This hilarious and poignant tween debutwhich SLJ heralded as destined to become a classic in a starred reviewtackles evergreen topics like dealing with bullies, making friends, and the power of good books. A great next read for fans of Merci Surez Changes Gears and John David Anderson.

Ahmed Aziz is having an epic yearepicallybad.

After his dad gets sick, the family moves from Hawaii to Minnesota for his dads treatment. Even though his dad grew up there, Ahmed cant imagine a worse place to live. Hes one of the only brown kids in his school. And as a proud slacker, Ahmed doesnt want to deal with expectations from his new teachers.

Ahmed surprises himself by actually reading the assigned books for his English class:Holes,Bridge to Terabithia,andFrom the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Shockingly, he doesnt hate them. Ahmed also starts learning