A review by panda_incognito
Power Forward by Hena Khan
3.0
This chapter book is a quick, fun read for children who are interested in sports. The main character, Zayd, is a Muslim from a Pakistani family, and in this first book, he deals with his mother's pressure for him to study the violin, which conflicts with his interest in basketball. He learns important life lessons in the story, and has entertaining interactions with his immediate and extended family.
This book is easy to read, with lots of illustrations, and the dialogue is snappy and engaging. The book incorporates Zayd's culture and family background in a natural way, bringing his life experiences into the story without becoming didactic or dragging down the plot. The author incorporates Islamic phrases and Pakistani foods without over-explaining them to other audiences, and the book reads as a seamless whole.
This first book in a series will definitely appeal to children who share Zayd's culture or religion, but the story has general appeal because of its engaging narrator, emphasis on relatable family dynamics, and fast-paced, well-written sports elements. Some kids will also relate to Zayd's anxiety, and his frustration with family member's comments and teasing about how skinny he is. I completely related to this from my childhood, and it was very authentic. Early on, he mentions that his mother had to alter his basketball pants so that they could fit, because even though they had a drawstring, the drawstring didn't function, and just hung there being useless. YES. So relatable.
Even though overly skinny kids don't have to deal with the kinds of prejudice and barriers that overweight kids usually do, body-shaming comments, insecurities, and frustrations with clothes are still an issue, and are rarely seen as significant because the person's body type is socially accepted. I'm interested to see how the author handles the subplot about body image issues throughout the rest of the series.
This book is easy to read, with lots of illustrations, and the dialogue is snappy and engaging. The book incorporates Zayd's culture and family background in a natural way, bringing his life experiences into the story without becoming didactic or dragging down the plot. The author incorporates Islamic phrases and Pakistani foods without over-explaining them to other audiences, and the book reads as a seamless whole.
This first book in a series will definitely appeal to children who share Zayd's culture or religion, but the story has general appeal because of its engaging narrator, emphasis on relatable family dynamics, and fast-paced, well-written sports elements. Some kids will also relate to Zayd's anxiety, and his frustration with family member's comments and teasing about how skinny he is. I completely related to this from my childhood, and it was very authentic. Early on, he mentions that his mother had to alter his basketball pants so that they could fit, because even though they had a drawstring, the drawstring didn't function, and just hung there being useless. YES. So relatable.
Even though overly skinny kids don't have to deal with the kinds of prejudice and barriers that overweight kids usually do, body-shaming comments, insecurities, and frustrations with clothes are still an issue, and are rarely seen as significant because the person's body type is socially accepted. I'm interested to see how the author handles the subplot about body image issues throughout the rest of the series.