Barakah Beats by Maleeha Siddiqui

 

Over the weekend, I read Barakah Beats by Maleeha Siddiqui. This realistic fiction novel is about Nimra Sharif, a Pakistani American girl who is going to a public middle school for seventh grade after being homeschooled until she was eight and then going to Islamic school. She's excited to finally go to school with her best friend, Jenna, but middle school is challenging and Jenna starts acting hot and cold around Nimra upon learning she'll be wearing her hijab to school, especially when they're with Jenna's other friends. To fit in and win Jenna back, Nimra joins Barakah Beats, a band of popular eighth grade boys, even though her parents always told her that music isn't allowed in Islam. She plans to quit as soon as things are back to normal with her and Jenna, but then the band signs up for a talent show raising money for refugees making it harder for her to drop out. As her plan begins to work and she realizes she actually likes hanging out with the band, she grows increasingly uncomfortable lying to everyone and must decide if she should betray her bandmates or herself.

This novel was a quick read for me and I liked it a lot. I thought it was relatable that Nimra wanted to fit in at her new school and could understand why she would take a risk joining Barakah Beats even if it meant not being true to herself. I definitely enjoyed her friendship with Waleed, Bilal, Matthew, and Khadijah, Bilal's younger sister who helps out with the band. I didn't want her to betray them and it didn't seem like she was miserable singing with her bandmates, but it was obvious how keeping secrets was taking a toll on her more so than anything else. I liked Jenna at first, but as I read the story, the little things that were slightly off in their friendship built up and I didn't want Nimra to be friends with someone who couldn't understand how important religion was to her and didn't make time to hang out with her outside of school. Another thing I loved about Nimra was her passion for art and I'm glad that it was her outlet when things were rough both at school and with her family. I can especially imagine how frustrating it was for Nimra when her mom and grandma argued and it was a really good idea that she would draw as a form of coping with their disagreements. As an exploration of faith, family, and friendship, this book is a terrific choice for anyone going through the challenge of finding their place in middle school. 

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin

 

Last week, I finished reading Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steven Sheinkin. This nonfiction book is about the beginning of the Cold War leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, what happened during the crisis, and how it concluded. It explains how the United States and the Soviet Union emerged from World War II as the two most powerful nations and began a competition to build the most destructive bombs and achieve milestones in space travel. With the rise of communism in Eastern Europe, the Berlin Wall was built to keep people from leaving East Berlin for free West Berlin. While some spies met together to share secrets, others completed overflights across enemy land. Some were even captured. When Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev came to a secret agreement with Fidel Castro to deliver Soviet nuclear missiles to Cuba, the series of events afterwards led to the world's closest call to nuclear conflict.

I thought this book was fantastic and learned so much about the Cold War that wasn't covered in my history classes. I really enjoyed how it read like a spy thriller. Even though I knew that the Cuban Missile Crisis didn't end in world destruction, the book was suspenseful and had me wondering how exactly a nuclear war was avoided when President Kennedy was determined not to show weakness by backing down and Premier Khrushchev was bent on threatening the United States by getting nuclear weapons to Cuba. It seems like it was a terrifying time to be alive, especially when any miscommunication at all could have led to the third and final world war. There were heroes then, though, and one of my favorite stories in the book was how cyclist Harry Seidel dug tunnels under the Berlin Wall to bring his family and others from East Berlin to West Berlin. I truly admire how courageous he was. In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes books about spies or key moments in history.