More to the Story

by: Hena Khan

First, Baba was gone on Eid. It was the first time we celebrated it without him. Now, he's moving to Abu Dhabi for 6 MONTHS!! Baba had lost his job and was finding work wherever... When he was leaving for Abu Dhabi, UAE (which is on the other side of the world, far, far away from their house in Atlanta, Georgia) Jameela realized that she didn't give him a present. Maryam baked banana bread with peanut butter chips, Aleeza made him a drawing, and Bisma put together a playlist. Being a journalist, and the Features Editor of her school newspaper, Crossing, she decided to write the best article she has written and give it to him. The only problem: the Editor-in-Chief, Travis isn't the easist to persuade for Jameela. They fought a lot over which topics to be in the issue, when she was in 6th Grade.

She is assigned to write about Ali, the new boy at school and who Jameela personally knows. He is the nephew of Saeed Uncle and Farah Auntie, the Mirza family's close family friends. But when Jameela's younger sister, Bisma has a type of cancer, her whole life is turned upside down, especially with Baba in Abu Dhabi... Find out more by reading, "More to the Story," by Hena Khan!

My Thoughts

It was amazing. When I was not eating, sleeping or watching TV, I was reading this book! It was very interesting, and l learnt how a family would deal with a daughter/sister having cancer. In the acknowledgements, Hena Khan wrote that this book was largely based on Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, how Aleeza, Bisma, Jameela, & Maryam were like Meg, Jo, Beth, & Amy, except the Mirza sisters were set in the 21st century!