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Sixteen-year-old Leena has always wished for a big family… but when she discovers she has a Muslim grandfather and aunt she never knew, she learns that family comes with tangled histories she may not be able to heal.
"Lonely Leena" is close with her young single mother. Still, she's always secretly dreamed of more (and, when she was a kid, asked Santa for it). A huge family to cheer her on at graduation. A gaggle of smiling faces at the holidays. But one call from the hospital, and her mother's hidden past comes to light: Her grandfather is in the ER, and her aunt is with him in recovery. Sorry—her WHO?
But with family comes family secrets—Leena's mom's, and as Leena grows close with her new family behind her mother's back, her own. Leena's mom warns that Leena's grandfather Tariq's financial generosity doesn't come without strings attached… like Leena converting to Islam, fighting for a spot at a top university, and adhering to the restrictive rules that she ran from all those years ago. Leena isn't sure who to trust, yet she's certain that she adores Tariq and her mom—and that she's the only one who could heal old hurts. After so many years, is it even possible? And if she can't, will she have to choose between them?
A big family was the dream, but all this drama isn't.
Warm, witty, and sometimes serious, My Perfect Family is a poignant intergenerational narrative that gives voice to Black Muslim women. A thoughtful examination of the intersection between gender and religion, Khadijah VanBrakle's sophomore novel is a heartfelt tale of forging one's own path… while loving those who stay by your side.
"VanBrakle (Fatima Tate Takes the Cake) utilizes typical conflicts around teenage relationships and dating to contextualize conversations of Tariq's Muslim practices and attitudes surrounding gender roles, modest dress, and abstinence...[A] complex depiction of one teen's yearning for more." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"VanBrakle realistically shows how religion can alienate, separate, and unite people... . An engrossing, emotionally rich meditation on faith, family, and the courage it takes to create your own story." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
VanBrakle sensitively centers the story on Leena and her struggle to learn about her family while also not alienating herself from her mother... .A story that is deeply empathetic, allowing its central character to grow and stake her own claim to her family's legacy and her own future. —Booklist
This information about My Perfect Family was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Khadijah VanBrakle is a proud New Mexican, mother of five, and Black Muslim woman. She is active in running her local SCBWI chapter and as an administrator at the Black Creators HQ, and she was also selected for the Highlights Foundation Muslim Storytellers Fellowship in 2021. She lives in Albuquerque with her family.
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