An upper MG story about living with someone struggling with mental illness.
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Mo lives with a monster. A monster that happens to be his father. Abbu has moods that can change as quickly as the wind, but it’s something Mo deals with, mostly alone. His mother has gone off to work on her fellowship building a well for refugees and now Mo and Abbu must move from NYC to Houston, TX because they have nowhere to live. Now Mo lives with his cousin and aunt and for the first time he’s not alone. Rayyan is a sickly kid, timid and studious while Mo revels in his bad boy persona at this new school. Together the two start volunteering at the mosque and Mo discovers a love of art, which helps him work out his feelings. But his father’s rages and alcoholic rants keep Mo from ever truly relaxing, as he waits for the other shoe to drop.
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If you’ve ever read Faruqi’s books before you’ll be surprised at some of the darker themes in this one, but it’s also one of my new favorites of hers because of how real and gritty it was. The Author’s Note at the end lets readers know that her own father struggled with schizophrenia, which you can tell from Mo’s character that everything he went through comes from experience. The folktales told throughout also added to the story and helped describe what Mo was going through in some cases. I highly recommend this book & will remind you about it when it releases March 4.

CW: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anger issues, alcohol, alcohol abuse, violence, blood, gun violence, bullying, medical content, religious bigotry, parental abandonment

I found it to be a bit too long for a MG story and sometimes the folktales stopped the flow of the story.

This book was very emotional and even hard to read at times. It really captures what it is like to live with someone with bipolar disorder. I felt the main character’s emotions to the point of tears. I love the way it wove in folktales and taught me more about other cultures.