KAREEM BETWEEN, by Shifa Saltagi Safadi, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, Sept. 10, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
A seventh-grade Syrian American boy navigates middle school in Kareem Between, a novel by Shifa Saltagi Safadi.
Seventh grade begins, and Kareem’s already fumbled it.
His best friend moved away, he messed up his tryout for the football team, and because of his heritage, he was voluntold to show the new kid—a Syrian refugee with a thick and embarrassing accent—around school. Just when Kareem thinks his middle school life has imploded, the hotshot QB promises to get Kareem another tryout for the squad. There’s a catch: to secure that chance, Kareem must do something he knows is wrong.
Then, like a surprise blitz, Kareem’s mom returns to Syria to help her family but can’t make it back home. If Kareem could throw a penalty flag on the fouls of his school and home life, it would be for unnecessary roughness.
Kareem is stuck between. Between countries. Between friends, between football, between parents—and between right and wrong. It’s up to him to step up, find his confidence, and navigate the beauty and hope found somewhere in the middle. —Synopsis provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Kareem Between has been longlisted for 2024 National Book Awards, Young People’s Literature. And there’s good reason. Author Shifa Saltagi Safadi is a talented storyteller. Her main character loves American football. That’s what motivates him. It’s a sport I just don’t care about. But in Safadi’s deft hands, I cared about Kareem. I cared about his life. I cared about his story so much, that my apathy toward football fell by the wayside. That’s what good writing can do.
A novel in verse, Kareem Between, moves quickly. Safadi deftly explores friendship, community and family. Kareem is straddling that line between childhood and young adulthood where everything feels possible and impossible at the same time. His growth throughout the novel is beautiful to watch unfold.
Kareem Between is the type of book that you want your kid to read. It would be an excellent classroom resource, as well as appealing to independent readers.
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