Thank you to NetGalley for this free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the story and representation of this book - Hena Khan has a talent for bringing us into the sports world (even if we couldn't shoot a hoop to save our life!). The story is quite charming and based on a true story. As always, Khan gives us solid muslim gal rep and kudos for the hijabi rep as well, The story doesn't go very deep into major issues, so would be great for a reluctant reader. Does a good job at showing the balance of friendship, basketball, and grades.

This story follows a teen who moves to Milwaukee and joins the girls basketball team at her Islamic school. Inspired by true events, the story follows the team as they get a new coach, start winning and learn to work together. They start gaining media attention for playing in hijabs and, though some try to spin their story negatively, they take this opportunity to show that Muslim women can do anything. This is a feel-good graphic novel with great art and a lot of heart. I loved that there was not only a focus on Aliya’s growth but that of the entire team. I highly recommend this one!

This book will be a hit for basketball lovers, those interested in diverse children's fiction, and readers looking for ways to identify and break down stereotypes.

This graphic novel YA read adds a wonderful voice of the Muslim teen. The hijab-wearing teens on the team move from a winless season into the social media spotlight in Milwaukee.

The team must learn to work together and act with self confidence to be successful. The text is humorous, explores culture and perceptions, and addresses teen issues of fitting in.

This is stellar. Even though the protagonists are in high school, the format and mode of storytelling are perfectly suited to a middle grade audience who definitely will benefit from a solidly told and expressively illustrated graphic centered around girls who play sports and also happen to sport (haha) hijab. I appreciate, too, that there are references to the expectedly pointed questions from reporters that would almost certainly not be directed to white players, but the emphasis of the story is on integrating athletic development and self-image with a sturdy ethnoreligious identity in the background.

(Full disclosure I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley. Content warning for depictions of Islamophobia.)

When Aliya Javaid's parents announce that they're moving the family from Florida to Milwaukee, she and her older brother Ameen are none too happy. (Younger brother Ismail seems like more of the carefree type.) For starters, she's already one month into her freshman year. It'll be nice to live near her grandparents, but she doesn't want to leave her friends behind. And while Peace Academy does have a girls' basketball team, the bad news is that they kind of stink.

But the Javaids aren't the only addition to Peace Academy this year - the girls' basketball team has a new coach, Jessica Martinez, who is determined to execute a Mighty Ducks makeover. For Aliya, this means getting out of her own head, and learning to enjoy her victories at least as much as she dwells on her mistakes. As the team makes a slow but steady comeback, local and then state (and even national?) news outlets begin to pick up the story of the all-Muslim lineup. Armed with leading questions and an apparent agenda, the girls are forced to block more than just field goals. (Yeah, I had to look that term up.)

Based on a true story - that of the Salam School's girls' varsity team in the 2018-19 season - WE ARE BIG TIME is a gentle story about teamwork, friendship, and belonging. As the editorial director Rotem Moscovich notes in the ARC's front matter, Khan introduces elements of Islamophobia and discrimination without allowing them to dominate the girls' story - much as how the girls on the team handle the reports' asinine questions, redirecting their story in a more relevant direction. The depictions of female friendship and camaraderie are refreshing, and I really enjoyed the scenes with the extended (and super-supportive) Javaid family.

A thrilling sports story that also addresses important social issues. Intricately developed characters, bold art, and a punchy voice make this a book kids will love!

I really enjoyed this book. The illustrations were beautiful and the fact that it was based on a true story was really inspiring. I was really happy with the way the story handled discrimination and how the girls were able to talk about what they experienced together.

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.