It was so great! I loved reading about Zara's hilarious antics and her friends. Would definitely recommend to a friend!

i loved reading this cute middle grade book! id already read and loved the first book this year so i was excited to see what would happen in the sequel. i especially loved getting to see the friendships zara has formed, thank you to the publisher for providing an e-arc.

I'm not usually a middle grade reader, but I really liked this book. Zara's family is originally from Pakistan and they are Muslim, and it was wonderful to see the diversity - children should be able to see themselves in the books they read, and they should also have the opportunity to learn about other cultures. I also liked the overall theme of acceptance and understanding, how the adults could admit that they'd made mistakes and apologise, and the lovely relationship the family all had with each other.

Although I am not the target audience, I thought it was a really good book and one I would happily give my children to read when they are a bit older.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All opinions are my own and freely given.

Zara was having the best day of her life with her friends at the park, they go pretty often and she feels even better now that she had finally gotten a new bike, but when it's time to go back home at the end of the day she finds that her new bike is the only one not waiting at the bike rack. With this terrible news Zara knows that she will have to earn another new bike but she's not quite sure how to go about it. With some ingenuity and a lot of help from her friends Zara is able to take some unwanted things and turn them into treasures, but when she finds out that some of those "unwanted things" were actually family treasures, she just can't believe how her great plans are suddenly becoming unraveled.
The book is written well enough that it could work for both Middle-grade and Young Adult, although the lessons are clearly geared towards a younger audience. There are a number of lessons that can be taken from this book, value of money, and possessions, responsibilities for your actions, and helping your fellow person, but there are also some familial lessons that I wished were pushed a little more in the sense that her parents did not communicate well very often yet it continued to be Zara's fault. There was some unfinished frustration for me after the narrative was done in regards to that. Overall a really great and fun book that I can see adding to my library collection.

Story: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Worldbuilding/Illustrations: 4/5
Thank you to Netgalley, Hena Khan and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I appreciated the lessons in the book such as; the value of money, taking care of your possessions, taking responsibility for your actions, and helping others.

Zara's Rules For Finding Hidden Treasure
Hena Khan

Rating 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

Review

Zara and her friends are enjoying their summer by riding their bikes to the new park but what happens when her bike goes missing one day! All because she forgot to lock her bike! She decides to save up money to buy a bike. Also the are Islamic and Muslim culture in the background that's splendidly shown but not too much that it overwhelms the reader but enough for Muslims to relate to and non-muslims to see their friends within Zara's character.

The book is well written, the candidness of the scenes make the reader feel like they're living inside the book alongside the characters! The language is easy to understand , the plot is clear cut and the characters are relatable and well built. Overall this is a book I recommend to YA and MG readers they'll absolutely adore the characters and see themselves in the book!

'Zara's Rules for Finding Hidden Treasures' by Hena Khan is the second book in the Zara's Rules series. It's a story about Zara Saleem, a 10 year-old Pakistani American girl, and how she decides to start a business with her best friend to earn money for a new bike. Along the way she learns about the keepsakes we hold onto, what really sparks joy and the most important treasures in our lives.

Let me just start off by saying Zara, Nana Abu and I are Gulab Jamun Enthusiasts (sweet fried dough balls) and I will not be hearing any criticism for that - thank you.

I adore Zara and her entire Pakistani American family. The entire time I was reading I felt like I was seeing my own family members in the place of Zara's mom, dad, uncle and grandparents. If you're thinking 'ah this is a kid's book - I'm not a kid' then you'd be missing out. It's heartfelt and humorous with complex relationships being written in a way that's just so fun and engaging. I wasn't bored a second of this book and that too in my 'old age'. It's really interesting to see these interesting dynamics and characters through the eyes of a child and Zara is so quick-witted and funny that I imagined this is how my inner monologue must have sounded when I was ten.

I can tell how close these characters and this story must be to the author's heart - it's ingrained in every page, every dialogue. It's a beautiful recall to childhood for me and I think it will resonate with so many of us who are still holding onto that kid we used to be. And even if this isn't your vibe, I can guarantee that a young person in your family or community will absolutely love it. It's got a leading heroine, a gang of besties, family shenanigans, thrilling bike stealing mystery, and authenticity of a young kid's perspective in every sentence. I for one will absolutely be getting more (because my copy is my precious and brings joy) and spreading them throughout my community.

ALSO THE COVER - look at those sparkles! Look at the details! The illustrations inside are my absolute favourite. This is a short and fun read for kids and older folk alike.

I did not read the first book introducing Zara and her friends and now that I have read the second I am sorry I missed it. My granddaughter and I read this together ( maybe that wasn't allowed, being it was an ARC?), I wanted an opinion from a real-life middle-grader. After all that is the target audience for the Zara books, is it not? Result of the reading: We both loved it!
Zara has a new bike and her and her friends ride all over the pace, only Zara fails to lock her new bike and it is stolen. Zara's parents decide to teach her a lesson in responsibility and taking care of one's belongings, they tell Zara she must earn the money for a new bike herself! But Zara is only a kid, how is she ever going to ern that much money? After Zara and her friend Naomi try and reject several schemes, they come up with a moving garage sale, where they take unwanted stuff from her family's basement, wheel it around and sell things from their wagon. Unfortunately Zara sells some things that aren't for sale and now she has the additional problem of tracking those things down and getting them back!
We loved Zara and her enterprising ways. This book is cleverly written, incorporating the right blend of cultures, morals, and lessons to learn with family and friendship as it's themes. I feel that everyone regardless of their religion and cultural background will find something of themselves in this well written book. I commend Hena Khan on creating a well developed interesting character that kids today can relate to no matter what background they come from. My granddaughter, Shilee has asked me to get her the first book and is waiting impatiently for the next one already. Now it is off to the bookstore for us!
5 stars for Zara and highly recommend!
Thank you to @Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and @Net Galley. for the free ARC and to @jamierockstarbooktours for including me on this fantastic tour for Zara and my first book tour ever! Thank You!!!

I received an electronic ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing through NetGalley.
This sequel keeps the energy level high and continues Zara's story. Sadly, it opens with someone stealing Zara's new bike and her learning a valuable lesson about making sure bikes are locked. Her family makes it clear she will need to earn the money for a new one. She and her friends think about and try various ways to earn the money but nothing works out. However, they do weed out a lot of stuff from their homes. She even helps her Naano clear out portions of her basement.
Khan emphasizes family and friendship in this series. Readers see friends of different faiths share themselves and their cultures. They blend and maintain their own identities as they play and work together. The writing level is perfect for mid to upper elementary level. I appreciate that readers will see themselves somewhere in these characters. Looking forward to where Zara heads next.

Loved this charming book by Hena khan! Zahra’s bike gets stolen and she decides to find a way to make money to get a new bike. The only problem is she sold her family’s stuff and now she needs to get it all back.

Zara has some lessons to learn in this one. And some of them are learned the hard way.
Zara forgets to lock up her bike and it gets stolen. So she sells some things that aren't hers to sell. On a mission to get them back she learns more about her family and herself.
I like how this book sprinkles their culture and heritage throughout and how it looks at making mistakes and still having a loving family on your side.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Wonderful book about family, friends, and memories as we find Zara accidentally selling things from mom’s keepsakes box because she needs to earn money to buy a new bike after hers was stolen because she failed to lock it up. When Zara is able to retrieve those missing items, she gets an idea that she thinks her grandparents will like. Does it work out?

Zara and her friends are enjoying their summer riding their bikes to the new park in their neighborhood. Zara's brand new bike makes the outings, all the better. That is of course until she forgets to lock her bike up and it gets stolen. With a neighborhood full of friends and a family full of love, the cast from the first book is back to add comedy, context, relatability, and support to help Zara find a way to earn enough money to buy a replacement. Add in a bar mitzva, her grandparents 40th wedding anniversary, and a few mishaps, mistakes, twists, and growth, and you have a fun early middle grade 144 page book.

I particularly love how Islam and Pakistani culture is sprinkled in. Zara and her family don't other themselves, nor do those around them. They just live their lives and as a result they eat gulab jamun, mention Eid, Ameen celebrations when finishing the Quran, wearing shalwar kameez, and occasionally say salam and mashaAllah. This book adds a bit more Islam at the end when donations are made to a thrift store tied to the masjid with a hijabi working there.

The book is not moral in a preachy way nor does it contain religious overtones. The characters are fleshed out and their situations relatable, without being predictable. The subtle themes present focus around taking care of your things, earning and valuing money, owning your mistakes, empathy for other people and their attachments, celebrating those you love, and helping each other. Most kids might not take any lessons from the book, and just think it is fun.

I hope there are a lot more books in the series. I think Muslim kids will see themselves in the pages, non Muslim kids with Muslim friends will see themselves as well, and those that don't know many Muslims will see an accurate portrayal of kids of all backgrounds coming together to do something relatable in an engaging story, that normalizes faith and culture in a respectful rich way.