Randa Abdel-Fattah – Aussie Reviews

When Michael Met Mina, by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Then I see her.
Her eyes. I’ve never seen eyes like hers before. What colour are they? Hazel and green and flecks of autumn and bits of emerald and I’m standing holding my sign and there she is, standing steps away, near the cop, holding hers (It’s Not Illegal to Seek Asylum), and all I can think about is how the hell I’m going to take my eyes off her.

Michael’s parents are the founders of Aussie Values, an organisation dedicated to stopping the boats and preserving the Australian way of life. They worry about Muslims and terrorists taking over the country. Mina is a Muslim and a refugee, too. She and her family represent what Michael’s family is fighting against. When they meet, Mina is sure Michael is racist and unpleasant, but Michael finds himself intrigued, and wanting to get to know her better. In order to do this, he’s going to have to adjust his thinking and find out if what his parents seem to know is actually true.

When Michael Met Mina is a story about values, justice and friendship. Although there is a gentle romance element, the story line deals with the struggles and joys of Mina’s family, and the broader issues of refugees and Muslim Australians, as well as the dynamics of Michael’s family, especially the issue of a teenager holding different political and moral views than his family. Issues of disability, difference, families and more are explored, but the story isn’t crowded out by these issues – rather being enriched by them

Tol through the alternating first person perspectives of the two main characters, When Michael Met Mina is an important, absorbing, read.

When Michael Met Mina, by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Pan Macmillan, 2016
ISBN 9781743534977

The Book of You #2: Rania by Randa Abdel-Fattah

My name is Rania and I love the colour purple. Some people are curious about what their first word was but when I was old enough to ask, I had a different question for my mum. Which colour did I first recognise?

Ever since I can remember I’ve loved colours, especially purple. There’s something magical and mysterious about it. It makes me imagine wizards’ robes, juicy grapes and beautiful cloaks on the shoulders of queens. Actually, come to think of it, a lot of good things have happened to me when I’ve been wearing something purple.

Rania lives with her mum and is in her final year of primary school. She’s a high achiever, has great friends and is happy with her life. It can only get better when her cousins move nearby and her favourite cousin Andrea joins her at school. Last year, she and her friends Jodie and Deyana found a ghost diary of a girl, Betsy, who had lived in their school a long time earlier. Last year, it was Jodie who found help in Betsy’s ghost messages. This year, it seems that Rania needs assistance to sort her life out, particularly now Andrea seems to be competing with her. But the diary messages are never quite as straightforward as they seem. In fact they are downright confusing. And there’s just so much going on, that Rania struggles to know just what to do first.

Rania loves school. She is good at her studies and loves making art. Her plans to become school captain are altered by Andrea’s plan to run for the role too. The first person narrative allows the reader to perhaps understand more quickly than Rania the pressures Andrea is under at her new school. Rania experiences jealousy and resentment and doesn’t really understand why things have changed between them. There are strong themes of family and friendship and a little hint of magic in the appearing diary entries from Betsy. Rania, with the help of her friends, navigates her way through a challenging time and rediscovers her friendship with her cousin. She also connects with her absent father via her spectacular art project. Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers.

The Book of You #2: Rania , Randa Abdel-Fattah Omnibus Books 2014 ISBN: 9781742990118

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

The Book of You: Jodie, by Randa Abdel-Fattah

‘Jodie…?’ Deyana said in a hushed tone.
‘What’s going…?’ Rania couldn’t bring herself to continue.
There was a message on the page.
On what had been a blank page only moments ago.
A message addressed to me.
The three of us screamed and ran out of the room.

Friends Jodie, Rania and Deyana are surprised to find an old book hidden behind a brick in the wall of the library storeroom. They are more surprised to find that the book is empty of words. But when they discover that the book writes itself, directly to Jodie, they are disbelieving. How does the book know what is happening in Jodie’s life, and is the cryptic advice the book gives useful or just plain confusing?

Jodie is the first book in a new series, The Book of You and so sets up the premise of the series – a book with a connection an orphan previously resident in the school, which mysteriously communicates with the reader. At the same time, this is also a story about the issues of a blended family and marital breakdown, as Jodie struggles to deal with the breakdown of her parents’ marriage and the new stepsister her father’s new relationship affords.

Tween readers will enjoy the novelty of the premise and the book’s role in events, and will look forward to further instalments in the series.

Jodie (Book of You)

Jodie , by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Omnibus, 2013
ISBN 9781742990101

Available from good bookstores and online.

Friendship Maker, by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Welcome to my Manual.
My name is Lara Zany and I am an official Friendship Matchmaker.
If you’re reading this Manual it’s probably because you’re sick and tired of feeling lonely. Or maybe you have a friend but you’re not sure where you stand with them. Or maybe you’re the third wheel in a trio. Or can’t work out how to strike up a conversation with somebody in the canteen line. Maybe you’re the one who gets picked last at sports. Don’t worry. I’m here for you. You’ve come to the right place!

Lara Zany has it sorted. She knows just what friendship is and how to make it happen. She’s in Grade Five at Potts Court Primary School and is their official Friendship Matchmaker. She knows just how to help start conversations, avoid bullies, repair misunderstandings and much more. And everyone is happy with the service she’s providing. But now, there’s a new girl at school. Emily Wong doesn’t seem to understand the rules. In fact, she seems determined to break all Lara’s rules. Lara tries to save her from the bullies and from standing out, suggesting that she’ll never make friends if she keeps going. Instead of being grateful Emily challenges her to a competition.

Lara has put a lot of energy into her Manual. She is sure that it will soon be published by Harry Potter’s publisher and she will be catapulted into the world as an instant millionaire. But that’s the future. Right now, she’s keeping the manual a secret and most of her school energy is invested in sorting out all the friendships at school. There are rules for escaping the attention of the school bully, and for keeping your friends. Only occasionally is there a hint at the events that precipitated this preoccupation with analysing the ‘rules of friendship’. Readers will recognise the LBC (loner by choice), Trios, Quads, BOBF (Bus Only Best Friends), and some of the conversational gambits. The Friendship Matchmaker uses first person, and allows the reader to ‘read between the lines’, seeing what’s going on behind Lara’s words. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

The Friendship Matchmaker, Randa Abdel-Fattah
Omnibus Books 2011
ISBN: 9781862919204

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book is available in good bookstores or online from Fishpond.

Buzz Off! by Randa Abdel-Fattah

It’s stinking hot. I’ve thrown the blanket off my bed. I’m lying spread out, trying to fall asleep. But the cool change hasn’t come and my skin is prickly with sweat.
I close my eyes and I can see myself jumping into our swimming pool. Thinking about water cools me down. I start to forget about the heat. My body relaxes. I’m about to fall into deep sleep.
Suddenly …

Noor can’t sleep because it’s too hot. And if that wasn’t annoying enough, along come the flies. Buzzing all about, but impossible to catch. Then Noor realises he can hear them talking. Suddenly the game changes. Noor, already fly-fighter extraordinaire, is insulted when he discovers just what the flies think of him. Now it’s personal! He hatches a plan to get rid of all the flies. But sometimes the solution isn’t quite the solution it seems to be. Illustrations are colourful and cartoon-y and appear on every opening. Most pages also include a header and/or footer showing some of the fly’s favourite foods. Challenging words, or even just words to be emphasised are in different, larger fonts.

The ‘Aussie Mates’ series has produced some very funny new Aussie yarns. And certainly, nothing feels more Aussie than flies. No barbecue or picnic is complete without flies. This time, though, the notion of Australian-ness has been expanded to portray some of newer Australians. Mum wears a headscarf but she also wears a hat with corks strung from it. Noor wants to rid the world of flies, but it’s soon clear that every creature has a purpose in the world, even if it seems like flies are just there to stop him sleeping and to dive into his family’s food. In the way of these yarns, the magical elements (like being able to understand fly-talk) are woven in with little explanation. None is needed. It’s clear that these are tall tales, designed to be collected and enjoyed. The ‘Aussie Mates’ series is for newly independent readers, but there’s plenty of fun to be had for older readers.

Mates: Buzz Off Randa Abdel-Fattah, Dan McGuiness
Omnibus Books 2011
ISBN: 9781862918481