Drawing Deena
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
From the award-winning author of Amina’s Voice and Amina’s Song comes a tenderhearted middle grade novel about a young Pakistani American artist determined to manage her anxiety and forge her own creative path.
Deena’s never given a name to the familiar knot in her stomach that appears when her parents argue about money, when it’s time to go to school, or when she struggles to find the right words. She manages to make it through each day with the help of her friends and the art she loves to make.
While her parents’ money troubles cause more and more stress, Deena wonders if she can use her artistic talents to ease their burden. She creates a logo and social media account to promote her mom’s home-based business selling clothes from Pakistan to the local community. With her cousin and friends modeling the outfits and lending their social media know-how, business picks up.
But the success and attention make Deena’s cousin and best friend, Parisa, start to act funny. Suddenly Deena’s latest creative outlet becomes another thing that makes her feel nauseated and unsure of herself. After Deena reaches a breaking point, both she and her mother learn the importance of asking for help and that, with the right support, Deena can create something truly beautiful.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Palestinian American middle schooler Deena is experiencing stress so severe it's affecting her body, resulting in panic attacks, daily nausea, and a cracked tooth. Some of her anxiety stems from interpersonal relationships: her cool cousin Parisa is a social media star, but Deena isn't allowed to have her own account and doesn't want to make one without her super-smart best friend Lucia anyway. Worries relating to her family's finances and how often her parents fight about money, as well as her desire to become an artist—despite the disapproval she suspects she'd receive from her family were she to voice her dreams—further exacerbate her stress. When Deena decides to make a social media account for her mother's tailoring business, she hopes that the exposure will help the boutique take off and ease her worries—but they only get worse. Mildly uneven pacing gives way to authentic-feeling and engaging character interactions. Through candid first-person narration, Khan (Zara's Rules for Living Your Best Life) examines adolescent anxiety and its various triggers and depicts adaptive coping mechanisms, including making the most of mentorship and support from one's community. Ages 8–12.
