Zara Hossain is Here Written by Sabina Khan. Reviewed by Isabelle, Age 12

Zara Hossain Is Here is a very good and interesting book. Zara and her family moved to Texas from Pakistan when she was young. They lived a happy life there until Tyler , a bully at her school, sprays racist graffiti on her locker. One thing leads to another and Zara’s family no longer feel safe in their own home. Zara doesn’t want to leave her friends behind in Texas and move back to Pakistan with her parents, but there seems like no other option until she comes up with a genius idea fitting for all her family.

I think that this book is for ages 12 and over as it includes things that could be found unsettling for younger readers. I also think adults would enjoy this book. It shows that you should never give up on your dreams no matter what happens and there is almost always a way to solve problems.

My favourite character was Zara as she never gave up on her family and tried to come up with a solution to let them stay in Texas. When she found that this was not possible, she found another way they could stay close to friends and family they had made in there. Just because she was different, she didn’t feel ashamed as she knew there was nothing to be ashamed of, it was just who she is. It reminded me of another book I have read – Moxie – because of the empowering storyline; like it says on the front cover, “Stand Up. Speak Out. Stay True.”

I really enjoyed reading this story and found it hard to put down as I wanted to find out what happened next in Zara’s journey. I think I enjoyed it more as it wasn’t something I would usually pick up in a bookshop as it seems more serious than things I would usually read, but I found that this was a good thing as it enlightens you to problems faced by people everyday all across the world and even in our own country.