Mohammad (“Mo”) (Pakistani American/white, 13) has recently moved with his father, whom he calls Abbu, from Queens to Houston. They will be living with Mo’s kind and nurturing aunt, Naila Phupo, and her son, Rayyan (also 13), because Abbu’s paranoid schizophrenia prevents him from holding down a job.

Mo thinks of his father as a monster. Abbu has serious anger issues and occasional schizophrenic episodes, during which he hallucinates and often berates Mo, calling him “worthless” and “stupid,” etc. Mo’s mom is on a fellowship in Greece helping to design clean-water systems for refugees. She is completely devoted to her work and has little time for Mo or his problems. They Zoom once a week, but Mo assumes she doesn’t care about him at all; after all, she left him to deal with the monster on his own. Mo does connect with an uncle he’s never met before, Nathan , who lives in Houston and turns out to be a great guy and an (underutilized) support system. And Naila Phupo cares for Mo in a way he’s never been cared for before.

Mo has a carefully curated “tough guy” image. He becomes Rayyan’s “protector,” standing up for him when Rayyan’s bully, Frankie, picks on him at school. Mo loves learning and is especially interested in his biology class, but when things are hard at home, he finds it hard to care about school. He also loves South Asian folktales, which are often inserted into the main narrative in a story-within-a-story kind of way; they offer insight into his life. He gets some of his sadness and frustration out by boxing in the backyard using a pillow tied to a tree.

Mo and Rayyan become fairly close despite not having much in common. Rayyan is really devoted to his schoolwork and wants to join the National Junior Honor Society. To fulfill a volunteer requirement, he and Mo volunteer to teach a kids’ art class at their mosque. There, Mo discovers abstract painting, which becomes an outlet for his emotions. He also begins to find some comfort in prayer and his Muslim faith, which he had virtually ignored before moving to Houston.

Eventually, of course, it becomes clear that Abbu has stopped taking his medications when he has a serious episode and disappears for a short time. Naila Phupo gets Abbu admitted to a mental hospital, where they get his treatment back on track. Mo’s mom even comes home early. With his aunt’s help–she tells Mo about Abbu as a child, and what it was like when he became ill–and thanks to the things he’s learning about the brain in his biology class, Mo begins to realize (or accept) that mental illness doesn’t make Abbu a monster. It just means there is an illness in his brain that needs to be treated, and it’s not Abbu’s fault. As his aunt says, how can Abbu be expected to take care of others when he himself is drowning?

This novel takes on A LOT, and I think the author may have been a little bit too ambitious, which leaves some things underdeveloped. I didn’t even get into Rayyan’s illness. Or the fact that Rayyan’s dad was shot and killed during a robbery at a nearby gas station when he was younger, and now Rayyan has an obsession with watching the press conference of the murder. Or the fact that Frankie turns out to have a mom with bipolar. And, as interesting as they were, the folktales really broke up the narrative and took me out of the story.

But things I liked: Mo’s voice, which is distinct and sardonic. The way he begins to find comfort in his faith. The fact that he is a believable kid with lots of different interests. The way his knowledge of his dad and his opinion of mental illness evolve. The fact that Frankie is held accountable for his bullying even though he turns out to be (of course) struggling with something himself. Two of the reviews for this book (which has received 5 starred reviews) describe it as "gripping," and I did not find it to be gripping. However, I did find it to be an authentic look at a boy who is affected by a parent's severe mental illness.

Mo recently moved to Houston from New York City with his dad to live with his aunt and cousin. His dad can't keep a job, and his mom is on a fellowship in Greece working with refugee children. Readers experience Mo's year in 7th grade in a new school while trying to deal with his dad's mental illness. The book is overly ambitious because it also weaves in folk stories, which messes up the flow of the book. This is a touching, important book about family and mental illness.

Mo’s the “bad boy” and his dad, “the monster.” When he’s forced to move to Texas with relatives he’s never met, he isn’t happy. Can he find people that care about him? Will he ever belong? Incredible story with many hard hitting issues. Strong book that I devoured in a few hours.

Y’all. You are going to want to preorder Saadia Faruqi’s latest, The Strongest Heart. It comes out on March 4th and it is so moving and such an important story.

First of all, Saadia is a masterful storyteller. I love the way she weaves South Asian culture seamlessly into a story set in Houston, TX. In this book, she does it through the main character Mo’s love of South Asian folktales and music.

Secondly, this story was so personal for her. (Y’all know I always read the author’s note!) Mo’s father has schizophrenia, and Saadia shares that her father did as well, and that many of the challenges Mo faces in the book are challenges she faced as a child. I am sure there are so many children out there who have parents battling mental health challenges who will feel SO seen by reading this book.

This book really brings home the point that you truly never know what someone is going through. Mo has his challenges with another boy at school, Frankie. But eventually they each learn more about each other’s story and find out they have more in common than they knew, and there were a lot or emotions driving their behavior.

Lastly, I loved the way that Mo’s aunt shows up for him in the midst of his dad’s illness and his mom’s absence. She is a stunning example of what family could and should look like. And of course Saadia always does a beautiful job of including Muslim representation in her stories. It’s very clear that Mo and his family are Muslim, yet the story isn’t directly about them being Muslim.

Long story short - go preorder The Strongest Heart!

An upper MG story about living with someone struggling with mental illness.
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Mo lives with a monster. A monster that happens to be his father. Abbu has moods that can change as quickly as the wind, but it’s something Mo deals with, mostly alone. His mother has gone off to work on her fellowship building a well for refugees and now Mo and Abbu must move from NYC to Houston, TX because they have nowhere to live. Now Mo lives with his cousin and aunt and for the first time he’s not alone. Rayyan is a sickly kid, timid and studious while Mo revels in his bad boy persona at this new school. Together the two start volunteering at the mosque and Mo discovers a love of art, which helps him work out his feelings. But his father’s rages and alcoholic rants keep Mo from ever truly relaxing, as he waits for the other shoe to drop.
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If you’ve ever read Faruqi’s books before you’ll be surprised at some of the darker themes in this one, but it’s also one of my new favorites of hers because of how real and gritty it was. The Author’s Note at the end lets readers know that her own father struggled with schizophrenia, which you can tell from Mo’s character that everything he went through comes from experience. The folktales told throughout also added to the story and helped describe what Mo was going through in some cases. I highly recommend this book & will remind you about it when it releases March 4.

CW: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anger issues, alcohol, alcohol abuse, violence, blood, gun violence, bullying, medical content, religious bigotry, parental abandonment

I found it to be a bit too long for a MG story and sometimes the folktales stopped the flow of the story.

This book was very emotional and even hard to read at times. It really captures what it is like to live with someone with bipolar disorder. I felt the main character’s emotions to the point of tears. I love the way it wove in folktales and taught me more about other cultures.