Samira Surfs is a beautifully written novel in verse about a young refugee girl who finds a way to survive despite terrible tragedy. This middle grades novel would be a perfect read aloud or a great book for students looking for strong characters who survive through tragedy and loss. Students read about Samira's life as well as her family fleeing their home, and the uncertainty of their trip and their lives as refugees. This book belongs in classrooms! Great story! Thank you @netgalley for the e-arc. @RGui8 #SamiraSurfs @fahmida_azim

It is so wonderful to read a YA novel about Rohingya refugees. Guidroz seamlessly ties Rohingya history, refugee life, and a great coming-of-age story together. The vocabulary that is sprinkled throughout the novel is so wonderfully described in a way that many readers will not encounter as many issues with comprehension. Samira is a smart, sweet,and strong young lady who works hard to make her family proud, maintain friendships, and follow her dreams, even if that causes internal conflict. Take some time to read Samira Surfs and jump into the world of a strong female character.

Samira Surfs is a Middle Grade book about a 12-year-old girl and her family that were forced to move from Burma, now Myanmar, to Bangladesh. They are living with many others in the refugee camp set up specifically for the refugees.

For the younger middle grade student, this is a fantastic introduction to the world of refugees if they haven’t had any prior knowledge. Samira and her brother, Khaled, who is two years older, live with their mother and father, ‘Mama and Baba’ in a small temporary shelter. Since there is no money for school, the children must work at any jobs they can to help the family survive. All funds go for food and necessities only.

Khalid works at a hotel café, cleaning tables and dishes, and is learning some English from tourists. Samira sells hard-boiled eggs to tourists on the beach. Khalid has made friends with some of the Bengali boys and is learning to surf. Samira watches and wishes she could learn what Khalid is learning, but it’s more difficult for girls in a Muslim culture. However, Khalid understands his sister and is willing to teach her everything he knows.

The family unit is very connected through love and tradition and appreciate every moment of joy they can experience together. The parents, like most parents, long for the day they can send their children to school and give them more than they had. Now, however, they all concentrate on staying nourished, safe and fed.

Eventually, Samira learns to surf as well as, and even a bit better than Khalid. After three months there is a surfing contest for boys and girls that the siblings want to enter. The girls are up first, but the officials will not let Samira enter because she is a Rohingya * refugee. The girls band together and say they won’t surf unless Samira can join them. Minutes later the boys join them in support and say they won’t surf either. Finally, the officials relent, and the contest can go on with all included, with exciting results.

*The author does an excellent job explaining the intricacies of Myanmar’s politics at the end of the story.
The story itself is beautifully written with a genuine interest in Samira and her brother, with anticipation building toward the surfing contest. The ‘pen and ink’ drawings are simply beautiful and illustrate the environment and characters very well.

I highly recommend this for teachers, students, and parents alike.

Thank you Netgalley, and Kokila an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

11-year-old Samira’s family are Burmese refugees living in Bangladesh. Together, Samira, her mama, baba, and her brother work to build a new lie with the skills they have and cope with the loss of her nana and nani. Then she meets the Bengali surfer girls and longs to be like them. But she is not allowed to swim or surf. As a Refugee, she wants to find some normalcy in her life. By facing her fears, Samira will find her own story and power. Characters are easy to relate to, are realistic, and draw the reader into the story. The illustrations are detailed, eye-catching, and work well with the verse. Plot and writing are simple but engaging. Fans of realistic fiction, surfing, and novels in verse will enjoy this diverse book.

Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

I really enjoyed Samira’s story and I love that it was told in verse. My students are really getting into novels in verse, so I can’t wait to tell them about this one!

This was a very enjoyable book. I loved the friends that Samira had at the beach. I really wanted her to be able to learn to surf and then to compete in the competition. I was anxious for news from their family back in Myanmar and I want to know more about refugees from there. Great book for girls who want to strike out on their own.

I found this middle grade novel to be lyrical and heartwarming. I wasn't sure what to expect at first but I was drawn to Samira and her family and felt for her. I don't know what it is like to go through what she has, and to relocate and start anew but Guidroz does a good job of describing it and making you feel for the characters but not pity them. I really liked the illustrations too, I felt like they added another element to the story. This is a really beautiful story about starting over, growth, and finding yourself.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Touching story of a young girl, Samira, and her family who are refugees in Bangladesh. This novel in verse will get you hoping for Samira’s success!

Loved all of the girl friendships and empowerment and the brother/sister relationship was beautiful. The illustrations throughout the novel were also a unique touch.

I got an ARC of Samira Surfs at the School Library Journal Middle Grade Magic virtual conference.

It might have been a marketing mix-up, but this was sold as a book about a girl in Bangladesh who learns how to surf - which it is, but the detail that she's a Rohingya refugee living in Bangladesh, and not a Bangladeshi girl, is pretty important and really should have been included.

I loved this one. Samira's courage in learning to surf was inspiring, as was her friendship with the other girls who sell trinkets or snacks to tourists on the beach to help their families get by.

I would definitely recommend this one to students and teachers studying poetry, migration, refugees, etc.

This is a middle grade diverse tale of Samira, a 12 year old refugee living in Bangladesh. Samira longs for friendships, and eventually befriends some girls that love the beach and surfing. But uh oh! That poses a problem. Samira is terrified of the water. As the story continues, we find out the reason behind Samira's fears (I'm not going to tell you what they are because it gives part of the story away.) but thankfully with help from her family and her new friends Samira begins to face her fears. In doing this, she begins to uncover herself in the process.

The reader is introduced to Samira, the daughter of a refugee family, who longs for friendship and something else aside from selling eggs at the beach. Eventually Samira befriends other girls and is introduced to surfing, which Samira was avoiding at first for a fear of the water. At the story unfolds, the reader finds out that while they were migrating to a new country, Samira's Nani and Nana never made it through the journey, and Samira is afraid of what the water will do to her. Eventually, with some help from the girls, and her brother Khalid, she realizes that she needs to face her fears to become her true self.