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Hafsa's Way by Aisha Saeed

MMGM Review: Hafsa’s Way by Aisha Saeed

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Hafsa’s Way
Aisha Saeed
Nancy Paulsen Books
Published March 10, 2026

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About Hafsa’s Way

In this inspiring stand-alone companion to New York Times bestseller Amal Unbound , Hafsa defies her family’s patriarchal expectations by pursuing her dreams and insisting that her married sister pursue hers.

Hafsa intends to be a doctor one day, so she’s thrilled to be accepted into Bukhari Summer Science Camp for kids who share her dream. Her parents, however, do not share her enthusiasm. They don’t support the idea of girls being doctors, the camp is expensive, and they don’t want to send her off to the big city of Lahore unsupervised. But when her brother-in-law offers to pay, and he and her sister invite her to stay at their house instead of in the dorms, her parents grudgingly give in.

Hafsa couldn’t be more excited, but things get off to a shaky start when it immediately becomes apparent that she accidentally signed up for the wrong program. And since she’s the only one not staying in the dorms, her fellow students treat her like an outsider—and a country bumpkin. On top of all that, she’s worried about her sister, who seems to have set aside her own career goals to please her in-laws.

But Hafsa’s way is to forge ahead, whether that means finding ways to pursue her medical studies, immersing herself in the climate studies program, or taking a pivotal field trip to the zoo—where an encounter with an elephant leads to several unexpected outcomes. It’s not easy to negotiate being part of a community—and a family—that doesn’t support her dreams, but Hafsa’s never been the type to take no for an answer. She’s determined to grab any chance she can for a better future, no matter what the odds are stacked against her.

My Review

I had no idea where this story was headed as I read the first few chapters. Hafsa has big ideas, and I love that there were people in her life who supported her dreams. I like that her dreams shifted a little bit as the story progressed, too. That feels very relatable to me, and definitely something that seems relatable to a lot of young readers.

The story includes many different types of characters. I think readers who aren’t very familiar with life in Pakistan will appreciate that. Some scenes showed Hafsa with her family in their small town. Other scenes showed Hafsa walking through a big city. Still others showed her experiencing a privileged life in a fancy house with hired help.

Yet, in all those places, she faces different kinds of challenges. Some of the girls at the camp were less invested in the curriculum than she was. Others were even more interested. Hafsa made judgments about some of the people she met. She had to reevaluate those ideas as she learned more about each person.

I also really appreciated the relationship between Hafsa and her older sister. While Shabnam’s life was more complicated than Hafsa realized, she still felt a strong connection to her sister, and a desire to see her sister happy. I like that the story made them consider each other’s perspectives more, and to lean into one another’s strengths.

One thing that’s interesting to me is how gradually the plight of the elephant emerges as a central component of the story. At first, Hafsa doesn’t even realize she’s made this connection with the animal. That relationship grows as the story moves forward.

I also really appreciate that the effort to help the elephant wasn’t limited to Hafsa’s labor. What made the experience so powerful was that it brought to fruition all the relationships that Hafsa had invested in throughout the story. It celebrated the power of community and working together.

The author’s note at the back of the book relates the real-life story that inspired Hafsa’s Way. I love the book even more knowing that it was inspired by real events. If you liked The Elephant’s Girl by Celesta Rimington or The Boy Who Met a Whale by Nizrana Farook, be sure to check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Hafsa spends time at her newly married sister’s house and watches her sister interact with her new husband. She hears them laugh, sees them hug one another, and is glad they’re happy.

Spiritual Content
References to Muslim prayer practices.

Violent Content
A devastating storm sweeps through the town where Hafsa is staying, damaging buildings and homes. Some people are left carrying belongings through floodwaters.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.

Review: The Firelight Apprentice by Bree Paulsen

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

The Firelight Apprentice
Bree Paulsen
Quill Tree Books
Published October 29, 2024

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About The Firelight Apprentice

The bestselling author-illustrator of Garlic and the Vampire, Bree Paulsen, brings her fantastical storytelling and warm, sparkling artwork to this story that celebrates the bond between sisters.

In a city powered by magic and still recovering from a bloody war, Ada is concerned about her younger sister Safi’s developing powers. She understands that Safi could learn how to control her magic under the apprenticeship of a king’s magician. But with the memories of war still fresh, Ada is conflicted by this prospect—despite her knowing that she can’t keep Safi safely at home with the threat of deadly, power-thieving liches prowling the kingdom.

When a traveling group of magicians comes to the city to perform, they immediately recognize Safi’s talents and offer to take her on as an apprentice. Safi is thrilled about her new adventure—even if that means leaving behind Ada and their sickly father. And Ada is right to worry about her sister, for there may be monsters hiding behind friendly faces…

My Review

I love sister stories, so I had to put this one on my reading list. One of the less common elements of this story, though, is the age gap between the sisters. Ada is nearly an adult, but Safi is much younger, maybe eleven? One of the things that binds the two together is their shared family loss.

Ada is the steady, practical sister, and she quickly realizes Safi needs more than their struggling family can provide. She helps Safi secure an apprenticeship, despite her torn feelings. She wants Safi to be safe and have the opportunity to learn, but she also misses her sister and worries for her.

Paulsen also wrote the Garlic books, which center on big emotions and finding community. Those elements are at play here, as well. The color palette leans heavily on greens and other colors you might expect to see in a forest, which reminded me a little bit of her other books, too.

The relationship between sisters was so sweet. The plot of the story is pretty gentle (there’s a hard loss near the middle) until the end of the story, when a Lich monster is unmasked and attacks. That got pretty intense pretty quickly. Otherwise, the story is more about relationships between characters.

I’m glad I read this one, and I think fans of Paulsen’s other graphic novels will enjoy it. Fantasy readers will also find this quick book engaging.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are magicians and can do magic. Liches are frightening creatures drawn to magicians for their magic. A Lich can drain a magician of his magic permanently.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Death of a parent. Some panels show a Lich attacking a magician.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

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The Swan’s Daughter
Roshani Chokshi
Wednesday Books
Published January 6, 2026

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The Swan’s Daughter

In this lush and romantic novel from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi, a prince is only as good as his beating heart and a maiden is only as good as her honest word. But when love and the truth become impossibly tangled, the two must figure out how to survive together, or fall completely apart.

To find love is a curse …

Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally.

Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris’s parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power.

Until he meets Demelza.

As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides.

While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.

My Review

LOOK AT ME READING THE BOOK I PRE-ORDERED IN A TIMELY MANNER. I cannot believe I missed all announcements about this book last year. What rock was I living under? I’m glad I heard about it in time to pre-order a copy. I’ve been a fan of Roshani Chokshi’s books, especially her young adult titles, since her debut. Knowing she had a new young adult fantasy book coming out this year was super exciting.

The book starts out a little bit slowly, but don’t be fooled. The setup showing her parents’ romantic relationship does some heavy lifting in terms of immersing us in the whimsical story world. I loved all the weird magical elements and complex relationships. The story stays in a lighthearted fantasy tone, but it has some teeth to it, too.

I loved Demelza and Arris. She’s smart and anxious. He’s romantic and imaginative. I like that they stay true to those qualities even as they get to know one another. Part of the story is figuring out whether two people so different could have a sustainable romance. Demelza’s friends are great, too. I laughed so much at some of the things that happened with them.

Reading this book was a very welcome escape for me, which I really appreciated. If you are looking for a fairytale-like story that isn’t a retelling, definitely check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
List.

Romance/Sexual Content
List.

Spiritual Content
List.

Violent Content
List.

Drug Content
List.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I pre-ordered a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Review: Her Name in the Sky by Kelly Quindlen

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Her Name in the Sky
Kelly Quindlen
Roaring Brook Press
Published January 27, 2026

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About Her Name in the Sky

Hannah wants to spend her senior year of high school going to football games and Mardi Gras parties with her tight-knit group of friends.

The last thing she wants is to fall in love with a girl–especially when that girl is her best friend, Baker.

Hannah knows she should like Wally, the kind, earnest boy who asks her to prom. She should cheer on her friend Clay when he asks Baker to be his girlfriend. She should follow the rules of her conservative Louisiana community–the rules that have been ingrained in her since she was a child.

But Hannah longs to be with Baker, who cooks macaroni and cheese with Hannah late at night, who believes in the magic of books as much as Hannah does, and who challenges Hannah to be the best version of herself.

And Baker might want to be with Hannah, too–if both girls can embrace that world-shaking, yet wondrous, possibility.

My Review

This book originally came out in 2012 but is being re-released in 2026. This year, I read it for the first time. Kelly Quindlen is a new author for me as well. I’d heard of her books, but hadn’t read them before.

The thing that I think this book does absolutely brilliantly is to capture Hannah’s emotional and spiritual journey. We see her wrestle with her faith and her identity in heartbreaking, anguished scenes. I love that Quindlen shows this, not once, but as an ongoing process for Hannah.

I also like that the book shows characters with a spectrum of beliefs. Some support Hannah immediately, while others seem to want to opt out of responding to her at all, and others target her with cruel words.

The relationship between Hannah and Joanie, her sister, was really nicely done. Joanie absolutely had my heart by the end of the book. If there’s ever a spinoff novel about her, I need to read it. The way that she and Hannah navigate their estrangement and reconciliation felt so much like true sisterhood.

The only thing I struggled with was how much time the characters spent drinking alcohol. In fairness, some of those scenes weren’t really about casual drinking, but showed an unhealthy pattern that involved drinking or needing to be drunk in order to do certain things. So from a plot perspective, it was an integrated part of the story and evidence of some destructive behavior. (Mainly an attempt at shame-avoidance.)

There’s a scene toward the end where a dad confronts a man who’s saying some homophobic things, and I need more dads like this in young adult literature and everywhere. I cheered at how both parents handled one moment in the book.

Reading this book was such an emotional roller coaster, in all the ways it was meant to be. I feel like I bawled through almost half of the story. It’s really moving. Definitely grab you some tissues for this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Brief descriptions of and references to sex.

Spiritual Content
The main characters attend a Catholic school. The school’s priest speaks about spiritual topics. Hannah wrestles with questions about whether her identity as a lesbian makes her bad and shameful. The priest’s teaching says it does. Another teacher tells her it doesn’t.

Violent Content
Some homophobic statements and behavior. A girl shoves another girl. Two boys get into a fistfight that starts a brawl.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol in several scenes. One teen drinks alcohol as part of a self-destructive spiral and nearly ends up hospitalized.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

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This is Not a Test: The Definitive Edition with Please Remain Calm
Courtney Summers
Inky Phoenix Press/Bindery
Published January 13, 2026

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About This is Not a Test: The Definitive Edition with Please Remain Calm

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High, but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self.

To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed, and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live.

But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways, and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

My Review

This is Not a Test is one of the only Courtney Summers novels I hadn’t yet read. (The only one I still haven’t gotten to at this point is Fall for Anything.) This version includes both This is Not a Test and Please Remain Calm, a novella from the love interest’s perspective that takes place after This is Not a Test.

This book was so intense that I literally read it in one session. The threat of zombies is everpresent, but that’s not the only threat the characters face. The tension between members of the survivors Sloane hides with just keeps going up. One group blames a person for the deaths of others. The group disagrees on how to treat a new survivor discovered within the compound. Sloane herself begins the story intending to end her life, so she is a danger to herself for quite a stretch of the narrative.

Throughout the story, Sloane thinks about her missing sister and her father, who abused her. I had a theory about where that thread of the story was going, but I was wrong. I do appreciate that the author wraps up the unanswered questions there in a way that allows Sloane to move on. I also like that she finds a connection to Rhys, a boy from the group of survivors she was with in the school.

As you’d expect from a Courtney Summers novel, this story is sharp, smart, and deeply moving. I don’t even know if I blinked through some of the chapters. I didn’t want to miss a single second.

If you’re looking for a zombie story packed with social commentary and exploring the connection between sisters and girl friends, definitely do not miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Vague reference to someone walking in on a couple having sex. A couple starts making out, intending to have sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Mentions of and brief descriptions of domestic violence and child abuse. Suicidal ideation and a vague attempt. One scene shows a character ending their life. Several scenes show zombies attacking one another and anyone still alive. Some members of the group blame another group member for the deaths of others. One person essentially sends others into a fatal situation, hoping it allows the others to escape.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Beth is Dead
Katie Bernet
Sarah Barley Books
Published January 6, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Beth is Dead

Beth March’s sisters will stop at nothing to track down her killer—until they begin to suspect each other—in this debut thriller that’s also a bold, contemporary reimagining of the beloved classic Little Women.

When Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer.

Suspects abound. There’s the neighbor who has feelings for not one but two of the girls. Meg’s manipulative best friend. Amy’s flirtatious mentor. And Beth’s lionhearted first love. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable.

Jo, an aspiring author with a huge following on social media, would do anything to hook readers. Would she kill her sister for the story? Amy dreams of studying art in Europe, but she’ll need money from her aunt—money that’s always been earmarked for Beth. And Meg wouldn’t dream of hurting her sister…but her boyfriend might have, and she’ll protect him at all costs.

Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their father published a controversial bestseller about his own daughters. Beth could have been killed by anyone.

Beth’s perspective, told in flashback, unfolds next to Meg, Jo, and Amy’s increasingly fraught investigation as the tragedy threatens to rip the Marches apart.

My Review

This is such an interesting way to reimagine this story. I’ve read the “Jane Austen Murder Mysteries” series by Tirzah Price, which reimagines some of Austen’s novels as murder mysteries set in the time period in which the originals took place. Beth is Dead takes that idea a step further by reimagining the story in a modern setting.

The story contains many subtle and overt nods to the original, as well as some elements that seemed to reference Alcott’s real life. (I haven’t seen the author state that as an intention, so it could be a coincidence.) As events unfolded and I connected the dots from this novel to the original, I found myself nodding along or celebrating the parallel’s inventiveness.

I will admit that the modern setting and the way that some components from the original story were stretched to heighten the suspicion about potential culprits challenged me a bit as a fan of the original. For instance, Laurie and Amy hooking up while Amy was fifteen was a lot for me. Yikes.

I will say that I appreciate a lot of how Bernet modernized the March sisters. Jo, in the original, is always getting in trouble for using slang, so it’s not hard for me to imagine her swearing today or posting personal essays online and cultivating a social media following. That feels like a reasonable parallel to the kinds of short stories she published in the original novel.

I have mixed feelings about the fact that, in this book, her dad has written a novel called Little Women. It’s a novel about the girls, which has started a lot of drama. The story does interrogate whether he had any right to novelize the girls’ lives without their permission. It certainly picks apart his choice to write Beth’s (fictional) death in his novel. I think I would have preferred the novel be written by Jo rather than draw to much focus and attention to her dad’s character and whether or not he’s a good person because of this choice. It felt like it drew the story away from the sisters a lot.

Conclusion

On the whole, I am really glad I read the book. I like the clever way that the original elements reappear here. For the most part, I appreciated the modernized versions of the characters, too. I think fans of Belittled Women by Amanda Sellet will not want to miss this clever reimagining of Little Women.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to two people (a fifteen-year-old and a seventeen-year-old) who kissed, undressed, and got into bed together before stopping. Another couple makes out in a couple of scenes.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of a dead body.

Drug Content
Reference to teens drinking alcohol at a New Year’s Eve party. Several teens wake up with awful hangovers. A girl drinks alcohol at school and is suspended. She continues drinking at home, where an adult serves her another glass of wine.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.