Farah Rocks Fifth Grade

December 1, 2019
Farah is trying to navigate fifth grade and protect and care for her kindergartner brother, all without worrying her parents. Farah lives in Harbortown with her parents and younger brother, Samir, who has special needs. Her friends call her Farah Rocks since her Arabic last name, Hajjar, means "rocks." Farah and her best friend, Allie Liu, are excited to apply to the Magnet Academy for middle school. Farah must keep her grades up and write an essay for the application, but she has a lot on her mind. Compounding her general anxiety about leaving Samir if she gets into the new school is a bullying new white student, whose cruelty to her little brother doesn't seem to bother Allie enough. When she tries to tell the adults at school, no one takes her seriously. Readers will ache as, acting out of care and love, Farah takes a risk when she attempts to take on the bully without the help of her parents. Darraj writes a strong character who must take on a lot as a fifth grader. Intimate cultural details--Farah's dad says "bancakes" because "in Arabic, the letters p and v don't exist"; the family has the surname Hajjar due to their Jerusalem stonecutter origins--add to the authenticity of the portrayal of the family's Palestinian ethnicity. Allie and her family are Chinese. A hummus recipe and glossaries of Arabic and select English words are included at the end. Readers will be eager for this empathetic protagonist's next appearance. (Fiction. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 13, 2019

Gr 3-5-Darraj introduces smart, courageous, and sensitive Farah Hajjar, a fifth-grader whose biggest concern should be deciding on a topic for her application essay at the Magnet Academy. Farah Rocks, as everyone calls her, and her Official Best Friend Allie Liu, are both in the gifted class at Harbortown Public School. Both are hoping to get into the super exclusive academy where they will be partners on every science fair project. However, when the new girl starts bullying Farah's little brother, Farah starts failing her classes on purpose so she won't leave him unprotected. When Farah tries getting adults to help, she isn't taken seriously and when she tries talking to Allie about it, they end up getting in a fight. Can Farah figure this out on her own? Darraj shines a light on sibling relationships, and the malicious, repetitive behaviors of bullies that often go unchecked. VERDICT Farah is a well-rounded character with ambitions and struggles; readers will identify with her challenges and root for her to succeed. A first purchase for upper elementary readers.-Christina Paolozzi, Bonaire Elementary School, GA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2020
Grades 2-4 The only thing Farah wants more than acceptance into the prestigious Magnet Academy is to protect her little brother, Samir, who has lingering developmental delays from his premature birth. When a new school bully threatens Samir's safety, Farah decides to sabotage her own report card, ensuring her rejection from Magnet so that she can remain at the same school as Samir. In her children's book debut, Darraj introduces a sympathetic Arab American protagonist who will help fill a glaring hole in representation. Farah's parents are, incidentally, immigrants?Christians, from an unspecified Middle Eastern territory?and their dialogue is peppered with Arabic phrases that are clear in context and defined in a glossary. While the bullying story line presents a much gentler experience than the real world might offer, this work is more concerned with modeling good behavior than depicting brutal harassment. A useful window for early chapter book readers and a precious mirror for Arab American kids.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)