyah get her dad back?
I loved this book, it reminded me of my own family, and my own childhood. I also have my own wedding gold, passed down from both my own mother and my mother in law. It is more precious than gold because of the memories stored within it, just like Zaina’s and Aafiyah’s family gold. I enjoyed this story and didn’t really like Aafiyah at first, but her character development and ultimate overcoming of obstacles made this a winner in my book. It is told in verse and I’d pair it with Other Words for Home and Starfish, to make a connection on how we all feel disconnected even when we’re from next door. Highly recommend! #GoldenGirl Thank you to #NetGalley for the eARC.

Fabulous! I loved “Unsettled” and am just as impressed with “Golden Girl.” My middle school audience will adore this fast paced novel in verse about the impacts stealing can have. Cancer treatment and financial insecurity are also addressed well in this book. My students will surely be drawn to this book for the topics, format (because they love verse novels), and the amazing cover.

A fabulous book, written in verse, for middle grade students and beyond. An important story about dealing with the desire to "borrow" from others (without their permission) and handling the guilt and trouble that comes along with this problem. Golden Girl is a must read for all!

A lyrical coming of age story told in a verse, Golden Girl is sure to pull at your heart. Reem Faruqi’s middle grade novel follows Aafiyah Qamar, a Pakastani-American seventh grader who loves tennis, her family (even her sometimes annoying baby brother), and reading Weird But True Facts. Sometimes she doesn’t feel like she fits in, but mostly she’s happy hanging out with her one amazing friend and her loving family.
Except…sometimes Aafiyah borrows things. Without asking. Sometimes she gives them back, and sometimes she doesn’t.
As Aafiyah wrestles with what she knows is a terrible habit, her father is arrested– for a crime he didn’t commit. Aafiyah yearns to have her family back together. Maybe she can “borrow” something one last time, to save her family.

Though this novel is written in verse, it reads smoothly and is easy to follow. If your reader is intimidated by longer books, this gem of a novel is a great choice. It can show the beauty of writing in verse, the chapters are small and easy to digest, but it covers deep topics in a beautiful way. Aafiyah struggles with stealing, friendships, the illness of a family member, being separated from her dad, and comprehending money struggles for the first time. She also has to work through living her Muslim values in American culture. The scenes where she mentally works through why her clothes are different than the other girl on her tennis team, or when she answers questions about the hijab from an inquisitive if frustrating boy, showcase the hardship of feeling different from your peers without isolating the character or having her disobey her own religious beliefs.
Aafiyah’s obstacles and ideas she must come to term with are often related to why she feels like an outsider, but Faruqi perfectly captures the edge of adolescence and the moments of changing and growing that come with it. This novel is relatable to kids (and adults, quite frankly) of all walks of life, religions, and cultures; developing an internal barometer for social settings and the agony of sitting alone at lunch are not unique to any one culture.
This eloquent novel flows beautifully through the plot, is well paced, and has well developed characters. From Aafiyah’s observances of her mother to her friends to her relatives, each character is clearly defined. The plot brings a bad habit – stealing- into perspective, humanizing her struggle with it. Everyone has flaws they must work through, and a moment when they hit rock bottom. Aafiyah’s struggle is beautifully told, in a way that explains that while she knows it is wrong, she feels powerless to stop it. This concept can be difficult for adults to understand, but Faruqi makes it accessible and relatable.
Golden Girl is such a beautifully told story that I couldn’t put it down, and finished it within 24 hours. I highly recommend it for ages 8 and up– including adults! It’s gorgeously written, thought provoking, and one I’m sure I’ll be thinking on for a long time.
Golden Girl by Reem Faruqi will be available February 22, 2022 from HarperCollins Children’s Publishing. Thank you to NetGalley, Reem Faruqi, and HarperCollins for sharing this beautiful book with me so I could write this review.