Charis welcomes Reem Faruqi in conversation with Gayatri Sethi for a celebration of Call Me Adnan. For fans of Planet Omar and The Ethan I Was Before, award-winning Pakistani author Reem Faruqi of Unsettled delivers a middle-grade novel in verse about table tennis player Adnan, who dreams of the championship and a fun-filled family trip to Florida. But when tragedy strikes, he and his family must cope with a terrible loss and come together as one again. This poignant story about a Muslim family learning to heal is hope-filled and moving.

Adnan Zakir loves table tennis. He's also colorblind, left-handed, and has a fondness for the aviation alphabet. He's super close with his sister, Aaliyah, who is a great dancer and memorizer of Quran, and he loves his little toddler brother Rizwan, who only wants to grow up and play table tennis like his big brother.

All Adnan dreams of is making it to the Ultimate Table Tennis Championship in Florida, and if he qualifies for the tournament, he knows he will get to spend the Eid holiday with his cousins! But when the family travels there, unthinkable tragedy strikes, and Adnan swears he'll never play table tennis ever again. Slowly, he and his family must learn to make peace and move forward, as a family.

Reem Faruqi is the award-winning children’s book author of Lailah’s Lunchbox, a book based on her own experiences as a young Muslim girl immigrating to the United States. She’s also the author of “Amira’s Picture Day,” “I Can Help,” and a middle-grade debut novel in verse, “Unsettled” which all got starred reviews. After surviving Atlanta traffic and the school drop off, Reem spends her days trying to write, but instead gets distracted easily by her camera and buttery sunlight. Reem Faruqi lives in Atlanta with her husband and three daughters. You can find her at www.ReemFaruqi.com or on Instagram or Twitter.

Gayatri Sethi (PhD) is an educator, writer, and independent consultant. She teaches and writes about Social Justice, Global Studies, and Comparative Education. Born in Tanzania and raised in Botswana, she is of Punjabi descent, multilingual, and polycultural. She reflects on these lifelong experiences of identity, immigration, and belonging in her debut non-fiction book titled Unbelonging.

She is also the co-founder of the Desi KidLit community, an initiative to build solidarity among South Asian diaspora writers for young people. When she is not reading or recommending reads on Instagram as @desibookaunty, she is envisioning traveling and gathering in community safely again.

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Call Me Adnan: Reem Faruqi in conversation with Gayatri Sethi