Saving Sunshine
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Eisner-nominated
A 2024 Bank Street Best Books of the Year
Nominated for the 2024 Jane Addams Children's Book Award
A Kirkus Best Book of 2023
A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids 2023
A YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens selection
A 2024 Texas Library Association Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Selection
From Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan comes a relatable, funny, and heart-wrenchingly honest graphic novel about Muslim American siblings who must learn how to stop fighting and support each other in a world that is often unkind.
It's hard enough being a kid without being teased for a funny sounding name or wearing a hijab.
It's even harder when you're constantly fighting your sibling—and Zara and Zeeshan really can't stand each other. During a family trip to Florida, when the bickering, shoving, and insults reach new heights of chaos, their parents sentence them to the worst possible fate— each other’s company! But when the twins find an ailing turtle, it presents a rare opportunity for teamwork—if the two can put their differences aside at last.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Tween twins with a strained relationship must overcome their differences to save the day—and each other—in this moving graphic novel by Faruqi (the Ali the Great series) and debut creator Khan. Muslim Pakistani American twins Zara and Zeeshan have been bickering nonstop as they pack for their family trip from New York to Key West, Fla. When their tension—exacerbated by Islamophobic experiences at the airport—reaches a boiling point, their exasperated parents confiscate the twins' phones until they can "figure out how to be friends." Arriving in Florida without their devices, Zara and Zeesh must work together if they want to enjoy their trip and get their phones back. Collaborating on a mission to save a sick turtle allows the siblings to demonstrate each other's individual passions, resulting in newfound connection and understanding. Khan's digital illustrations mimic the free-flowing feel of watercolor; shifts between soft pastels and saturated primary colors evoke changes in mood, and creative angles, detailed expressions, and dynamic paneling portray characters' interactions and relationships. Poignant flashbacks to the twins' tumultuous childhood, as well as their present-day encounters with racism, supplement this stirring and uplifting story of family and identity. Ages 8–12.
