My Perfect Family

Black 16-year-old Leena Stewart’s life with her single mother, Asiyah, is all she’s ever known. Secretly, Leena longs for big family holiday gatherings. Then Leena learns that her grandfather, Tariq—from whom Asiyah has been estranged since her pregnancy with Leena at 16—has recently been hospitalized. Her great-aunt Samira insists that Leena see him, and though Samira acts coldly, Tariq eagerly connects with Leena. Upon Tariq’s discharge, Leena visits him and soon realizes that he is a wealthy, prominent figure in his Muslim community in Santa Fe. Samira and Tariq provide Leena with things she’s always wanted, including expensive gifts, but her mother, recalling her own tumultuous childhood, cautions that “They will change.” Leena’s grandfather’s hope that she’ll one day accept Islam features prominently throughout; VanBrakle (Fatima Tate Takes the Cake) utilizes typical conflicts around teenage relationships and dating to contextualize conversations of Tariq’s Muslim practices and attitudes surrounding gender roles, modest dress, and abstinence. Leena’s best friend delivers sage, practical advice with a dash of snark, which provides an airy counterpoint to fraught situations involving family feuds and class tensions in this complex depiction of one teen’s yearning for more. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kristina Pérez, Pérez Literary. (July)