Hafsa's Way
(Amal Unbound #3)

Gr 3-7--In Saeed's latest, readers meet a sharp, determined Pakistani girl whose dream of becoming a doctor runs up against family expectations, gender norms, and structural barriers that feel culturally specific and universally recognizable. Hafsa feels one step closer to her doctor dreams when she is admitted into Bukhari Summer Science Camp. But her traditional parents are unsupportive, and when Hafsa does attend, she must overcome even more challenges from people who don't see her for who she is. Saeed excels at portraying the quiet, everyday negotiations girls make in pursuit of autonomy without flattening any character into a villain or hero. Hafsa's persistence is grounded not in defiance for its own sake but in an ethical clarity. Whether navigating the hierarchies of a summer science camp or confronting injustice at the zoo, she learns that standing up for what's right often comes with consequences and that growth is rarely linear or comfortable. The intergenerational dynamics, particularly among women, are rendered with nuance and care, highlighting both constraint and solidarity across urban and rural Pakistan. This is a novel that will resonate deeply with middle grade readers, especially those negotiating identity, ambition, and belonging. It also offers rich opportunities for classroom discussion around gender equity, cultural expectations, moral courage, and advocacy. VERDICT A compelling, justice-centered middle grade novel that refuses to oversimplify courage or coming-of-age and a powerful reminder that finding one's voice is rarely easy but always worth the risk.--Tracey Hodges

Inspired in part, per an author's note, by the true story of an orphaned Asian elephant transplanted to the Islamabad Zoo, this tidy novel by Saeed (Omar Rising) traces a Pakistani youth's experience learning to advocate for others. Determined Hafsa dreams of becoming a medical doctor. She's thrilled when her traditional father, pressured by her older sister Shabnam and Shabnam's physician husband Sohail, reluctantly allows Hafsa to attend a prestigious science camp in Lahore, where the newly married couple lives with Sohail's wealthy parents. Hafsa is disappointed, however, to learn that the camp curriculum focuses not on medicine but on climate change. But her disappointment soon grows into curiosity and concern for the animals in the city zoo and their deteriorating living conditions--especially for elephant, Gulab. Hafsa's deepening attachment to Gulab and her activism against animal cruelty steadily unfolds alongside peripheral family struggles: after Shabnam abandons her goal of attending culinary school to instead help her mother-in-law fundraise for Sohail's hospital, Hafsa's attempted interventions sow resentment within the sisters' relationship. While Hafsa's emotional voice reads as somewhat young, and conflicts are resolved a bit smoothly, the development of Hafsa's passions evolves naturally and credibly, and her achievements feel well-earned. Ages 10-up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (Mar.)