Samira's story of getting acclimated to a new place as an unwanted Burmese refugee living in Bangladesh slowly unfolds in this beautiful novel told in verse. In many ways, she's like most 11-year-olds I know. She wants to make new friends, try new activities, and please her family. But, girls in her community shouldn't be swimming let alone surfing. Should she obey her family's rules or follow her passions? How do you adjust to a new place but hold on to your culture? If you like stories about friendship and family that take place in a culture you might not be familiar with, read this book!

A great book with important themes for middle grade readers. This book would bring awareness to some of the tragedy in Burma, inequalities between refugees and natives in Bangladesh (and relationships with refugees worldwide), and inequalities between girls and boys in poverty. I liked how everyone took care of each other and the ending was inspiring.

I am late to the review, got this read before I had to take a leave and was not able to return fully until now. Loved the book and will order for my library. As I read I knew there would be and are still many students Samira’s story will resonate with.

It took me a while to pick this up because I just hadn't really been in the mood to read much middlegrade, but I'm so happy I finally got back into it and picked up this book, because it was beautiful. I tend to absolutely adore verse novels, and middlegrade verse novels even more so, because they're able to distilling a lot of story and a lot of heavier themes into a concise and extremely readable package for all ages. I especially loved that this book also includes illustrations!

This is a great, unusual middle grade read! I love when middle grade books take place outside of the U.S., especially if they're about more than a purely negative experience with war, being a refugee, etc., which seem to be most of what we get. But this one, although it definitely has serious and sad moments, is also a fun and exciting read! I also don't have any other surfing books in my library, much less one about a girl! Overall, super distinctive and fun. I put it out on display at my library and am looking forward to some of the kids picking it up.

This book tells the story of 12 year old Samira whose family lives in Bangladesh after having to leave their home country of Burma. This book does a great job of explaining the experiences of Rohingya refugees through Samira's story. The author addresses serious topics but does it in a way that is accessible to young readers and also tells the story through hope and love. I really liked the way the author wrote about friendship and family and the surfing competition aspect was fun and unique. Some of the students at my school are refugees and I think that many will identify with Samira as a character. I would definitely buy this book for my library but would introduce it with content warnings.

When reading Samira Surfs, I entered into it thinking it was going to be a fluffy children's book. This whole book was fraught with meaning and empowerment. It was all about believing in yourself and following your calling. This book had a happy ending and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Samira is a twelve-year-old Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh. Her family escaped violence in their home country of Burma (now Myanmar) and made the treacherous trip to their new home, losing Samira’s grandparents along the way. Samira has to work hard at selling eggs on the beach to help support her family. When she hears about a surf contest with a huge prize, Samira is eager to learn to surf and compete to earn money for her family. The problem is that Samira is not allowed swim or surf. Samira builds friendships with other girls who want to learn to surf as well, but she also must face discontinuation because of her religion and gender.

Before reading this book, I didn’t know much about Rohingya refugees. This was a devastating story told from the perspective of a child. Samira had to grow up quickly when her family was in danger and they had to flee their home. There was a lot of pressure put on Samira to support her family. She wasn’t allowed to go to school because she was a girl, and she had to work even harder when her dad was injured and couldn’t work. These circumstances pushed Samira to discover surfing, which ended up being a good thing for her.

Samira found hope in learning to surf. It gave her something to look forward to. She was eager to learn and improve her skills. I’ve never surfed but Samira’s experience was inspiring!

Samira Surfs is an important middle grade read!

Thank you Kokila for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This middle grade novel in verse lets Samira, a young Rohingya girl, narrate the story of living as refugees with her family in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh. What sets this apart from so many refugee stories is that it's not about resettlement in the West. Samira and her family long to return to Burma (as she calls it). The book also deals with the challenges of refugees coming into communities that are already living in poverty. Heavy subjects dealt with from a middle grade perspective where friendships are as important as life-struggles, where even girls who are selling food and trinkets to help support their families find moments to play together and eventually, to surf. Recommended for readers who like stories about girls striving to reach their dreams as well as stories about close-knit families who together work to overcome challenges.

Samira and her family are refugees from Burma. They have escaped to Bangladesh where there was no room for them at the refugee camp so they live outside of town. Samira's grandparents drowned while crossing a river on their escape and it haunts Samira, to the point she is scared of water. She and her older brother help the family bring in income. He works in a cafe and she takes hard-boiled eggs to the tourists at the beach and sells them. She sees girls her age surfing in the ocean and wants to do that, but she is scared of the water. As Samira develops friendships with the girls she overcomes her fear and begins to surf. A contest is made for surfing and Samira wants to enter, but her mother won't let her at first and eventually relents, but then the judges won't let her because she is a refugee.

Good story about refugees, muslim restrictions for girls, and family working together in love. Written in verse it reads quickly and is a great book for kids to see how others live.

This novel in verse is fluid and paced really well. Hints at the main character's past blend seemlessly into her daily life, just as it does in real life. The effects of trauma are very real and this book does a great job showing that without being too jarring. I couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting.

Thank goodness we have historical fiction for kids from 2012. Often, kids dismiss anything once you explain that it happened 50 years ago or even 25 years ago- it seems like a different world to them. But, this is amazing in that most kids will need to get out their map to find Myanmar (the family in this story prefers Burma), yet they all know what surfing is, making the MC extremely relatable. What kid doesn't want to escape their circumstances and be alone for a while? Samira Surfs is on our Advanced Kids RoundTable list this fall, and it's one of my personal faves this year.

Burma is gone. Home is gone. Now Samira lives with her brother and parents as refugees, living illegally on the beach of Bangladesh. Samira sells eggs to vacationers to help keep the family afloat while her dad does dangerous work catching shrimp and her brother works at a local restaurant. Nothing can bring Samira happiness again—until she gets her first taste of surfing. When a surfing contest that promises good money comes to town, Samira determines to win it. . . even if it means escaping down to the beach to practice without telling her parents. Will she win or will her status as a refugee and a girl prevent her from reaching her dreams?

If you haven't yet heard about the horrible injustices faced by the Rohingya people, you will after reading Samira Surfs. I will add that the author, Tukhsanna Guidroz, does an excellent job of showing the atrocities the Rohingya have suffered without making the book too mature for middle-grade readers. Guidroz also has a gift for writing family dynamics—Samira and her family are incredibly strong in the face of so many hardships and tragedies. Their connection and love for each other is admirable, especially Samira's bond with her older brother, Khaled. I loved their brother-sister relationship. Samira's friendship with her girl surfer friends was sweet too, although some side characters felt slightly one-dimensional. I'm also not sure why the novel is in verse form. Verse is fine, but it didn't add anything to my reading experience. The writing was great, no arbitrary poetic lines necessary.

Still, this book is one of those wonderfully rare ones that is written entirely in another country (Bangladesh) from a the voice (Rohingya) of someone who lives there. It's got great information on the Rohingya, the refugee situation, and the difficulties that many women face within a culture that frowns on "unwomanly activities," surfing included. Samira is a courageous, whip-smart protagonist that readers will cheer on. Recommended.

Thanks for NetGalley and Kokila for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

E ARC provided by NetGalley. I absolutely loved this novel in verse. It is such a heartwarming read.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-ARC of this middle grade novel in verse.

I was really torn on how to rate this one. I thought it was a great look at what happened when thousands of Burmese people fled to Bangladesh.. I loved the character of Samira, and I thought her transformation was a good one. I struggled because for a short book, it seemed to move really slowly for me. For children whose families lived through this struggle, it's a great window into their experience, and I hope those families find this book to use as a family read to discuss all they had to go through.

A beautiful middle grade novel in verse that will be great for all middle school libraries. Samira is a twelve-year-old Rohingya refugee living in Bangladesh. She often thinks of her past life where she lived in Burma, but those memories are also tainted because of the pure destruction and violence that overcame it. Other tragic memories she has is when her family fled and lost her Nana and Nani in the river to drowning. So starting a new life in Bangladesh was not going to be easy, but she knew it was important. She never knew her heart desires being in the ocean so much. Her brother, Khaled, privately taught her how to surf before and/or after her studies. As she learns how to surf she also learns there is a surfing contest with a big money prize... She wants to win it all for her family. Samira finds friendships, empowerment, and the importance of persistence. The pen and ink illustrations throughout were great to help see what was happening in the story. Samira's determination and ways she grew throughout were wonderful to see. I appreciated how the author weaved in such strong qualities of Samira and the fact that we have more books that are focused around sports that aren't just basketball and soccer. I enjoyed learning about her family's culture, too!

I received an advance copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review. This novel was wonderful. There is a great lack of books about refugees, let alone Rohingya refugees. The lives of the characters are relatable in some ways and seem so bizarre or out of place in others. This book reads like its from another time with the situations they are in along with the lack of technology when it really take place in current times. Seeing a cell phone mentioned is what showed me that this was modern. This fact can be very eye opening for children. They way this novel is written also stands out to me since it is written in prose. This writing style will reach more children I believe since the words are so digestible. Overall I loved this book and cannot wait to show my library patrons.

Samira Surfs is a novel-in-verse that captures the beauty of being by the water and surfing. It also captures what it feels like to be scared of something for good reasons from your past, but to still be able to find a way to push through and rebuild strength and courage. Additionally, it details the feelings and emotions that Samira and her family experience as refugees in a challenging location, with people who aren’t always accepting. This book does a nice job of intermingling the dangers and fear with the joy and community, showing that the positive and the negative coexist.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the review copy of Samira Surfs by Rukhsanna Guidroz. This is a beautiful novel in verse that explores the life of refugees in 2012.

Samira’s family fled the violence Myanmar (her family prefers the old name, Burma) to Bangladesh crossing the river that kept her grandparents. Outside the packed refugee camp, Samira spends her days helping her family earn money by selling eggs on the beach. There she meets the girls who surf and decides she wants to become one. Her brother Khaled helps her begin lessons despite the danger (real and imagined) it could put her family in. The secret becomes harder and harder to keep as more people flee Burma, but surfing gives Samira a freeness she has been needing.

I was truly captivated by this book. This was a glimpse into a world and culture about which I knew very little. It was engaging and packed an emotional punch.

This novel in verse is the story of eleven-year-old Samira, a refugee living with her family in Bangladesh. Her family fled Burma by boat in search of a better life. The experience was harrowing and traumatic for reasons are slowly uncovered in the book. Months after their arrival, the family is starting to make a new life for themselves outside of the overflowing refugee camps. Samira helps her family by selling eggs on the beach to earn extra money, but she wants to go to school. Her father believes that in their situation only boys, like Samira’s brother Khaled, benefit from getting an education. While selling eggs, Samira meets a group of girls on the beach. She sees them surfing and longs to be able to do the same. A surfing contest with a large cash prize is announced and Samira sees her chance. While fearful of the water, Samira believes that if she can learn to surf and win the prize, she can make a difference for her family. With help from her brother along the way, Samira begins to overcome her fear of the water and learns to surf. Samira’s growth throughout the story, from an isolated girl to a member of a tight knit group of friends who support each other and from fearful of water to an accomplished surfer, is inspiring and engaging. Readers will get insight into the challenges faced by this refugee family and the resilience they demonstrate as they forge their new lives.