Wow. This book is fantastic. If NetGalley gave the options for half stars, this one would definitely get 4.5 stars. Even though it did not quite reach five star status for me, I thoroughly enjoyed my read and will be purchasing this for my classroom.
Samira, in the span of two short weeks, deals with a lot of typical drama of being a middle schooler, some of those things rather important, some of those things that seem petty to adults. Though the course of those two weeks, the time span of this novel, Samira makes several mistakes and also grows tremendously as she learns had to teal with a toxic friend, her younger brother with autism, her parents and sister being in India for a special pre-colleague trip, gaining a new friend, as well as several other events that weave together so well.
I highly recommend this book.

What a wonderful middle-grade book about changing friendships and finding home/community! Samira wants a nice, quiet summer while her parents and older sister are out of the country. Her grandmother, Umma, and her younger brother Imran will be with her. She had plans to fully introvert out after struggling all year with losing a best friend Kiera (who is a Mean Girl, gaslighting her, and possibly behind a cruel prank of TPing Samira's house). However, her summer had other plans.

Samira is a wonderfully relatable protagonist-- people-pleaser, introverted, but also courageous and learns how to stand up for herself and others. Having taught 7th graders, I felt like she was very realistically written and I am so happy to see this type of representation in middle grade books. I particularly loved the thoughtful portrayal of Imran and his autism in this story-- it made me tear up thinking about my own sibling and students I've taught.

I received an ARC and noted some things that could use some editing and the ending felt a little unfinished (did Kiera actually receive any consequences for her terrible actions?) so I'm excited to order a copy for myself and my classroom. The heart of this story is great and I really enjoyed reading this.

Hamza takes a well-worn middle grade trope–fitting in and loss of best friend–and weaves a nuanced, emotionally satisfying story. Samira has taken a backseat to her own life, bending her own wants so as not to rock the boat. Her grandmother’s extroverted personality contrasts with Samira’s introversion, and Hamza creates homey and believable situations that carry Samira through her first days of vacation. As narrator, Samira’s worldview rings true and is infused with humor and pathos, both in her mind and in her photographs. This book goes down like butter and shows the importance of loving oneself first.

A sweet look at families, changing friendships, the power of communication and the desire to "fit in." Samira has a "perfect" older sister, a younger brother on the autism spectrum, loving parents, and a wonderful Indian grandmother. But she doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere. She is an introvert, has social anxiety, and has "broken up" with her former best - and only - friend. As her parents and older sister travel to India for a wedding, Samira, her grandmother, and brother prepare for a low-key summer, which opens Samira's eyes to friendship, the meaning of community, and ways she can express herself. A lovely representation of differences, culture, and family. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Note: there are a number of mentions of menstruation throughout the book.

I really liked Samira and felt that she was very relatable with her overthinking. I tend to do that too and I so felt for her. I liked that she was able to find things to make summer fun.

Thanks NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Nina Hamza, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Samira is prepared for her worse summer ever. Her best friend has decided that she rather hang out with other people. That leaves Samira's brother as her only person to hang out with. To make things worse, Samira's house gets TP'ed and its all wet due to a storm. Is her best friend behind it or is it due to the fact that they are Muslim? Her brother, who is on the autism spectrum, is very upset that their house was targeted. It's up to Samira to show him that everything will be okay.
As Samira is cleaning up soggy toilet paper, she meets Alice. Alice wants to help Samira figure out what happened. Will Samira end up having a better summer than she thought she would?

A great middle grade read! I loved it so much. The bullying and mean girls were painful, but unfortunately very realistic. Overall I loved it and look forward to adding it to my classroom library.

I am sorry, but this was dnf for me. I just could not get through the cringe dialogue and prose. Also, the story was just so boring and not exciting at all, and the main character was not compelling. I feel bad saying all this so I won’t be reviewing this publicly, but I did enjoy this authors first book so this was disappointing

Look, how can you NOT judge a book by this cover? It is gorgeous! Middle Grade books always get the most beautiful covers (or maybe it’s that I have the aesthetic of a tween girl). The characters are just as engaging and stunning as the cover. I loved Samira as well as her whole family, especially Umma!

This book focuses on mean girls and bullying, and I do feel like some of the toxic friendships in this book are realistic to how girls so often treat one another. It also touches on Islamophobia in the US in a way that is not only very realistic but also very accessible to young readers. The grocery store scene - this book is probably reading just for that one scene. I loved it!

There were a few components of this book that kept me from really connecting with the story. I felt that the chapters were a little choppy, and the overall story could have been edited down to a much shorter book. Not only would that make the writing more concise, but the book would be more palatable to young readers. I think some of the characters and scenes could have been condensed as well.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book that I will be adding to the elementary library!

What a wonderful and fun read!
Samira is a delightful character in more ways than one! You will instantly love her and then want to shake her until she had some sense.
One of the scenes made me really mad! Well....a couple did.
How can people be so cruel? I just don't understand.
I loved every minute of this cute read.
One of my very favorite things, of course, is the 1st person, pov. I can relate to Samira a lot. In fact, I still can. I tend to overthink things just like this sweet girl does.
Her brother is pretty cool, too. He has Autism. I kept wondering why he didn't really understand things, but as I read on, I finally understood. He's a great kid in getting to know.
My favorite person was Uuma (mom). She made me giggle sometimes, and she's very wise. I loved how she handled certain things and people.
I'm giving this one 5 stars. I highly recommend it. I love stories like this because sometimes they remind me of my own family before they passed away and my growing up years.
Thank you for another wonderful story, Netgalley. I really loved this one.
I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Samira’s parents & older sister are going to India for the summer, while she and her brother, Imran are being watched by their Umma(grandmother). Samira thinks her summer is going to be the worst summer.. She really doesn’t have any friends since her best friend Keira wants nothing to do with her. She woke up the first day & her house had be teepeed. Then Alice moves in and maybe summer won’t be so bad after all. Then Keira tries to steal Alice away from Samira. Follow the ups and downs of the summer with Samira, Imran & Umma.

I found this an enjoyable book and a quick read. I wanted to see what would happen next. I can’t wait to share this book with others. It’s a must read!

Samira has a lot going on with her parents gone for two weeks and Umma staying with her and her younger brother. Samira is not friends anymore with Kiera and when Samira’s family finds their house toilet papered, Samira thinks Kiera did it. When new neighbor Alice moves in, she and Samira become friends until Kiera tries to steal her away from Samira. When someone eggs Alice’s house, Samira thinks Kiera did this too and Kiera even says Samira did it. . Umma says do something about it. Can Samira prove who did the two pranks and win back Alice’s friendship?