ALA Booklist (Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2008)

Two award-winning Canadian authors team up to tell a story of race prejudice that divides a high school after Azeem, a Muslim student, is arrested following a bomb plot. The story is told in the alternating voices of two students: studious Haroon, Azeem's academic-bowl teammate; and Jay, a popular football player. Neither boy seems to be aware of much prejudice in the school, although Jay describes the seating in the cafeteria as "divided in as many subgroups as tables." As Azeem's trial progresses, vandalism and racial slurs escalate, and the narrators are jolted by the actions and attitudes of people they thought they knew. Their individual struggles to understand the flaring prejudice and their journeys toward self-discovery are subtle and authentic. Secondary characters, such as Haroon's sister, who wears the abaya, and biracial Steve, raise interesting side issues but are less well developed than Haroon and Jay. This is a story that will leave readers looking at their schools and themselves with new eyes.

School Library Journal

Gr 8-10-Jay and Haroon are caught up in parallel plots that begin when police initiate a school lockdown and arrest a Muslim student under suspicion of terrorist links. Tensions are sparked in the racially divided high school where "brown" students congregate in "Brown Town." Jay, a newcomer, is a football jock. Haroon provides contrast as a nerdish academic-quiz-team member, but he has come under police suspicion for being Muslim after another Muslim student says he understands why terrorists behave as they do. Further conflict leads to the vandalizing of Brown Town. On Halloween, the captain leads some footballers to vandalize houses, including Haroon's. Both boys struggle to understand people and events around them and must rise above the mistrust created by 9/11 to make powerful choices. Jay finally stands up to his bigoted team captain and Haroon overcomes his fear. The authors' intentions are noble as they bravely plot the course of two strangers becoming less strange. The climax is moving. Regrettably the story is peppered with dialogue and actions that are inaccurate of Muslims. Consequently the book unintentionally contributes to the continuation and reinforcement of stereotypes, which limits its usefulness.-Fawzia Gilani-Williams, Oberlin Public Library, OH Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Voice of Youth Advocates

Told from alternating perspectives, each written by a separate author, this book is the story of Jay, a Caucasian football star at his Canadian high school, and Haroon, a Muslim student of Middle Eastern descent at the same school. When another Muslim student is arrested under suspicion of being a terrorist, the students react differently. The Muslim crowd is encouraged by parents to not draw attention to themselves, despite harassment from other students and from the police. The members of the football team, led by their captain, are responsible for much of the harassment. The novel depicts a slice of life presented through the eyes of the two protagonists, giving insight into the cultural and psychological reasons for the actions of each character in the book. Only as individuals do they successfully bridge the gap in their school and demonstrate cultural understanding to their peers. The authors take on an ambitious project with this book. The characters never quite come to life, which is perhaps a result of shared authorship. At times, the events in the story are predictable, but they successfully portray an interesting cast of characters, and the diverging viewpoints are a good starting point for classroom discussion of life in a diverse society and of current events.-Jenny Ingram.