CANR
WORK TITLE: The Matchmaker
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.aishasaeed.com
CITY: Atlanta
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: LRC 2020
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married, c. 2003; children: three sons.
EDUCATION:University of Florida, bachelor’s and master’s degrees (elementary education); earned J.D.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, teacher, and attorney. Previously worked as a second-grade teacher, then as an attorney for Equal Justice Works, Washington, DC; We Need Diverse Books, founding member and vice president of strategy, c. 2014—.
AWARDS:Picture Book Honor, Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature, 2020, for Bilal Cooks Daal.
WRITINGS
Contributor to anthologies, including Love InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women, edited by Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi, Soft Skull Press, 2012. Contributor to periodicals and websites, including ALAN, BlogHer, New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Muslim Girl, Red Tricycle, and Story and Chai.
SIDELIGHTS
Aisha Saeed is a writer for all ages as well as a teacher, lawyer, and founding member of We Need Diverse Books, a grassroots organization made up of creators and lovers of children’s books. The organization advocates changes and fosters initiatives in the publishing industry to promote literature reflecting the lives of diverse young people. As an attorney, Saeed worked for Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit organization focused on achieving greater social justice. She especially represented clients with disabilities and chronic illness to help them attain their rights in educational settings. Although Saeed no longer works in law or teaching, she noted in an interview for the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database: “They helped shape who I am on the journey of life, so I do still identify with them as a part of who I am.” As an author, Saeed has written over a dozen books for youths ranging from elementary age to middle graders to young adults to adults, often depicting experiences for Muslim protagonists.
[open new]During Saeed’s youth, her parents valued literature in all its varieties, and the family took trips to the library every weekend. She has credited Anne Martin’s The Baby Sitters Club with leaving her enraptured with both the power of stories and the idea of being an author. She told Elise Dumpleton of the Nerd Daily: “I have been writing stories since childhood, long before I had any dreams of becoming a published author. I love diving into new worlds, exploring the truth of human nature within the pages of a fictional tale. Research confirms that reading fiction engenders empathy and compassion, and as a reader I certainly see this in my own life. As a writer I hope my stories can in turn engender empathy and understanding.”[suspend new]
In her debut novel, Written in the Stars, Saeed tells the story of a Pakistani American girl whose strict parents plan on following Pakistani tradition and arranging a marriage for their daughter. Saeed noted in the interview for the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database that her family was “involved” in her own marriage, which she called “semi-arranged.” She said in the interview: “In my situation, a mutual friend of my husband’s family and my family introduced the two of us. We met each other and we also met each other’s families but they did not influence us in our marriage decision.”
Saeed was inspired to write Written in the Stars by the fact that some of her childhood friends received pressure from their families to marry someone they chose for them. “While none of their circumstances were exactly like [my] protagonist, seeing what happened to them and reading about the practice of forced marriage the world over served as the inspiration,” Saeed told ArtsATL contributor Soniah Kamal. As for the title of the book, it refers to the belief in Pakistani society that marriages are preordained by God.
Written in the Stars revolves around seventeen-year-old Naila, a first-generation American of Pakistani parents. Naila’s parents are strict and forbid her to date, following the traditions of their home country. Nevertheless, Naila ends up falling in love with Saif, a high school classmate. Naila eventually decides to disobey her parents and sneaks off to the high school prom with Saif. When her parents find out, they are so angry they take her out of school and fly off to Pakistan. Naila thinks the trip is just part of a family vacation to meet relatives but soon learns that her parents have plans to arrange a marriage for her in Pakistan.
Despite Naila’s objections, she is eventually forced into marriage and ends up living with her husband and his extended family, which includes her husband’s mother and two sisters. Life in the household is not happy for Naila. Her stepmother has little sympathy for Naila, and her husband ends up raping her. Naila eventually becomes pregnant and faces a life she does not want with little chance of escaping since she has no passport or visa. Meanwhile, her parents have gone back to America. “Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew,” noted a Pop Goes the Reader contributor. Nevertheless, Naila holds on to the hope that Saif in America will come to her rescue.
Written in the Stars includes an afterword discussing forced marriages, including those that take place in immigrant communities in the United States. Saeed also provides a list of resources to help young girls and women who may face forced marriages. “The spare prose is more evocative than stilted: Saeed shows rather than tells, allowing readers to imagine how Naila … feel[s],” wrote Amy Thurow for School Library Journal. Sarah Hunter, writing in Booklist, called Written in the Stars “stirring, haunting, and ultimately hopeful.”
In her next novel, Amal Unbound, Saeed tells the story of a twelve-year-old Pakistani girl named Amal who dreams of becoming a teacher but faces numerous obstacles. The daughter of an orange farmer, Amal ends up leaving school to oversee the household after her mother becomes clinically depressed following the birth of Amal’s fourth sister. In fact, her father is not happy as well as he and his wife have yet to have a son. Then one day Amal encounters a cruel landlord named Jawad Sahib. She ends up insulting the wealthy landowner who demands that Amal make amends by becoming his servant, supposedly to pay off family debts. Living in Sahib’s compound away from her family, Amal’s dreams seem unattainable.
Amal Unbound was inspired by the true story of Malala Yousafzai. Saeed first got the idea for the novel in 2011. She originally wanted to write a story about a girl from her family’s home village in the Punjab region of Pakistan, but the narrative began to coalesce after she read about Yousafzai’s story. A budding activist, Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban along with another girl while riding a bus after taking an exam. The Taliban believe that girls should not be educated. Although Yousafzai was shot in the head, she recovered. She has since gone on to international acclaim, including winning the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest person ever to attain that honor.
In a Publishers Weekly interview with Claire Kirch, Saeed noted that she agreed with people that Yousafzai is amazing. She went on to tell Kirch: “But I thought of all the other young people who do things that are brave. … It’s important for us to think about the people who perform brave acts who will never see their names in a headline. From that premise, I started writing about Amal.” Saeed also remarked that it was “important” to her she wrote the story for a younger audience.
“Short chapters and unadorned prose make the story accessible and direct, with Amal’s emotions, perspective, and strength anchoring the narrative,” wrote Elisa Gall in a review of Amal Unbound for Horn Book. Calling the novel an “eloquent, suspenseful, eye-opening tale,” a Publishers Weekly contributor went on to note that Saeed not only informs the reader about the ongoing “practice of indentured servitude” but also presents a strong argument “for the power of girls’ education to transform systemic injustice.”
Saeed is also author of the picture book Bilal Cooks Daal, illustrated by Anoosha Syed. The story revolves around the immigrant Bilal and his friends, Morgan and Elias, who want to help Bilal’s South Asian father make a popular legume stew from his home region. Bilal’s father, however, is hesitant, warning the children that they need patience to make the dish. The children decide to make chana daal, but Morgan and Elias are put off by the way the dish looks and smells. The story follows the children as they play while the daal simmers. All the while Bilal is worried that his friends won’t like the daal, which is his favorite food. However, when the dish is finally served in the evening, Bilal’s friends are delighted with it.
“This story is refreshingly innovative in numerous ways,” remarked Amina Chaudhri in Booklist, noting the switching of gender roles and how “Urdu words are seamlessly integrated” into the story. Commenting that the tale “validates young readers’ cultural experiences,” a Kirkus Reviews contributor went on to call Bilal Cooks Daal “a quietly radical, eminently delightful book.”
In Aladdin: Far from Agrabah Saeed provides a story based on the Disney movie characters of Aladdin and Jasmine. When Jasmine wants to see Aladdin’s kingdom, Genie takes them on a magic carpet ride to “Ababwa,” a kingdom made by the Genie at Aladdin’s request as he wants Jasmine to see extraordinary things. The novel follows the trip to the imaginary kingdom, but Aladdin and Jasmine find themselves stranded there after their magic carpet is stolen. Noting that the story is told via the alternating viewpoints of Aladdin and Jasmine, a Kirkus Reviews contributor remarked that “Saeed powerfully captures both their emotions and the setting.”
Saeed is coauthor with Becky Albertalli of Yes No Maybe So. The story revolves around a Muslim teenage girl named Maya and a Jewish boy named Jammie. The two are coerced by their mothers to canvas together during a campaign for the Georgia state senate. Told by the protagonists in alternating chapters, the two teenagers are supporting a candidate who opposes a bill that would place restrictions on head and facial coverings typically worn by Muslim women. The two become friends in the process but face several issues. A campaign manager wants to use the growing romance between Maya and Jammie for campaign purposes. Their different religions also play a big role in the story as the teenagers learn about each other’s traditions. Meanwhile, Maya’s parents are worried about her dating someone outside of their religion.
The two authors “seamlessly join forces to craft a genuine, immediate tale about two teenagers facing some of the harsher truths of the world,” wrote Maggie Reagan in Booklist. Shoshana Flax in a review in Horn Book noted that Yes No Maybe So “leaves much unresolved, allowing its characters and their emotions to stay complicated.”
[resume new]Saeed and S.K. Ali coedited the middle-grade anthology Once upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices, which offers tales surrounding Eid-ul-Fitr, the Islamic holiday ending Ramadan, and Eid-ul-Adha, the feast associated with pilgrimage to Mecca. Saeed contributed the story “Yusuf and the Great Big Brownie Mistake.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer asserted that the “diverse, multidimensional characters—among them Shia Muslim, converted Muslim, Algerian, Caribbean, and West African representation”—help make for a “stimulating, celebratory read.”
Saeed contributes to the mythology of Princess Diana of Themyscira, a familiar figure for DC Comics fans, with her “Wonder Woman Adventures” trilogy, opening with Diana and the Island of No Return. Twelve-year-old Diana is frustrated with mother Queen Hippolyta’s refusal to let her train with the Amazons, but a festival brings not only Diana’s best friend Sakina but also a boy who upends the island’s world—and gives Diana a chance to prove her mettle. A Kirkus Reviews writer noted that Saeed “does an admirable job creating an adventure for young Diana to embark upon without breaking the established canon” of Wonder Woman’s mythos. India Winslow remarked in School Library Journal that the trilogy opener “has a lot of heart … and will leave readers young and old alike believing in their ability to stand up for their truth.”
Omar Rising, Saeed’s next middle-grade novel, is a companion to Amal Unbound. A lifelong friend of Amal’s, Omar is the son of a servant to Amal’s family. Recognizing a momentous chance in his admission to Ghalib Academy for Boys as a scholarship student, Omar ventures into the unknown, to be confronted alongside new roommate Kareem and in the shadow of privileged Aiden. Omar’s excitement about playing soccer and joining clubs is dashed when he learns that first-year scholarship students must forgo extracurriculars and labor at chores—and are deliberately weeded out by the requirement that they maintain an A+ average to keep their scholarships. When friends find out what Omar and Kareem are dealing with, the fight against injustice becomes a common cause. Booklist reviewer Beth Rosania found the novel “illuminating and inspiring …, giving readers a wonderfully detailed look at life in Pakistan.” In School Library Journal, Michele Shaw hailed Omar Rising as a “richly woven … stellar novel which may open eyes to the inequities many young people face.”
Revisting an earlier inspiration, Saeed contributed the chapter-book biography Malala Yousafzai to the “She Persisted” series launched by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger. Appreciating how the book recounts the events of Yousafzai’s life while also addressing broader topics like the right to education, a Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed that Saeed “offers a comprehensible yet nuanced consideration of Islam” as well as “a compelling story that’s empowering and inspirational.”
Saeed and three fellow authors teamed up to write Grounded, which finds four middle graders coming together in Florida’s Zora Neale Hurston Airport for an unexpected adventure. Qatari animal lover Hanna Chen, aspiring spoken-word artist Feek Stiles of Philly, Michigan congresswoman’s daughter Nora Najjar, and anxious Orlando karate competitor Sami Iqbal become fast friends in their search for missing cat Snickerdoodle. While a Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed that the quartet of protagonists “represent the diversity of Muslim communities,” with the authors “seamlessly connecting their individual and collective stories into a single whole,” Booklist reviewer Mahjabeen Syed appreciated how the authors “have crafted a book that, while it brims with unapologetic Muslim rep, is about not religion but friendship and adventure.”
About choosing the title for her picture book The Together Tree, which was inspired by her son’s experience of getting bullied, Saeed told Deborah Kalb: “I love the outdoors and I love trees in particular. They are our silent living companions on this earth who give us clean air and the coolness of their shade. The thought of a tree as a place for children to convene together and build their community felt like a fitting title.” Having moved across the country, creative-minded Rumi misses the cypress trees back in San Francisco and at recess lingers alone under a willow tree. When light-skinned Asher starts bullying Rumi—making fun of the shoes he decorated with old friends, throwing crumpled paper at him, and even injuring him with a stone—classmate Han eventually rises to Rumi’s defense, as do others, and Rumi’s drawing in the dirt becomes a collective endeavor. With Rumi ending the cycle of exclusion by reaching out to Asher, a Kirkus Reviews writer declared that “this poignant story captures our capacity for cruelty but also for forgiveness and acceptance” and proves a “loving and lyrical tale about belonging.”
In Zuni and the Memory Jar, another picture book, Mama brings an empty jar home to her family with the idea of storing not cookies but memories. Deposited are mementos from Adam’s winning soccer goal, Sophie’s sterling piano performance, their grandmother’s blue-ribbon quilt, and Mama’s Turkey Trot race finish. The family members keep reassuring Zuni that she will eventually achieve something worth bringing to the jar, but one day they open it to realize Zuni has been commemorating everyday acts like playing with friends, being helpful, and rescuing an animal all along. A Kirkus Reviews writer praised Zuni and the Memory Jar as “expertly paced, elegantly written, and perfectly plotted”—“a superbly original picture book that celebrates memories big and small.”
Saeed made her adult debut with The Matchmaker, a romantic mystery. Thirtysomething Nura Khan has made a name for herself as a skilled matchmaker among Atlanta’s Pakistani community, but her own love life is so lacking that she leans on admirable friend Azar as her plus-one at weddings. With her antipathy toward Azar’s new girlfriend putting her feelings for him in perspective, Nura is blindsided by the discovery of an anonymous podcast slandering her and a trumped-up claim of malpractice from a rejected client, threatening her professional livelihood. For Nura’s sake, the podcaster must be unmasked. A Pubishers Weekly reviewer observed that Saeed “delivers brisk prose and generates sweet chemistry between Nura and Azar.” Proclaiming that The Matchmaker “delights with its shimmering fluidity, memorable characters, heart-stopping twists, and a happily-ever-after that warms the heart,” a Kirkus Reviews writer commended Saeed’s first adult novel as a “winning debut with intelligence and storytelling panache to spare.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 1, 2015, Sarah Hunter, review of Written in the Stars, p. 44; March 15, 2019, Amina Chaudhri, review of Bilal Cooks Daal, p. 72; December 1, 2019, Maggie Reagan, review of Yes No Maybe So, p. 56; March 15, 2020, Mahjabeen Syed, review of Once upon an Eid: Stories of Hope, p. 64; February 1, 2022, Beth Rosania, review of Omar Rising, p. 55; March 15, 2023, Mahjabeen Syed, review of Grounded, p. 49; June 1, 2024, Amina Chaudhri, review of Zuni and the Memory Jar, p. 101.
Horn Book, November-December, 2018, Elisa Gall, review of Ama Unbound, p. 88; January-February, 2020, Shoshana Flax, review of Yes No Maybe So, p. 85.
Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2014, review of Written in the Stars; March 1, 2019, review of Bilal Cooks Daal; April 1, 2019, review of Aladdin; June 15, 2020, review of Diana and the Island of No Return; April 1, 2021, review of Diana and the Underworld Odyssey; March 15, 2022, review of Diana and the Journey to the Unknown; June 15, 2022, review of Malala Yousafzai; March 1, 2023, reviews of Grounded and The Together Tree; June 15, 2023, review of Forty Words for Love; July 1, 2024, review of Zuni and the Memory Jar; April 15, 2025, review of The Matchmaker.
Publishers Weekly, January 5, 2015, review of Written in the Stars, p. 75; November 27, 2018, review of Amal Unbound, p. 41; April 13, 2020, review of Once upon an Eid, p. 62; March 20, 2023, review of The Together Tree, p. 80; April 10, 2023, review of Grounded, p. 60; June 26, 2023, review of Forty Words for Love, p. 107; November 18, 2024, review of The Matchmaker, p. 36.
School Library Journal, December, 2014, Amy Thurow, review of Written in the Stars, p. 142; December, 2019, Erin Downey, Erin. review of Yes No Maybe So, p. 86; July, 2020, India Winslow, review of Diana and the Island of No Return, p. 61; June, 2021, Hillary Perelyubskiy, review of Diana and the Underworld Odyssey, p. 59; January, 2022, Michele Shaw, review of Omar Rising, p. 71; June, 2022, Kristin Williamson, review of Diana and the Journey to the Unknown, p. 74.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2014, Rachel Axelrod, review of Written in the Stars, p. 66; April 1, 2018, Aileen Valdes, review of Amal Unbound, p. 66.
ONLINE
Aisha Saeed website, http://www.aishasaeed.com (November 8, 2025).
ArtsATL, http://www.artsatl.com/ (March 27, 2015), Soniah Kamal, “Q&A: Aisha Saeed Explores ‘Hyphenated’ Teenager’s Struggles in Novel Written in the Stars”; (February 3, 2025), “Writer Aisha Saeed’s 11 Good Things.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.myajc.com/ (June 1, 2015), Bo Emerson, “Arranged Marriage? Bad in New Novel, Good for Writer,” author profile.
Author Village, https: //theauthorvillage.com/ (November 8, 2025), author profile.
BookPage, http://bookpage.com/ (March 24, 2015), Cat Acree, “Aisha Saeed: An Eye-Opening Tale of Forced Marriage,” author interview.
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, https://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/ (May 25, 2023), “Q&A with Aisha Saeed.”
Brooklyn Book Festival website, https://brooklynbookfestival.org/ (November 8, 2025), “The BKBF Interview: Aisha Saeed.”
Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database, http://www.clcd.com/ (October 12, 2015), “Q&A with Aisha Saeed, YA Author and #WeNeedDiverseBooks Co-founder.”
Entertainment Weekly, https://ew.com/ (February 27, 2020), Abigail Atkeson, “EW Talks YA;Yes No Maybe So Is the Activism Novel Teens and Adults Need Right Now.”
HelloGiggles, http://hellogiggles.com/ (April 10, 2015), Kerry Winfrey, “Talking with Aisha Saeed, Kickass Author of Written in the Stars. ”
KidLit in Color, https://www.kidlitincolor.com/ (May 25, 2023), “Interview with NYT Bestselling Author— Aisha Saeed.”
Maya Prasad website, http://www.mayaprasad.com/ (April 28, 2014), “Diversity Solutions with Aisha Saeed,” author interview.
Nerd Daily, https://thenerddaily.com/ (August 22, 2023), Elise Dumpleton, “Q&A: Aisha Saeed, Author of ‘Forty Words for Love.’”
Nerdy Book Club, https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/ (March 24, 2015), Aisha Saeed, “How to Make a Dream Come True.”
Pop Goes the Reader, http://www.popgoesthereader.com/ (April 4, 2015), review of Written in the Stars.
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com/ (May 8, 2018), Claire Kirch, “Q & A with Aisha Saeed.”
Stacked Books, http://stackedbooks.org/ (March 17 2015), Kimberly Francisco, review of Written in the Stars.
Biography
Short Version
Aisha Saeed is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books for children. Her middle grade novel Amal Unbound (Penguin) received multiple starred reviews and was a Global Read Aloud for 2018. Her picture book, Bilal Cooks Daal (Simon and Schuster) received an APALA honor. Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family.
Slightly Longer Version
Aisha Saeed is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books for children. Her books, including the middle grade novel Amal Unbound (Penguin), the young adult novel Yes No Maybe So (co-written with Becky Albertalli), and the anthology Once Upon Eid (co-edited with S.K. Ali) received multiple starred reviews. Amal Unbound was selected as a Global Read Aloud for 2018 and was the winner of the South Asian book award. Her picture book, Bilal Cooks Daal (Simon and Schuster) received an APALA honor. Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram via @aishacs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I go about getting an agent?
Querying [i.e. a letter pitching your work] is the general route. It’s vital to be specific and narrow down which agents you reach out to by making sure they are a) accepting new clients and b) are looking for books in your genre. Querying without focus can be a burden on everyone’s time including your own. Some helpful information on a query letter can be found here and a query tracking database that many find helpful is right here. I personally used Writer’s Market as a starting point. For illustrators and picture book authors, this Writer’s Market guide is more specific for that area.
I want to write a novel. Any tips?
The biggest piece of advice for writing I can give is to just do it. Just write. Work through the angst and the self-doubt and get that first draft on the screen. Often we are stifled by the fears of what will happen or what may never happen but we have to try or we’ll never know. As Amy Poehler has said about writing: You do it because the doing of it is the thing. The doing is the thing. The talking and worrying and thinking is not the thing.
I suggest two vital books that inspired me and gave me advice on writing:
On Writing by Stephen King
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Will you please visit my classroom for a school visit?
I love to meet students and talk about my books. It is one of the biggest perks of being an author for young people! For school visits please contact my booking agency hello@theauthorvillage.com.
What is the secret to happiness?
Koala bears, of course.
Fourteen Things About Aisha
You can find a full biography here.
1. Aisha learned to read when she was three years old and vowed to read every single picture book at her local library. She made it halfway through the A’s.
2. She began writing stories as soon as she learned to put pen to paper. She can’t remember her very first story but it was most likely Sesame Street fan fiction.
3. Aisha fosters cats. She cries buckets of tears saying goodbye each and every time.
4. Aisha speaks three languages fluently: English, Urdu, and Punjabi.
5. Aisha has approximately eight hundred and eighty-seven story ideas she’s excited to write about at any given time.
6. Before becoming an author, Aisha had nine other jobs including a lawyer, a second-grade teacher, and selling jeans at the Gap.
7. She loves writing lists. (Shocking, she knows.)
8. Aisha loves chai. If it were possible to subsist on only one food substance it would be chai.
9. Aisha loves traveling the world. Her favorite country (so far): Turkey.
10. Aisha is great at air hockey. She can beat just about anyone. (No, really. She can.)
11. Aisha’s idea of the perfect place to live is anywhere alongside the ocean but preferably in a beachside cottage on the island of Oahu.
12. Aisha once dreamed of visiting the Grand Canyon but when she finally did she learned she was afraid of heights.
13. Aisha loves trees. Be they Willows, Sycamores, or Poplar Oaks, she adores them all. Walking, sitting, daydreaming
among trees brings her a sense of wonder at the beauty of our world. Her favorite trees? Redwoods.
14. Aisha counts her lucky stars each and every day she gets to write books
for young people.
Aisha Saeed
Aisha Saeed is an author, mama, lawyer, teacher, and maker and drinker of chai. She is also the Vice President of Strategy for We Need Diverse Books. Aisha has been blogging for over a decade and her writing has also appeared in places such as The Orlando Sentinel, BlogHer, Muslim Girl Magazine, and Red Tricycle. She is also a contributing author to the anthology Love Inshallah
While Aisha loves writing about a variety of topics, her main passion lies in channeling her inner teen. Her debut YA novel WRITTEN IN THE STARS will be released in 2015 by Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books. She is represented by Taylor Martindale at Full Circle Literary Agency.
When Aisha isnt writing or chasing her two little boys, you can find her reading, baking, doodling henna patterns, or daydreaming about eight consecutive hours of sleep.
Genres: Children's Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Young Adult Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Young Adult Romance
New and upcoming books
January 2026
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You and Me, Baby
March 2026
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Hafsa's Way
July 2026
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The Wedding Week
Series
Wonder Woman
1. Diana and the Island of No Return (2020)
2. Diana and the Underworld Odyssey (2021)
3. Diana and the Journey to the Unknown (2022)
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Novels
Written in the Stars (2015)
Amal Unbound (2018)
Aladdin: Far from Agrabah (2019)
Yes No Maybe So (2020) (with Becky Albertalli)
Omar Rising (2022)
Grounded (2023) (with others)
Forty Words for Love (2023)
The Matchmaker (2025)
Hafsa's Way (2026)
The Wedding Week (2026)
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Anthologies edited
Once Upon an Eid (2020) (with S K Ali)
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Picture Books hide
Bilal Cooks Daal (2019)
The Together Tree (2023)
Zuni and the Memory Jar (2024)
You and Me, Baby (2026)
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Non fiction hide
She Persisted: Malala Yousafzai (2022)
Biography
Aisha Saeed is the New York Times-bestselling author of the middle grade novel Amal Unbound. She writes books for children of all ages from pre-school through high school and, as such, she’s a great choice for school districts seeking one author to meet a wide age range of students. Aisha is also a founding member of the grass-roots, non-profit organization, We Need Diverse Books.
As a child, Aisha loved writing, but her love for writing often got her into trouble. Instead of paying attention in math, she would outline story ideas in her textbook. Throughout middle school and high school, she filled notebook after notebook with stories and ideas.
But then for many years, Aisha began to doubt her voice and whether her stories mattered, so she stopped writing.
Aisha became a teacher, earning a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Florida. Later, she became a lawyer. But the burning desire to write never disappeared. Aisha often wrote about wanting to write a novel. She often talked about wanting to write a novel. But it wasn’t until a life-changing conversation with a dear friend who told her just to try once and for all and see what happens, that Aisha decided to finally give it a go. We’re all glad she did.
These days, Aisha lives in Atlanta with her family. When she isn’t writing or chasing after her little boys, she loves to foster kittens, read, bake, doodle henna patterns, and dream about sleeping in.
Interview with NYT Bestselling Author- Aisha Saeed
5/25/2023
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Hello and Salaam, Aisha! I am so excited to be interviewing you today for KidLit in Color's blog. I'm sure many are familiar with you and your work, but can you briefly tell our readers a little about yourself and your books:
Walaikumsalaam, Aya! I’m delighted to connect with you. I write books for young people of all ages including Amal Unbound, and Bilal Cooks Daal. I’m also a proud founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books.
I absolutely loved your picture book Bilal Cooks Daal (fun fact, I used it as a comp for my picture book, The Night Before Eid). The Together Tree is definitely a bit more different and more serious. I know you touch on it a little in your backmatter, but can you tell readers why you wrote it?
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I’m delighted to hear that Bilal Cooks Daal was a comp for The Night Before Eid! My picture books are inspired by my children and our lived experiences. Bilal Cooks Daal was inspired by my middle son who was surprised when no one in his preschool knew what daal was. The Together Tree is also a story inspired by one of my children though his situation was considerably more challenging. During his first week of kindergarten, my eldest son was bullied by his peers. The Together Tree explores what it is to experience bullying, and importantly, what someone can do if they happen to be a bystander to help the person who needs such help. In addition to being a story about the power of bystanders, The Together Tree is also a tale about the power of imagination to build community.
The Together Tree also reminded me of my debut picture book, The Arabic Quilt, in terms of getting bullied for the way they look or speak. In both books, the "mean kid" feels bad for what they did and is apologetic. I've heard some conflicting points of view about this. Why did you think it was important that the mean kid apologize to Rumi for his actions in The Together Tree?
That’s a great question! I think that both situations (where a bully does not apologize or learn, and where a bully does mend their ways) are realistic and happen every single day. I love Jacqueline Woodson’s picture book Each Kindness which examines how sometimes we don’t get to make amends with those we’ve hurt. Stories like those are very important. I chose to write a story about reconciliation in part because the children in The Together Tree are very young and because while it is a story about many things, it’s also a story about the power of forgiveness. We might make mistakes. We might do the wrong thing. But we always have the choice to rectify, and get back on track.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors or new authors?
I often get asked where I get my story ideas from. As I shared in one of my earlier answers, much of what I write is inspired by my own lived experiences. So often we discount our own lives as sources for stories, but there is so much that can be examined and explored. One should never discount the power of ones own lived stories!
What did you think of the illustrations, do you have a favorite spread?
LeUyen Pham is one of my absolute favorite illustrators. When we began to consider who might illustrate this book, she was my dream partner for this project. I am so grateful for her insights and creativity that brough the story to life. My favorite spread is further into the story, when Asher—the bully—does an unthinkable act of cruelty. LeUyen captures the emotion of that moment for both the bully and Rumi, the child who is being bullied, so vividly through her use of color and lack thereof. It is a profound spread.
What's the biggest takeaway you want for readers to have after they finish reading this book?
It is my dream that this story can be part of first week of school activities in order to build community and foster a warm learning environment.
I’m delighted to hear that Bilal Cooks Daal was a comp for The Night Before Eid! My picture books are inspired by my children and our lived experiences. Bilal Cooks Daal was inspired by my middle son who was surprised when no one in his preschool knew what daal was. The Together Tree is also a story inspired by one of my children though his situation was considerably more challenging. During his first week of kindergarten, my eldest son was bullied by his peers. The Together Tree explores what it is to experience bullying, and importantly, what someone can do if they happen to be a bystander to help the person who needs such help. In addition to being a story about the power of bystanders, The Together Tree is also a tale about the power of imagination to build community.
The Together Tree also reminded me of my debut picture book, The Arabic Quilt, in terms of getting bullied for the way they look or speak. In both books, the "mean kid" feels bad for what they did and is apologetic. I've heard some conflicting points of view about this. Why did you think it was important that the mean kid apologize to Rumi for his actions in The Together Tree?
That’s a great question! I think that both situations (where a bully does not apologize or learn, and where a bully does mend their ways) are realistic and happen every single day. I love Jacqueline Woodson’s picture book Each Kindness which examines how sometimes we don’t get to make amends with those we’ve hurt. Stories like those are very important. I chose to write a story about reconciliation in part because the children in The Together Tree are very young and because while it is a story about many things, it’s also a story about the power of forgiveness. We might make mistakes. We might do the wrong thing. But we always have the choice to rectify, and get back on track.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors or new authors?
I often get asked where I get my story ideas from. As I shared in one of my earlier answers, much of what I write is inspired by my own lived experiences. So often we discount our own lives as sources for stories, but there is so much that can be examined and explored. One should never discount the power of ones own lived stories!
What did you think of the illustrations, do you have a favorite spread?
LeUyen Pham is one of my absolute favorite illustrators. When we began to consider who might illustrate this book, she was my dream partner for this project. I am so grateful for her insights and creativity that brough the story to life. My favorite spread is further into the story, when Asher—the bully—does an unthinkable act of cruelty. LeUyen captures the emotion of that moment for both the bully and Rumi, the child who is being bullied, so vividly through her use of color and lack thereof. It is a profound spread.
What's the biggest takeaway you want for readers to have after they finish reading this book?
It is my dream that this story can be part of first week of school activities in order to build community and foster a warm learning environment.
Aisha Saeed is the author of Written in the Stars, which was listed as a Best Book of 2015 by Bank Street Books, a 2016 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and named one of the Top Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read in 2016. She is also the author of the middle grade novel Amal Unbound, which has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews and is a Global Read Aloud for 2018. Her other picture books include Bilal Cooks Daal and The Together Tree. Aisha is a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books. She has been featured on MTV, HuffPost, NBC, and the BBC, and her writings have appeare
Thursday, May 25, 2023
Q&A with Aisha Saeed
Aisha Saeed is the author of the new children's picture book The Together Tree. Her other books include the middle grade novel Amal Unbound. She lives in Atlanta.
Q: You note that The Together Tree was inspired by an experience your son had in kindergarten. Can you say more about that, and about how the idea for the book evolved?
A: During his first week of kindergarten, my eldest son was bullied by his peers. It was an incredibly stressful time for us. One day, I went to the school during his recess time and saw firsthand just what he was experiencing. It was crushing.
That day, I also saw children who were looking on at the events that were unfolding. They were not participating. They were concerned, but they were clearly unsure about how to help.
The Together Tree explores what it is to experience bullying, and importantly, what bystanders can do to help someone who needs that help. The Together Tree is also a story about imagination.
Rumi, the main character in this story, loves to draw. He draws on his sneakers. He draws illustrations in the dirt beneath a shady Willow tree. For me, creativity and art are how I cope with difficult situations and make sense of things. I loved showing Rumi doing the same throughout this story.
Q: What do you think LeUyen Pham's illustrations add to the book?
A: LeUyen Pham is an absolute genius, and her illustrations are absolutely incredible. She brings the text to life in beautiful and heartbreaking ways.
The main character, Rumi, is shy and withdrawn when we first meet him, but thanks to Pham's illustrations, we can glimpse his interiority through the drawings we can see him imagining in his mind's eye.
Additionally, the climatic peak where the bully inflicts harm upon Rumi gains additional depth and magnitude by the grayscale that Pham uses to lend greater emotional weight to that scene.
Q: You’ve written for different age groups--do you have a preference?
A: I am guided to each story I tell by the voice that is (for lack of a better word) speaking to me. Some stories that come to me require an older narrator and some voices that inspire me feature younger characters.
I am incredibly grateful that I get to write books for young people of all ages and follow the voices where they lead to tell the stories that are calling to me.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from The Together Tree, and how was the book’s title chosen?
A: I love the outdoors and I love trees in particular. They are our silent living companions on this earth who give us clean air and the coolness of their shade. The thought of a tree as a place for children to convene together and build their community felt like a fitting title.
I hope this book will give kids (and their parents and teachers) ideas for how to create similar safe spaces to grow community and compassion.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Coming up next for me is a young adult novel, Forty Words for Love, which is another tale with a tree as a backdrop (I really do love trees!)-- it's my first time writing an original story set in a fantasy world and I am excited to see it make its way into the world soon!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Many years ago I was an educator. I taught second grade. Our first few weeks of school, I would seek out books that would encourage community building within my classroom and among my students.
It is my hope that The Together Tree can be a book that will be utilized in first day of school readings to serve as a starting off point for how to grow community and look out for those who need a helping hand.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
Writer Aisha Saeed’s 11 Good Things
ArtsATL staff
February 3, 2025
Every week, ArtsATL asks a member of the Atlanta arts community to share 11 things on their mind. We hope you enjoy getting to know these people better.
New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed writes books for children. All kinds of children. As a founding member of the nonprofit organization We Need Diverse Books, Saeed takes seriously the representation of children from all backgrounds. Her own books have been heralded by critics and educators alike. She is the author of the middle grade novel Amal Unbound (Penguin, 2018) and the picture book Bilal Cooks Daal (Simon and Schuster, 2019; illustrated by Anoosha Syed). Saeed’s debut novel for adults, The Matchmaker — a mystery about an Atlanta society matchmaker in danger — is available for pre-order now.
Here are Aisha Saeed’s 11 good things:
Atlanta’s once-in-a-childhood snowstorm of 2025. Sure we were homebound. Sure we lost power. Sure we learned the art of bundling up and maximizing heat (congregate in the smallest room with the least windows under loads of blankets). But — our boots sank into fresh fallen snow as we made snowmen, had snowball fights and sledded down the driveway.
The mountains. While you can’t beat the grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, living in the sprawling metropolis that is Atlanta, we have the benefit of being a car ride away from the Smokies. As the beautiful city of Asheville and surrounding areas recover, I’m excited for my annual trek to the land of songbirds and rolling hills.
Trees. I’ve trekked the country in pursuit of my tree appreciation, from millennia-old spruce to the mighty redwoods to the old growth forests right here in Atlanta.
Buford Highway. One of the greatest pleasures of living in Atlanta is the wealth of wonderful food we have. From delicious phở to stone bowls simmering with fresh bulgogi to hand-cut ramen, the eats along Buford Highway are an Atlanta treasure.
Independent bookstores. There’s nothing like stepping into a carefully curated bookshop. Each with its own personality and shelf-talkers, indie bookstores are where it’s at, and Atlanta is blessed with many great ones: Little Shop of Stories, Posner Books, Charis and many more.
Direct flights. Say what you will about Atlanta’s airport (the chaos of the plane train, the rideshare pickup located eons away), I have been properly spoiled by the plethora of direct flights to nearly everywhere I need to be. As a writer who travels to festivals and speaking engagements, it is something I never take for granted.
A pile of blank notebooks. It is a truth universally acknowledged that every writer in possession of a good notebook must covet many more.
A properly brewed cup of chai. While I am a devotee of caffeine in all its forms, there’s nothing like steeping a proper cup of loose-leaf tea simmering with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom before sitting down to write.
Cats. Goes without saying. My cat is a writer’s cat; she keeps me on task by sitting on my lap as soon as I’m at my desk, ensuring I will not move and will in fact write.
Playlists. I hearken from a time before online streaming music, when one might listen faithfully by a radio for a favorite song to at last play, when CDs — yes CDs! — were a thing. There was a charm to that time, but I do love the ease of curating a playlist online. I have one for each book I write that I listen to while doing dishes and running errands to keep me in the vibes of the world I’m creating.
Koala bears. Because, of course.
Q&A: Aisha Saeed, Author of ‘Forty Words for Love’
Elise Dumpleton·Writers Corner·August 22, 2023·4 min read
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We chat with author Aisha Saeed about her tender genre-bending young adult novel, Forty Words for Love, two teen protagonists grow from friends to something more in the aftermath of a tragedy in their magical town.
Hi, Aisha! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! Thanks so much for having me here. I am really lucky that I get to write books for all ages from picture books, to middle grade, to young adult. I tend to mostly write contemporary realistic (Amal Unbound, Omar Rising, etc). Forty Words For Love is my first foray into the realm of magical realism. And is different from anything I’d done before. I was certainly nervous to try something new, but this was the story that was speaking to me. I am grateful to my editor, Zareen Jaffrey, and the Penguin imprint, Kokila, for supporting this novel and helping me realize my vision and what I was hoping to say with this story.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I can’t remember a time that I did not write or love to read stories. Many writers say that telling stories is not a want, as much as it is a need. I certainly fall into this camp. I have been writing stories since childhood, long before I had any dreams of becoming a published author. I love diving into new worlds, exploring the truth of human nature within the pages of a fictional tale. Research confirms that reading fiction engenders empathy and compassion, and as a reader I certainly see this in my own life. As a writer I hope my stories can in turn engender empathy and understanding within those who pick up my stories.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I remember reading, that made me want to be an author, and that I haven’t stopped thinking about since are all one and the same: The Baby Sitters Club by Anne Martin. This was one of the first stories I read independently as a child, and I loved the throughline of friendship within the pages and the adventures within the pages. It’s pretty cool to see that this series remains as relevant today as it ever was.
Your latest novel, Forty Words for Love, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Love can heal what hurts.
What can readers expect?
Forty Words For Love is a dual point-of-view magical realism novel following the lives of two teens in a town on the brink of economic collapse following a tragedy. As people try to grapple with their grief, tensions are brewing between the locals and a group of people called the Golub – refugees–who have recently arrived. The story follows Yas, a local, and Raf, who is Golub, as they navigate these tensions and seek refuge in each other through these troubling times. The story explores what it is to love, and what we owe one another and ourselves.
Where did the inspiration for Forty Words for Love come from?
Forty Words For Love has been brewing within me for over half a decade. Within this story I draw from my own experiences of life after tragedy, and what it is to grieve and heal, and the way that love can see us through.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
While Forty Words For Love is a story set in a fictional land that is not our own, the themes within it about love, loss, and forging our own paths, are aspects that anyone can relate to. Telling stories is how I process my own thoughts and emotions, and that was certainly true in this book. Much of this novel’s revisions took place during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and this book was a much needed place to process, and to escape, during that difficult time.
See also
Q&A: Steven Rowley, Author of ‘The Guncle’
Your debut novel published in 2015. What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned over the past eight years when it comes to writing and publishing?
I can’t believe it’s been eight years since my debut! I believe the biggest thing I’ve learned in the ensuing years is that so much of this writing business is out of our control, but the one thing we do have control over is the story itself and making it the best story it can possibly be. I try to use my metric of success not by outer markings (though those are fabulous when they happen), but by the satisfication I gain from telling the story and knowing I put the best possible story I knew how to out there in the world.
What’s next for you?
I have lots of different stories in various stages of production. None of these are stories I can talk about quite yet, but there are certainly many more to come in the coming years, and I hope you’ll check them out!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
We are in an abundance of riches when it comes to storytelling. There are so many wise and creative stories out there right now. The one on my nightstand currently is Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli. She and I co-wrote a young adult novel in 2020 called Yes No Maybe So, I’m a huge fan of her writing, and am so excited to finish up this newest book by her.
The BKBF Interview: Aisha Saeed
The BKBF Interview continues this week with bestselling author Aisha Saeed. This weekly series of Q&As features some of this year’s YA Out Loud authors. BKBF interviews Aisha Saeed, co-author with Becky Albertalli of Yes No Maybe So. Tune in on Saturday, October 3 as Aisha Saeed joins fellow young adult novelists in a BKBF panel discussion.
Where is your favorite place to read and why?
I love reading curled up on my couch with a blanket and a cup of tea in reach. There is a warmth and coziness to reading, especially these days when the world feels especially scary, and it makes taking the time to read in my favorite space even more important.
Who made reading important to you?
Literature was always important to my parents, and I grew up surrounded by books. We went to the library every weekend, and I read any chance I could get. I appreciate that my parents encouraged me to read all sorts of different stories, genres, and forms. I credit that to my lifelong love and appreciation for the written word.
What is your favorite book to give an adult or a child?
My favorite book to give both adults and children is Jacqueline Woodson’s memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. This book is beautiful and accessible to all ages. I love lingering over different passages and lines. It is a book that I come back to again and again.
What books are currently piled in your “To Be Read” stack … and where can the stack be found in your home?
I have TBR piles stacked all over the house. On my coffee table. Next to the chaise in my kid’s playroom. On my nightstand and also on my iPad’s e-reader. I love to read and I really can’t get enough of it. The next two books in my TBR pile are: an advance copy of Jasmin Kaur’s next book, If I Tell You The Truth, and Teach Your Own by John Holt about homeschooling.
What is the last book that kept you up past your bedtime?
I have three young kids who have been home with me full-time since the pandemic hit, so getting my sleep and time to recharge is very important to me, but when I began Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, I could not put it down. The book explores race and class, and delves into the nature of motherhood. Kiley rendered completely believable and relatable characters and I had to finish the book in one sitting to know exactly what happened to them. I was a bit tired the next morning, but it was totally worth it.
Aisha Saeed is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Amal Unbound. Her other novels include Yes No Maybe So (co-written with Becky Albertalli), and Written in the Stars. Aisha’s forthcoming books include Far from Agrabah and picture book Bilal Cooks Daal. In addition to writing, Aisha is a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™. She has been featured on networks like MTV, Huffington Post, and more. Her writings have also appeared in numerous publications. Aisha lives in Atlanta with her husband and sons. You can find her on Twitter @aishacs, or on her website at http://www.aishasaeed.com.
* Once upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices. Ed. by S. K. Ali and Aisha Saeed. Illus. by Sara Alfageeh. May 2020. 272p. Abrams/Amulet, $17.99 (9781419740831). Gr. 4-7.
For Muslims, there's no better time to gather with family and reflect upon the joy of giving than during Eid-ul-Fitr (which celebrates the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting) or Eid-ul-Adha (the feast of sacrifice, which is connected to the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca). Here Ali (Love from A to Z, 2019) and Saeed (Amal Unbound, 2018) have gathered a roster of #OwnVoices Muslim authors to highlight the diversity within Islam and to explore the meaning of and otherworldly feelings associated with Eid. In Alis and Saeed's stories, Yusuf and Nadia examine the importance of traditions and of allowing them to evolve to include others. In Hanna Alkaf's story in verse, readers are introduced to Malay food and a pain so poignant it can only be quelled by forgiveness. In "Seraj Captures the Moon," Sara Alfageeh (who also illustrated the stunning book cover) gives life to G. Willow Wilson's graphic story about a girl (and a donkey named Pickles) on a quest to share the light of the moon. This special anthology about family traditions, sharing meals, giving presents, and delighting in the cultural uniqueness of people all over the world isn't just for those who celebrate Eid; it's for all who want to share and learn about the holidays.--Mahjabeen Syed
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Syed, Mahjabeen. "Once upon an Eid: Stories of Hope." Booklist, vol. 116, no. 14, 15 Mar. 2020, p. 64. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A618764626/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5037ff19. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
* Once upon an Eid
Edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed, Amulet,
$17.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-4197-4083-1
This effervescent anthology, edited by Ali (Love from A to Z) and Saeed (Amal Unbound), binds together 15 short stories in a variety of formats that explore the festival of Eid. While the annual Muslim celebration is a major component, the authors also interweave deeper explorations of the Islamic faith into their tales, which combine insights on Muslim culture with a message on the importance of such traits as generosity and resilience. Asmaa Hussein's "Kareem Means 'Generous,'" for example, features Kareem's discovery of the pleasure he gains from sharing his good fortune. Candice Montgomery contributes a moving narrative about 11-year-old Leila's first experience wearing a hijab, conveying both the girl's excitement and her mother's anxiety over potential backlash. Leila's closeness with family and positive interactions with classmates further exemplify fulfilling interpersonal relationships that appear throughout the book. No two stories are alike: the inclusion of a narrative in poem ("Taste," by Hanna Alkaf) and a short graphic novel (G. Willow Wilson's "Seraj Captures the Moon") ensures various reading formats. Moreover, a range of diverse, multidimensional characters--among them Shia Muslim, converted Muslim, Algerian, Caribbean, and West African representation--results in a stimulating, celebratory read. Ages 8-12. Agents: John Cusick. Polio Literary Management (for Ali), and Taylor Martindale, Full Circle Literary (for Saeed). (May)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Once upon an Eid." Publishers Weekly, vol. 267, no. 15, 13 Apr. 2020, p. 62. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A624519181/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=87c0ad12. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Once Upon an Eid
S. K. Ali & Aisha Saeed
Amulet Books
c/o Harry N. Abrams
195 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007
www.abramsyoungreaders.com
9781419740831, $17.99, HC, 272pp, www.amazon.com
Eid is a short, single-syllable word conjures up a variety of feelings and memories for Muslims. Maybe it's waking up to the sound of frying samosas or the comfort of bean pie, maybe it's the pleasure of putting on a new outfit for Eid prayers, or maybe it's the gift giving and holiday parties to come that day. Whatever it may be, for those who cherish this day of celebration, the emotional responses may be summed up in another short and sweet word: joy.
"Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices" is an impressive anthology of deftly crafted short stories that collectively showcase the most brilliant Muslim voices writing today with each individual story being all about the most joyful holiday of the year: Eid!
This unique and outstanding anthology collaborative compiled and co-edited by Aisha Saeed (a founding member of We Need Diverse Books) and S. K. Ali (a teacher whose writing on Muslim culture and life has also appeared in the Toronto Star) also includes a poem, graphic-novel chapter, and spot illustrations, making it an ideal and highly recommended addition to elementary school, middle school, and community library collections for children ages 8-12. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Please Note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm
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"Once Upon an Eid." Children's Bookwatch, May 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A626507732/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c48caf8c. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha DIANA AND THE ISLAND OF NO RETURN Random House (Children's None) $16.99 7, 14 ISBN: 978-0-593-17447-0
Princess Diana of Themyscira sets off on a middle-grade adventure.
Twelve-year-old Diana loves her island home and her Amazon community dearly, but she longs for one thing: permission to train in the art of combat with her fellow warriors. Diana’s mother, Queen Hippolyta, has long told Diana that the battlefield is no place for her, but Diana hopes this might be the year she can finally convince her mother to let her train. In the meantime, eagerly awaited guests are arriving on the island: The best and brightest women in the world have been invited to Themyscira for a festival of ideas, food, and culture. Among these visitors is Sakina, Diana’s best friend, and a mysterious stranger warning Diana of a threat not just to Themyscira, but to the entire world. The author does an admirable job creating an adventure for young Diana to embark upon without breaking the established canon of the Wonder Woman mythos. Diana’s characterization lines up with her comic counterpart’s, but Sakina’s character seems a bit thin by comparison. The book’s real Achilles heel is the ending, a boilerplate tee up for a future installment that promises resolution and answers to the story that readers are entitled to now, particularly after 250 pages. Diversity is suggested through names and cultural references.
Frustrating ending aside, a solid start to a promising middle-grade series. (Fantasy. 9-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Saeed, Aisha: DIANA AND THE ISLAND OF NO RETURN." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A626451775/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fefb1346. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
SAEED, Aisha. Diana and the Island of No Return. 288p. (Wonder Woman Adventures: Bk. 1). Random. Jul. 2020. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780593174470.
Gr 3-7-Saeed's latest offering is an action-packed coming-of-age story that starts a new trilogy about a young Princess Diana who will one day become Wonder Woman. Everything is wonderful in Diana's life on Themyscira, except for the fact that her mother won't let her join the Amazons as a fighter. When the world's most powerful women gather on Themyscira for a festival, Diana believes that she can finally convince her mother, Queen Hippolyta, to let her join the group of women warriors. That is, until an unexpected guest--a boy--mins everything. Diana joins her friends in trying save her people while proving that she is the warrior she's always yearned to be. Saeed's Wonder Woman origin story has a lot of heart, a diverse cast, and will leave readers young and old alike believing in their ability to stand up for their truth. VERDICT A very solid purchase; hand to lovers of superheroes, coming-of-age tales, and magical adventures.--India Winslow, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Winslow, India. "SAEED, Aisha. Diana and the Island of No Return." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 7, July 2020, p. 61. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A629053924/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=01e98bd0. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha DIANA AND THE UNDERWORLD ODYSSEY Random House (Children's None) $16.99 5, 25 ISBN: 978-0-593-17837-9
The continued adventures of Diana, princess of the Amazons.
Soon after the events of Diana and the Island of No Return (2020), in which she defeated a plot to conquer the Amazons, Diana is keen to start training as a warrior, but she fears that things are not quite right yet with their mysterious enemy still out there. After a new attack on Themyscira—during which her best friend, Sakina, is kidnapped—the Amazons are told by the goddess Artemis that the Targuni are taking children who have unusual powers. Only Diana and one other young person have been able to evade them. Diana does not want to hide and will do anything to rescue her friend, including dealing with capricious Greek gods, terrifying aliens, a hatchling dragon, and a trip to the Underworld itself. Diana battles external enemies as well as her own internal demons in this fun, fast-paced sequel that mixes Greek mythology with science-fiction elements. Diana’s concerns over being dismissed due to her youth and lack of special powers are heartfelt, and the novel does a good job of foretelling the wondrous heroine she will grow up to become: loyal, smart, courageous, and sympathetic to a fault. A cliffhanger ending signals more to come. The ethnic diversity of the world is subtly cued through names.
An entertaining read for Wonder Woman fans new and old. (Adventure. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Saeed, Aisha: DIANA AND THE UNDERWORLD ODYSSEY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A656696463/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3af106fc. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
SAEED, Aisha. Diana and the Underworld Odyssey. 352p. (Wonder Woman Adventures: Bk. 2). Random. May 2021. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780593178379.
Gr 3-6-Diana, Princess of the Amazons, battles Hades to rescue her friends Sakina and Imani in the second action-packed installment of Saeed's "Wonder Woman" collection. The mysterious Zumius has roped Hades into a scheme of kidnapping children who have special powers. If the scheme succeeds, the children's powers will be harnessed and used to take over the world. While one battle scene after another will keep most readers engaged, the suspense in the first third of the story is somewhat hindered by heavy-handed summaries and references to the first book in the series, Diana and the Island of No Return. Sharp-eyed readers may want more details about the armor and weapons Diana is able to effortlessly carry with her throughout her odyssey, while those without knowledge of Greek or Wonder Woman mythology will find this a broad but thin introduction. However, young Diana, who doesn't yet know her power, is relatable enough to carry the story, which has its moments of rollicking good fun. VERDICT Sure to be popular with Wonder Woman fans and "Percy Jackson" readers, though it may lack in detail and emotional depth for some.--Hillary Perelyubskiy, Los Angeles P.L.
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Perelyubskiy, Hillary. "SAEED, Aisha. Diana and the Underworld Odyssey." School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 6, June 2021, p. 59. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A663599647/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b099f188. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Omar Rising. By Aisha Saeed. Feb. 2022. 224p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen, $17.99 (9780593108581). Gr. 5-8.
When Omar gets word that he's a scholarship winner to the prestigious Ghalib Academy, his hopes rise for a future beyond his life as the son of a loving but poor servant. A skilled soccer player, he plans to play on the school team and to join all manner of interesting clubs, but these aspirations are dashed by the school's rules for first-year scholarship students--no sports or clubs, plus loads of daily chores! Omar persists through exhaustion but can't understand his low marks until he learns that scholarship kids are held to impossible standards to weed them out. Will he be kept down, or will he fight the system? Fight, of course! Saeed has woven an illuminating and inspiring companion to the popular Amal Unbound (2018), giving readers a wonderfully detailed look at life in Pakistan. Readers will root for Omar and his friends, deflate when they are detoured, and rise with their successes. An excellent story of perseverance that resonates long after the last page. --Beth Rosania
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Rosania, Beth. "Omar Rising." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 11, 1 Feb. 2022, p. 55. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A693527531/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a8f015aa. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
SAEED, Aisha. Omar Rising. 224p. Penguin/ Nancy Paulsen. Feb. 2022. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780593108581.
Gr 5 Up--When 12-year-old Omar gets accepted into Ghalib Academy for Boys, he knows it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In this companion novel to Saeed's Amal Unbound, Omar's Pakistani village is all rooting for him. Omar's mom works as a servant for Amal's family, and Omar and Amal have been lifelong friends. While Omar is excited for this opportunity, he hates how beginnings are always tied to endings, but he realizes he has to leave behind all he knows to create a better life for himself. When he arrives, Omar's roommate is fellow scholarship student, Kareem. Across the hall, wealthy Aiden arrives with servants in tow, declaring their new school a dump. Omar observes that he and Aiden are at the same school but somehow see it so differently. Initially unbenownst to them, scholarship students face different unspoken criteria. Unofficially, they are in a "weed out" year their first year, and have to get a nearly impossible A+ average to keep their scholarship. Omar works diligently, doing everything possible to stay at Ghalib. As the year progresses and the other students learn of the inequities, the students band together to help. Omar learns many lessons along the way about people not being who he thinks they are, including Aiden and Headmaster Moiz. Saeed has successfully created multi-layered characters who are rich in their culture, their drive to succeed, and their family values. VERDICT A richly woven tale with characters all will root for; readers will be outraged at life's unfairness, and cheer for Omar's success. A stellar novel which may open eyes to the inequities many young people face in their lives. --Michele Shaw
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Shaw, Michele. "SAEED, Aisha. Omar Rising." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 1, Jan. 2022, p. 71. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A688744220/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c2e5749a. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha DIANA AND THE JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN Random House (Children's None) $16.99 5, 31 ISBN: 978-0-593-17841-6
Preteen Diana, princess of the Amazons, faces her greatest challenge yet when she journeys to the mortal world.
Picking up right where Diana and the Underworld Odyssey (2021) left off, this title finds Diana traversing through worlds to save the kidnapped children who have been taken by the mysterious Zumius, whose plan to steal their superpowers for himself is affecting the Greek gods and their own powers. After dramatically evading Zumius, Diana ends up in Atlanta, Georgia, where she reunites with a friend she thought she'd never see again and where she realizes that she is stronger than she ever knew. As she faces adventure, mortal danger, and impossible odds, Diana holds the fate of the world--and of the Greek gods--in her hands. This fun-tastic, action-packed trilogy closer sees Diana finally facing off the foe who has been threatening her all along and dipping her toes into the mortal world, where she discovers and rises to new challenges. All the while, she's facing enemies, finding allies, and evading the risks of social media. As she deals with those who underestimate her, thinking her too young or too impetuous, Diana shows her ever growing grace, courage, dedication to helping those in need, and loyalty to those she loves. Racial diversity is implied through names; one of the kidnapped kids is nonbinary.
A great ending to a fun trilogy featuring the future Wonder Woman. (Adventure. 8-12)
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"Saeed, Aisha: DIANA AND THE JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A696498594/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=af4e5188. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
SAEED, Aisha. Diana and the Journey to the Unknown. 304p. (Wonder Woman Adventures: Bk. 3). Random. May 2022. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780593178416.
Gr 3-6--In this series conclusion, young Diana finds herself on an unknown planet, unsure of how she arrived there. She is trying to rescue her friends, children with special abilities who have been kidnapped. She is racing against time to rescue them before the evil Zumius can fulfill his plan of stealing their powers and using them to make himself unstoppable. This book jumps right into the action; familiarity with the first two installments is a must. Kids who love Wonder Woman will enjoy seeing her life as a tween. They will identify with her trying to figure problems out and do the right thing, but still making mistakes along the way. The story line can be hard to follow, starting with waking up on an unknown planet then jumping to the human world without much explanation as to how these things happened. VERDICT Add where there are other books in the series. Kids who generally enjoy superhero books or love Wonder Woman will probably enjoy this title, but it won't earn any new fans. --Kristin Williamson
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Williamson, Kristin. "SAEED, Aisha. Diana and the Journey to the Unknown." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 6, June 2022, p. 74. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A705791275/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=db491628. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha MALALA YOUSAFZAI Philomel (Children's None) $14.99 7, 5 ISBN: 978-0-593-40291-7
This latest in the She Persisted series explores the life of Malala Yousafzai, the fierce teenage activist from Pakistan who advocated for the right to an education.
This nonfiction chapter book opens with Yousafzai's birth in Pakistan's verdant Swat Valley. Readers learn that Yousafzai's father named her after legendary Afghan poet Malalai of Maiwand. Inherently curious, she was a bright student, encouraged by her schoolteacher father. When the Taliban started closing, and then blowing up, schools, 11-year-old Yousafzai was forced to give up her education temporarily. But she refused to let that defeat her and began to write and talk about what was happening--a move that brought her into the Taliban's crosshairs; when she was 15, two men shot her in the head. Yousafzai recovered from her injury and refused to let the attempt on her life deter her, becoming an inspiration to the world, a staunch defendant of the right to education. The book brings together major events in Yousafzai's life yet also offers readers a deeper understanding about larger issues such as the right to education, which has often been denied to girls and women, and the power of advocacy. It also offers a comprehensible yet nuanced consideration of Islam ("But Malala was also Muslim, and she knew what they were doing was not acceptable in her religion"). Final illustrations not seen.
A compelling story that's empowering and inspirational. ("how you can persist," references) (Illustrated chapter book. 7-10)
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"Saeed, Aisha: MALALA YOUSAFZAI." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A706932768/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0fa9e583. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha GROUNDED Amulet/Abrams (Children's None) $18.99 5, 9 ISBN: 9781419761751
Four tweens stuck in an airport come together for a rescue mission.
When 12-year-old Feek Stiles loses his 4-year-old sister, Ruqi, at the airport, he meets Hanna Chen and Sami Iqbal, who try to help him locate her. But Nora Najjar finds her first. The kids are waiting with their families to fly home after attending the Muslims of North America conference when flights are grounded due to inclement weather. Eleven-year-old Hanna, armed with flyers and Meow Mix, is determined to find Snickerdoodle, a cat who has been missing for a week in the airport, and she recruits Feek, Sami, and Nora to help. The story unfolds in chapters that alternate among the viewpoints of aspiring poet Feek from Philadelphia; Doha animal lover Hanna; Sami, who is from Orlando and does karate; and Nora, a Michigan congresswoman's daughter who posts on social media about sweet treats. Each one has something they are struggling with, including parents with busy work schedules, a sports competition, their sense of Muslim identity, and more. They end up going on an adventure throughout the airport that involves unexpected twists and turns, in the process learning more about themselves and one another and finding their voices. Saeed, Al-Marashi, Thompkins-Bigelow, and Ali write four relatable, well-developed characters from different backgrounds who represent the diversity of Muslim communities, seamlessly connecting their individual and collective stories into a single whole.
A positive, engaging story centering Muslim kids. (Fiction. 9-13)
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"Saeed, Aisha: GROUNDED." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A738705400/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=95bb7dba. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha THE TOGETHER TREE Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster (Children's None) $18.99 5, 30 ISBN: 9781534462960
When Rumi moves to a brand-new coast, friendship feels hard to find.
Although he is assigned the best seat in the room--right next to the class pets--brown-skinned Rumi still feels unwelcome and out of place in his new school. At recess, instead of playing with his diverse classmates, he sits beneath a willow tree in the schoolyard, dreaming of the cypress trees he loved back home in San Francisco. Things get worse when classmates Asher and Ella (both light-skinned) tease Rumi, making fun of the shoes he'd decorated with his friends in California. The bullying escalates when Asher throws a crumpled ball of paper at Rumi and later injures Rumi with a stone. Rumi's classmate Han, who is Asian-presenting, comes to his defense, and the rest of the class soon follows, all eager to contribute to the drawing Rumi has been working on in the dirt beneath the tree. When Asher wanders back inside, alone, Rumi has a decision to make--does he want to perpetuate the bullying or end the cycle of exclusion? Based on an experience that happened to the author's son, this poignant story captures our capacity for cruelty but also for forgiveness and acceptance. Precise language and well-chosen scenes create a cast of believable characters in only a few words, while the vibrant illustrations artfully use color and light to heighten the mood of each scene. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A loving and lyrical tale about belonging. (Picture book. 4-7)
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"Saeed, Aisha: THE TOGETHER TREE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A738705306/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e996b255. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Grounded. By Aisha Saeed and others. May 2023.272P. Abrams/Amulet, $18.99 (9781419761751). Gr.3-6.
Four kids, one fast-paced night, and an opportune mystery: this middle-grade novel hits the ground running from the very first page. A storm grounds flights at Zora Neale Hurston Airport, leaving hundreds of Muslims departing an Islamic conference stranded. Among them are four incredible kids: Feek, longing to be a spoken-word artist (like his famous dad) but relegated to babysitting his sister; Hanna (sister of readers' treasured Adam from Love from A to Z, 2019), searching for Snickerdoodle, a cat that went missing at the airport; Sami, the reserved kid who is never picked first; and Nora, always expected to be poised as the daughter of a congresswoman. In a single night and despite occasional tension, the quad rallies around a common goal: finding Snickerdoodle. In alternating points of view, the four authors--who collaborated on Once upon an Eid (2020)--have crafted a book that, while it brims with unapologetic Muslim rep, is about not religion but friendship and adventure. Sometimes their parents don't get them, but trust and communication abound. Hand to readers seeking a quick escape. --Mahjabeen Syed
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Syed, Mahjabeen. "Grounded." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 14, 15 Mar. 2023, pp. 49+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A742922118/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9b98c35b. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
The Together Tree
Aisha Saeed, illus. by LeUyen Pham. Salaam Reads, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5344-6296-0 When Rumi moves across the country, his new teacher's request that the class make him "feel at home" goes unheeded. During recess, most of the students, shown as racially diverse, ignore Rumi, who's portrayed with brown skin and black hair. White-presenting Asher insults him ("His shoes are ugly"), and another light-skinned student laughs. East Asian-presenting Han "didn't think it was funny," but says nothing. Over the next few days, Asher continues to harass Rumi, who sits alone, "twirling a twig beneath the shady old willow tree," portrayed by Pham (Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn) in layered scenes as a majestic bower of delicate green leaves. The escalating situation peaks with a stone thrown at Rumi, an event that pushes Han to act, precipitating a discovery about the new classmate and offering the kids a way forward. Han's action is the fulcrum in this compassionate tale about turning bystanders into upstanders, and the move to offer solace to Rumi rather than to confront Asher offers readers another way to intervene when there is conflict. An author's note discusses the personal seeds of this story by Saeed (Amal Unbound). Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Taylor Martindale Kean, Full Circle Literary. Illustrator's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (May)
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"The Together Tree." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 12, 20 Mar. 2023, p. 80. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A745887369/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d4fb8507. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Grounded
Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins Bigelow, and S.K. Ali. Amulet, $18.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-4197-6175-1
In this multi-POV collaboration, four kids leaving the Muslims of North America conference are stranded with their families at Zora Neale Hurston Airport after a thunderstorm grounds their flights. When 12-year-old aspiring lyricist Feek Stiles, from Philly, loses track of four-year-old sister Ruqi, he's thrown into the company of perpetually anxious Sami Iqbal, from Orlando, who's afraid of missing his upcoming karate competition; 13-year-old Nora Najjar, a social media enthusiast struggling to share the attention of her busy Michigan "Congressmom"; and 11-year-old animal lover Hanna Chen, from Doha, who's devoted herself to finding Snickerdoodle, a cat lost in the airport. Once Ruqi is found, Hanna presses the others into joining her cause, precipitating a revealing adventure that pushes each character--all of them navigating personal challenges--to confront whatever it is they're facing, now that there's nowhere to go. Humorous dialogue balances intensely emotional moments throughout alternating chapters by Saeed, Al-Marashi, Thompkins Bigelow, and Ali. Spirited characters with distinctly wrought backgrounds prove both idealistic and realistic while emphasizing the importance of community and the idea that there is more than one way to honor Muslim identity. Ages 8-12. Authors' agents: (for Saeed) Faye Bender, Book Group: (for Ali) Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties: (for Thompkins Bigelow) Essie White, Storm Literary. (May)
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"Grounded." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 15, 10 Apr. 2023, p. 60. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A747080089/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=af5e5443. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha FORTY WORDS FOR LOVE Kokila (Teen None) $18.99 8, 22 ISBN: 9780593326466
Love blooms between two best friends in a magical town grieving a tragic loss.
Raf and Yas have been best friends since the former's home was destroyed and his people fled to Moonlight Bay via the enchanted Golub tree in the Willow Forest. Despite warnings from his community elders, Raf decides to confess his romantic feelings to Yas--but he finds her with Moses, the Holler Candy empire heir. The golden leaf-shaped birthmark burns against Raf's wrist, and he runs to the shoreline, where he discovers 5-year-old Sammy Holler dead. Now, a year later, Moonlight Bay is struggling--the Hollers have moved away, the once pink-and-lavender waters have turned dark gray, several local businesses have shut down, and tensions between the locals and the Golubs are rising. Yas, whose parents are struggling to make ends meet, faces the prospect of leaving her hometown. Raf, once excited about college, becomes resigned to staying home to support his family. When the wealthy Naismiths move into the Holler Mansion, the townspeople are desperate to make them stay, but Yas and Raf question what their true intentions are in Moonlight Bay. Saeed takes readers on a gentle exploration of losing faith, finding yourself, and grief's impact on a community. Unfortunately, the slow-burn romance is sluggish, and the secondary characters feel underdeveloped. Readers who don't mind light worldbuilding that allows them to imagine details for themselves may enjoy this lightly magical story. Characters are racially ambiguous.
Intriguing but lacking in impact. (Fabulism. 12-17)
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"Saeed, Aisha: FORTY WORDS FOR LOVE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A752722766/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a345b36c. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Forty Words for Love
Aisha Saeed. Kokila, $18.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-593-32646-6
Two teens navigate grief and first love in this romantic fantasy by Saeed (Omar Rising), set in a magical world. Moonlight Bay local Yas and Raf--who has a leaf-shaped birthmark and is part of the Golub people--have been friends since Raf and his family moved to town as climate refugees when he was young. Determined to confess his feelings for Yas, Raf seeks her out, only to catch her in a seemingly tender moment with Moses Holler, the heir of Moonlight Bay's most influential family. Raf latet stumbles upon the corpse of five-year-old Sammy Holler, setting into motion a chain of events with disastrous implications for everyone in town. Moses and his family move away, taking with them the town's economic security, and the ocean, once a soothing pink and lavender, becomes a grimy gray. Thin world-building deflate the intriguingly rendered landscape and a jam-packed plot stymie Yas and Raf's budding, Romeo and Juliet--esque romance. Still, skillful characterizations keep readers invested as Saeed weaves a tale of a grieving town on the brink of financial collapse and the resourceful, minimally described protagonists intent on saving it. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)
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"Forty Words for Love." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 26, 26 June 2023, pp. 107+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A757466755/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4e0f108d. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha ZUNI AND THE MEMORY JAR Kokila (Children's None) $18.99 6, 11 ISBN: 9780593618950
A young girl of South Asian descent and her family collect treasured memories.
When Mama comes home with an empty jar, Zuni imagines filling it with cookies. But this jar is meant for something even more special: memories. When Zuni's brother Adam scores a winning goal for his soccer team, he puts a photo of the triumphant moment in the jar. Then Zuni's sister Sophie gives a well-received piano performance, and their grandmother's quilt wins a blue ribbon in a local competition. Mementos of these events go in the jar alongside the ribbon Mama earns for completing a Turkey Trot race. But what about Zuni? Throughout the year, her family reassures her that she, too, will soon earn achievements worthy of the jar. It isn't until they review their memories that the family opens the jar and realizes that, unbeknownst to them, Zuni has been making her own memories from bits and pieces of life her elders were too busy to notice, value, or understand. Zuni's story is expertly paced, elegantly written, and perfectly plotted. The book's clever twist is supported by subtle clues in the upbeat cartoon illustrations. Perhaps the most impressive part of the story is its message--while it's important to mark big achievements, Saeed encourages children and their families to see everyday moments as extraordinary, too.
A superbly original picture book that celebrates memories big and small. (Picture book. 3-8)
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"Saeed, Aisha: ZUNI AND THE MEMORY JAR." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A799332679/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=51510963. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Zuni and the Memory Jar. By Aisha Saeed. Illus. by Neha Rawat. June 2024. 40p. Penguin/Kokila, $18.99 (9780593618950). K-Gr. 3.
One day, Zuni's mother brings home a glass jar to begin a collection of memories-mementos of the accomplishments of family members. As time goes on, everyone in Zuni's family adds a memory of a special moment: a winning goal, a blue ribbon, a piano recital. It appears Zuni is surrounded by overachievers, and while her "winning moment" seems to be taking its time, she is not discouraged. Everyone assures her that her time will come, and it does. When the family gathers over tea and cakes to pore over their jar memories, Zuni shares her own contributions: helping out, playing with friends, rescuing a lion. Zuni's memories are different from those of her family members, and the message of the book is that even ordinary moments are worthy of remembering. An author's note adds a personal touch, reiterating this sentiment. Charming illustrations provide expression and visual details. Teachers and parents might be inspired to create their own versions of memory jars for children to collect special moments in time.--Amina Chaudhri
YA Recommendations
Adult titles recommended for teens are marked with the following symbols: YA, for books of general YA interest; YA/C, for books with particular curricular value; and YA/S, for books that will appeal most to teens with a special interest in a specific subject.
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Chaudhri, Amina. "Zuni and the Memory Jar." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 19-20, 1 June 2024, p. 101. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A804018401/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7401115a. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
The Matchmaker
Aisha Saeed. Bantam, $18 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-593-87115-7
Children's author Saeed (Omar Rising) makes her adult debut with a bumpy romantic mystery centered on Nura Khan, who runs a thriving matchmaking service for Atlanta's Pakistani community. Nura's company has brought wedded bliss to hundreds of couples, but she remains single on the cusp of turning 32, relying on her best friend, Azar, to be her plus-one to the countless weddings she's invited to. While contending with her growing feelings for Azar, Nura starts receiving disturbing emails from former applicants accusing her of being a "fraudster" who "ruins people's lives." When one client's lavish ceremony is interrupted by the bride's angry parents shouting recriminations about Nura's incompetence, Nura vows to ferret out who's targeting her reputation, and why. Saeed delivers brisk prose and generates sweet chemistry between Nura and Azar, but she stumbles with the book's mystery component, outsourcing most of the investigation to Nura's staff while Nura frets about Azar's new girlfriend. Despite some promising elements, this never quite takes flight. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (Feb.)
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"The Matchmaker." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 44, 18 Nov. 2024, p. 36. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A817760111/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5a0b35b6. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Saeed, Aisha THE MATCHMAKER Bantam (Fiction None) $18.00 4, 8 ISBN: 9780593871157
A successful Atlanta-based matchmaking entrepreneur suddenly finds herself the target of increasingly bizarre and terrifying events that threaten first her business and then her life.
A third-generation matchmaker, Nura Khan considers it the work she "was put on this earth to do" and has an enviable record of success pairing off the well-to-do men and women who are part of her client pool. Well-educated, worldly, and hard-working, 31-year-old Nura seems to have the best of everything--except a match for herself. Still, she manages to keep up socially necessary appearances with a fake fiancé named Azar, a childhood friend with whom she (quite disastrously) fell in love with as a college student, but who is more than willing to accompany her to clients' weddings. Then her glittering world begins to crumble when a member of her staff comes across a podcast from an unknown man who slanders Nura's work and a rejected client threatens to destroy her reputation with bogus claims of misconduct. Saeed's deft handling of the escalating tensions that follow--the kidnapping of a bride and groom; Nura's deepening quandary about Azar, the best friend she cannot admit is the love of her life; and the devastating betrayal that changes everything--creates a narrative that will captivate readers from the first page. This hybrid romance/mystery takes the South Asian tradition of arranged marriage and works it into a story that delights with its shimmering fluidity, memorable characters, heart-stopping twists, and a happily-ever-after that warms the heart while bringing the narrative to a delectably satisfying close.
A warm, winning debut with intelligence and storytelling panache to spare.
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"Saeed, Aisha: THE MATCHMAKER." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A835106374/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=315a97ac. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.