We are Big Time

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We Are Big Time follows Aliya, a Muslim girl whose family recently moved from Florida to Wisconsin. Leaving her old rec basketball team behind, she joins her new school’s girls basketball team, who has never won a game. As their team slowly improves, the media becomes interested, and the girls on the team have to navigate how to focus on the game while dealing with the often pointed and uniformed questions of the press.

Aliya’s story was very enjoyable. It did a great job of showing a girl who felt like the team was resting on her shoulders while dealing with some inner team strife. It also added in the dynamics of being an all-Muslim girls team and the uninformed questions that can come from the outside, like, “Are your parents okay with you playing a sport?”

Overall this is a great graphic novel to add to an upper elementary, middle or high school library.

Hena Khan (Power Forward, Amina’s Voice, Zara’s Rules and more) returns to basketball with this based on true story graphic novel about an all girl-all Muslim high school basketball team. Aliya has just moved to Minnesota with her family and hopes that making the team will help her find a place in a new home. Peace High School’s basketball program, however, leaves a lot to be desired but with a new coach, some determination and a lot of faith, maybe these girls can find a way to be an inspiration to more than just each other. Khan’s first effort at writing in this format is very successful-Aliya’s family and their close relationship comes through loud and clear using almost exclusively dialogue as does her focus on only the failures in her life and the anxiety that brings. Supporting characters, Coach Martinez, Halima and Noura, also contribute greatly to the plot. Graphic panels done by Saniya Zerrougui are excellent and convey the motion of the sport of basketball as well as the stresses felt by Aliya and her teammates. The prayer life, foods and dress of practicing Muslims are incorporated smoothly into daily activities and while there are numerous examples of ignorance and discomfort by non-Muslims, Khan’s message of representing who you are in the most positive way possible and never being ashamed comes through without being “preachy” or including blatant acts of discrimination. Although the book is centered on a high school basketball team, the target age range for this book is likely grades 4-7. Text is free of profanity, sexual content, and violence. Readalikes: Hoops by Matt Tavares, Jenn Bishop’s Free Throws, Friendship and Other Things We Fouled Up.

Aliya is not happy when her family moves from Florida to Wisconsin during high school. She's a basketball player and this move means leaving her friends and teammates behind. Aliya's new school, Peace Academy, is an all-Muslim school, and the hijab-wearing team stands out amongst their opponents, sometimes facing prejudice from other teams.

Aliya's new team... stinks. But she'll do everything she can to encourage her teammates and make them better. As Aliya finds her place on the team and in the school she must learn to balance her academics with friendships, family and sports as she becomes a leader amongst her peers.

This is another excellent story from Hena Khan. Highly entertaining and a perfect middle-grade graphic read.

What a rad title and wicked cover! The cover’s my favorite part of the book, which is as fine as the crop of decent realistic middlegrade graphic novels of the past few years, a la Kayla Miller or Megan Lloyd.

Moving away from friends but closer to more family; away from sunny Florida to much colder Wisconsin, Aliya has some adjusting to do. Her new Islamic school has a basketball team and a new coach. Great story!

We are Big Time by Hena Khan is based on the true story of the Salam School's girls basketball team. Khan's take on the story introduces readers to Aliya, a recent transplant to Wisconsin. Everything in her new home is so different. It's colder, the school is bigger, and the girls' basketball team is way worse. However, with a new coach, things are beginning to look up for the hijab-wearing basketball team. As the season goes on and the girls begin to improve, they also begin to learn what success really looks like and that they are more than just the score.

Khan's story, coupled with Safiya Zerrougui's illustrations bring this story to life. I loved reading about the girls' improvement throughout their season and about their growth as individuals and as a team. Despite the attention from the media and the comments that they face based on their faith and decision to wear a hijab; the girls stick together and make sure that the attention is where it should be, on their team and on the game. I appreciate the quick pace of the story as well as the fact that the season may not end in a way that the reader hopes it will. It would have been easy for this to become a sports story cliché, but Khan sticks to the source material and it makes the story even more impactful.

A gorgeous book with so much Muslim joy! I really enjoyed reading this beautiful book!

My only remark is that one on of the pages, the family prayed Salat standing side by side and I honestly don’t know one muslim family who prays this way- men and women usually dont pray side by side and I have a feeling muslim readers will find this inauthentic.

Otherwise the book is still a wonderful read and one I will be recommending.

What an awesome graphic novel! It combines one of my fave sports - basketball - with exposure to a group of people not typically represented in such novels (Muslims). It is fantastic to see how confident these young ladies are and how it grows as they battle against stereotyping. Very well written and highly recommended.


Thanks so much for the ARC, Netgalley!

Inspirational graphic novel about all muslim hijabi girls basketball team, based on a real story. It’s about hard work, settling in new place, and self appreciation, and of course team dynamics. I liked that

I was so excited to receive this ARC as it encompasses some of my interests - women's sports, basketball, and graphic novels! The story was well-developed, focusing on Aliya and the team's journey throughout the season. I really enjoyed seeing the team gain confidence in themselves and show up for one another, especially when others were trying to stereotype them or put them down because of their identity as young Muslim women. There were so many wonderful moments in the book, where the coach or one of the girls would remind the group that they were "more than the score" and more than what people saw of them. Khan nicely weaved how this team not only transformed those within it, but their community as well. And all of this was inspired by a real-life all-Muslim girls basketball team, so neat!

When I say I LOVE this graphic novel... I really mean it! Because I don't love reading middle grade. But, I want to know what students are reading and I want to be able to recommend books I know they'll love. We Are Big Time landed on my NetGalley list because I absolutely loved the cover. I didn't realize than Hena Khan had also written Amina's Voice, which I have previously reviewed. I honestly think Khan has evolved and this story was perfect. It was punchy and real in all the best ways. I didn't realize that the graphic novel was inspired by a real life team of Muslim basketball players. I like fictionalized versions like this that pay homage to real people. Khan and Zerrougui knocked it out of the park!
Aliya is a relatable character on so many levels, from dealing with the trials of high school to moving at a crucial time! We Are Big Time is a feel-good story that highlights the difficulties of coming together as a team while also dealing with existing as a person of color in the U.S. The ridiculous questions that Aliya and her teammates got from interviewers are real questions that athletes, entertainers, scholars, writers of color have all received at some point, as if it's impossible that they can be successful and Black or successful and a Muslim woman. I like that the author didn't sugar coat this aspect of the story or shy away from it. As an educator, I love how Khan approached the character of Coach Jess--she's a great example of how to be culturally sensitive as an authority figure.

I am not an art expert, nor am I an artist--but I love everything about graphic novels as a literary artform. The art in We Are Big Time is warm and lovely--the action is both lively and aggressive, which is what makes basketball a fun sport to watch (and I'm not even a sports person). The style and color choices feel right. I especially loved the scenes of Aliya at home with her family--they look so comfortable and homey! I especially appreciated the detail of Aliya's cat socks (omg, so cute). I think the color scheme sets a positive tone without being distracting. The linework is crisp and more mature that something like The Baby-Sitters Club, which often feels very juvenile visually. I really felt like it was a great mix of looking appealing while also conveying a realistic, serious story through a medium that will appeal to the intended audience. I am a huge advocate for talking up the literary merit of graphic novels and will verbally spar with anyone who thinks that graphic novels aren't real reading. The planning and effort that go into drawing and then organizing panels requires as much thought as planning out the prose of the great American novel (this is my hill. I will camp on the hill. I will die on the hill.). I think We Are Big Time is the perfect graphic novel--nuanced but accessible and visually appealing to a wide audience.

I am planning on purchasing it for my middle-grade library. While the main character is fifteen and a freshman in high school, the story is very middle school-appropriate. Honestly, it is a feel-good everybody-level read that would work in high school or upper elementary.

5 stars

I've been on a bit of a graphic novel binge lately, and this is easily one of my favorites.

Readers join Aliya, the m.c. of this young adult joint, while she and her family are making a huge move from Florida to Wisconsin to be closer to her grandparents. As Aliya thinks of the beaches, friends, and the rec basketball league she'll miss so much, she also demonstrates some solid resilience as she makes new friends, acclimates to the weather, and tries out for the school's basketball team. One added element that makes her team standout is that it's an all-Muslim team. This impacts the way the players dress and some of the elements of their practice (like reminding their coach, who is not Muslim, that they need a break to pray), but it mostly impacts their community's perception. These young women are put in a challenging position without even realizing it, just based on who they are (and how ill-informed others are), and it's fascinating to see their typical development as high schoolers and members of a team in conjunction with this added layer of complexity.

There's so much to like about this one, and I'm already excited to share it with students and other graphic novel fans. I'm also excited to read much more from this author!

Thank you to the publisher and the author for providing me a copy through Netgalley!

Based on true events, Hena Khan tells a story of an all-girls, hijab-wearing high school basketball team, and their story of playing together as a team. Fast-paced and vibrant, the illustrations convey the swiftness of he players on the court, and the speed and skill that is required to play the game of basketball. Just as the coach who brought the motto, "More than the score!", Aiyla and her team learn about self-confidence, team work, and staying true to yourself as they play the game of basketball.

This was such a good graphic novel!! It depicts the true story of an all-Muslim girl basketball team at a high school in Wisconsin. It was about perseverance, experiencing discrimination, growing as a person, and how to overcome adversity when it's staring you right in the face. It's also about family and how they can support you when you're going through your difficult high school days.

I would recommend this graphic novel to anyone of any age. It's geared towards young adults, but I feel like all ages would be able to enjoy this.

Thank you Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this e-arc. Happy Reading!!

We Are Big Time is much more than a basketball team, more than an underdog story, more than girl sports, more than hijabs. Khan artfully weaves together a story about girls being themselves and embracing all they are. Once the team gets noticed, reporters try to focus on their religion. The girls band together in not allowing others to stereotype them.
Very expressive art.
VERDICT Valyable addition for school libraries.

This is an amazing work! I absolutely love this graphic novel and as a Muslim myself, I teared up a lot of times reading this. It is inspirational and stays true to the actions of teenage girls at their age. Will recommend this to my students!

We Are Big Time is a middle school graphic novel based on a true story about an all Muslim girls basketball team. It was honest, informative, and focused on real relationships between teammates, coaches and players, teachers and students, and families.

"We are Big Time" is a graphic novel written by renowned children's book author Hena Khan with illustrations by cartoonist and visual artist Safiya Zerrougui. Together the two have created a compelling and humorous story of a girl's basketball team from an Islamic school in the midwest. The story, although fictional, draws from the real story of a team which broke onto the varsity girl's basketball scene in Wisconsin, both challenging stereotypes about young Muslim-American women, and drawing attention for their skills on the court. The main character of "We Are Big Time" is Aliya, who has recently moved from Florida to Wisconsin and is in 9th grade at Peace Academy. Aliya's teammates are a diverse group of women, with varying degrees of basketball experience. Khan does an excellent job showcasing the diversity within the Muslim community and among teenagers in general. All of the girls on the team feel like they are fully formed characters. The new coach, Jess, has never worked with Muslim youth before, so her curiosity serves as a natural avenue for the characters to explain their faith and cultural practices. As the teammates starts to connect, their talent increases, which leads to a bigger spotlight on the girls as representatives of other Muslim women and girls in sports. Aliya and the others learn that they represent themselves first, and that their faith, though important, is just one dimension of who they are. Fans of sports themed graphic novels like "Hoops" will love this story, as will anyone interested in a realistic portrayal of strong women in sports.

Moving is always a big deal in the life of a student. In this story, Aliya moves with her family from Tampa, Florida to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to support her father's job opportunity. Aliya is missing her school, her basketball team, and her very best friend. She is first struck by how big everything is at this new school. Then it is frustrating for her to see how quickly her brother makes new friends while she feels like an outsider. It is not until the PE class starts a unit on basketball that Aliya feels comfortable and makes a possible new friend. Joining a team, one that has never been very good, is hard, yet it gives Aliya hope for a bit of normal in her new school. It is a surprise that there is a new coach added, but since she was a player before the team was willing to learn and practice as much as they can from her. Coach Martinez is tough, but she is also focused on the girls as individuals as much as on the team winning. She wants them to be a team, connect to one another, and bring spirit to the school. Throughout this book I was struck by how well the text (speech bubbles and thought bubbles) by Hena Khan worked wonderfully with the illustrations by Safiya Zerrougui. It is clear that they both felt this story in their hearts and recognized this book was something special. Thank you both, for this book!

I am so grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to review this story. Though I am not often a fan of graphic novels, this one had me from the very beginning. The story of an all Muslim girls basketball team and those who interviewed them was hard to resist. I like the way the story allowed for so many emotions and reactions in illustrations and in the text. I hope someday head scarves will not cause so much discomfort in our world. The team members wanted the focus to be on the sport and their play, not their respect for their own religion. They kept the focus on the sport and their teamwork throughout this whirlwind season and that is to be celebrated. This book is for all students. Those who have changed schools, like sports, like friendship stories, or get swept up in Cinderella stories common in basketball, even at the high school level.

Sports, found family, and high-schoolers all make a winning combination for a good graphic novel. When you combine that with strong character building and beautiful illustrations, there's no way to lose. This was a great read!!!!