Review | Kareem Between

Summary: Kareem Between

It’s 2016, and Kareem is a Syrian-American football fan who really wants to play on his school middle school team but flunks his tryouts. The coach’s son Austin then tells Kareem that he can help him get in with the team if he helps him with his homework and some schoolwork, too. Kareem also generally wants to stay on Austin’s good side and so is afraid to stand up to him when Austin starts bullying a new Syrian immigrant whose family is friends with Kareem’s. Then things go haywire when Kareem’s mother has to go to Syria to get her parents to the US, and Trump’s order bans flights from Syria and some other predominantly Muslim countries.

The Good

I really enjoyed this story. The plot and setting are fresh as Safadi writes about a specific event and time period: President Trump’s 2017 Muslim ban. Despite that being the inciting event, Kareem’s internal turmoil and character growth make for a riveting and, at times, uncomfortable read (as it can be with protagonists making poor choices, such as in Faruqi’s Unsettled or Swinarski’s The Kate in Between).

Besides being a football lover, Kareem also enjoys English grammar and is always thinking of words and reading. The author beautifully incorporates her protagonist’s affinity for language into this novel-in-verse. Almost every chapter includes an example of a figure of speech like metaphor, irony, and hyperbole, which I think could make a wonderful novel to teach in ELA classrooms. (As a former teacher, Safadi has a lovely teacher guide and discussion questions on her website.)

There’s a lot of tension when Kareem’s mother is stuck in Syria during the ban, and the author’s writing makes this palpable for readers. I also loved the family dynamics (especially the way Kareem’s parents treat him even when he makes choices) in this story. There’s also some sports action as Kareem tries out and plays at home and in school. Finally, the author makes a clever stylistic choice to render some parts of this book in Arabic format written with the right alignment, which I liked.

Content Notes

Here are some specifics to know about the content.

Content Warnings

• Death: None on the page
• Alcohol/substance abuse: None
• Sexual content: None
• Religious content: Kareem is Muslim, and there are multiple references to Islamic worship
• Language: None

Diversity

• Ethnic: Kareem and his family are Syrian American
• Sexual orientation: None

Recommended for ages: 11+

Good for kids who like:

• Books about kids overcoming challenges
• Verse novels
• Stories about activism
• Books about sports
• Family stories
• Coming-of-age stories

Publisher Details

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