Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

High school freshman Aliya Javaid is miffed about moving from Tampa to Milwaukee. Though she’s now closer to her grandparents, Aliya misses the beaches, food, friends, and her basketball team. At her new Islamic school, she tries out for the girls’ basketball team—only to realize they aren’t that good. But with their new, more experienced, coach, Jessica Martinez, they begin to practice harder, focusing both on skills and teamwork. When Aliya, whose family is Pakistani and Indian, gets overwhelmed by balancing schoolwork and practice, her grandfather’s reminder that mistakes are part of learning helps ground her. Over the course of the season, the team improves, drawing a cheering audience. When they’re unfairly matched against a higher-performing team, Coach Martinez’s advice to play their best stands them in good stead. The all-Muslim, hijab-wearing team attracts a fair share of media attention, though reporters always try to pin them down to identity-related narratives. The girls express their discomfort and collectively decide to steer their interviews to basketball and their hopes for the team. Though some of the dialogue is stilted, the story effectively builds on smaller moments and victories as the girls learn to collaborate, iron out team dynamics, and celebrate small victories. Aliya, too, grows and gains confidence in her abilities and talent. The dynamic illustrations make use of interesting compositions to reflect the game’s pace and the characters’ inner growth. An inspiring sports story that focuses on more than the score. (character studies, cover concepts) (Graphic fiction. 8-12) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

When Aliya and her family move from Florida to Wisconsin, she finds comfort in the basketball program at her new school, Peace Academy. But in order for her team to win, she’ll have to rise to the challenge and prove that she has what it takes to lead as co-captain, even if she still has a lot to learn. Inspired by the Salam School basketball team that made headlines in 2018, Khan tells a heightened yet realistic sports story of teamwork and identity; adding local color like Aliya’s love of the Milwaukee Art Museum adds even more authenticity. But Khan also tells the story about the story—how rival coaches and reporters were uncomfortable and uninformed about Muslim culture—so the book not only showcases the team’s achievements but the everyday struggles of girls like Aliya and her teammates, from missing faraway friends to dealing with racist microaggressions and the pressure of press scrutiny. The lightness of Zerrougui’s color palette makes the tone overall pleasant, and her work certainly shines in the many basketball scenes, nicely capturing the fluidity of the game. A lighthearted slam dunk.

Publishers Weekly
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Kahn (Drawing Deena) and Zerrougui team up to deliver a distinguished attestation to the power of sport. Upon moving from Tampa to Milwaukee, Pakistani and Indian American high school freshman Aliya Javaid enrolls in Peace Academy, an Islamic school, and joins the basketball team, hoping to make friends while playing a game she loves. Initial losses spur intensive training before the team begins to triumph. Local media soon take notice, but reporters’ interests lie less in the team’s performance and more in their hijab uniforms. The girls endeavor to take control of the narrative: “If they ask random things, bring it back to basketball. This is a basketball story.” Kahn provides contextualizing information for non-Muslims via the girls’ interactions with Puerto Rican coach Jess, as Jess in turn educates opposing coaches about the team’s uniforms, and prioritizes religious practices, allowing a break during practice for Maghrib; vividly saturated artwork invites readers into the evening prayer in a wordless spread that transitions to diagonal panels indicating movement and connection in the following gametime action. It’s an uplifting graphic novel that celebrates female Muslim athletes and highlights how the teens’ faith, sport, and relationships intersect. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Matthew Elblonk, DiFiore & Co. Illustrator’s agent: Paloma Hernando, Einstein Literary Management. (Aug.)