Ahmed Azizs Epic Year

This hilarious and poignant tween debut¡ªwhich SLJ heralded as ¡°destined to become a classic¡± in a starred review¡ªtackles evergreen topics like dealing with bullies, making friends, and the power of good books. A great next read for fans of Merci Su¨¢rez Changes Gears and John David Anderson.Ahmed Aziz is having an epic year¡ªepicallybad.After his dad gets sick, the family moves from Hawaii to Minnesota for his dad¡¯s treatment. Even though his dad grew up there, Ahmed can¡¯t imagine a worse place to live. He¡¯s one of the only brown kids in his school. And as a proud slacker, Ahmed doesn¡¯t want to deal with expectations from his new teachers.Ahmed surprises himself by actually reading the assigned books for his English class:Holes,Bridge to Terabithia,andFrom the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Shockingly, he doesn¡¯t hate them. Ahmed also starts learning about his uncle, who died before Ahmed was born.Getting bits and pieces of his family¡¯s history might be the one upside of the move, even as his dad¡¯s health hangs in the balance and the school bully refuses to leave him alone. Will Ahmed ever warm to Minnesota* A Chicago Public Library Kids Best Book of the Year * A BookPage Best Book of the Year * A Bank Street Best Book of the Year * Finalist for the Minnesota Book Award *