I am sorry, but this was dnf for me. I just could not get through the cringe dialogue and prose. Also, the story was just so boring and not exciting at all, and the main character was not compelling. I feel bad saying all this so I won’t be reviewing this publicly, but I did enjoy this authors first book so this was disappointing

Look, how can you NOT judge a book by this cover? It is gorgeous! Middle Grade books always get the most beautiful covers (or maybe it’s that I have the aesthetic of a tween girl). The characters are just as engaging and stunning as the cover. I loved Samira as well as her whole family, especially Umma!

This book focuses on mean girls and bullying, and I do feel like some of the toxic friendships in this book are realistic to how girls so often treat one another. It also touches on Islamophobia in the US in a way that is not only very realistic but also very accessible to young readers. The grocery store scene - this book is probably reading just for that one scene. I loved it!

There were a few components of this book that kept me from really connecting with the story. I felt that the chapters were a little choppy, and the overall story could have been edited down to a much shorter book. Not only would that make the writing more concise, but the book would be more palatable to young readers. I think some of the characters and scenes could have been condensed as well.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book that I will be adding to the elementary library!

I really enjoyed the overall concept for this type of book, it had everything that I wanted from the description and the tween element. The characters were what I was hoping for and worked with the story overall. It brought me back to this age and how I was expecting Summer to be. Nina Hamza has a great writing style and I'm glad I was able to read this.

What a wonderful and fun read!
Samira is a delightful character in more ways than one! You will instantly love her and then want to shake her until she had some sense.
One of the scenes made me really mad! Well....a couple did.
How can people be so cruel? I just don't understand.
I loved every minute of this cute read.
One of my very favorite things, of course, is the 1st person, pov. I can relate to Samira a lot. In fact, I still can. I tend to overthink things just like this sweet girl does.
Her brother is pretty cool, too. He has Autism. I kept wondering why he didn't really understand things, but as I read on, I finally understood. He's a great kid in getting to know.
My favorite person was Uuma (mom). She made me giggle sometimes, and she's very wise. I loved how she handled certain things and people.
I'm giving this one 5 stars. I highly recommend it. I love stories like this because sometimes they remind me of my own family before they passed away and my growing up years.
Thank you for another wonderful story, Netgalley. I really loved this one.
I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Samira’s parents & older sister are going to India for the summer, while she and her brother, Imran are being watched by their Umma(grandmother). Samira thinks her summer is going to be the worst summer.. She really doesn’t have any friends since her best friend Keira wants nothing to do with her. She woke up the first day & her house had be teepeed. Then Alice moves in and maybe summer won’t be so bad after all. Then Keira tries to steal Alice away from Samira. Follow the ups and downs of the summer with Samira, Imran & Umma.

I found this an enjoyable book and a quick read. I wanted to see what would happen next. I can’t wait to share this book with others. It’s a must read!

Samira has a lot going on with her parents gone for two weeks and Umma staying with her and her younger brother. Samira is not friends anymore with Kiera and when Samira’s family finds their house toilet papered, Samira thinks Kiera did it. When new neighbor Alice moves in, she and Samira become friends until Kiera tries to steal her away from Samira. When someone eggs Alice’s house, Samira thinks Kiera did this too and Kiera even says Samira did it. . Umma says do something about it. Can Samira prove who did the two pranks and win back Alice’s friendship?