I loved this new middle grade coming of age story told in verse. Faruqi is able to capture so much about Aafiyah’s life and what it means to be a preteen in America. She uses careful precision and economy of words to tell us about the Qamar family, their privilege and love for each other, their heritage and sorrows. I love a novel in verse for the author’s ability to express a depth of feeling that is not possible in prose novels. I think this is the perfect form to tell this story and think kids will be effected by the nuance of the writing.
Golden Girl by Reem Faruqi, (List Price: $16.99, HarperCollins, 9780063044753, February 2022)
Reviewed by Jamie Southernr from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina