My favorite thing about this book were how two girls from different culture were able to learn to be friends. I loved how there were misunderstandings and awkwardness between them, making their attempts to find common ground and understand feel real, and I also loved how they worked through these moments. There aren't perfect answers in this book. Some things are not not completely resolved. But there is a real attempt, and success, at friendship, and it's very satisfying to see it unfold and strengthen.

This lower middle-grade book (the characters are in sixth grade, aged 11) has upbeat, gentle voice, with typical middle school tropes of shopping at the mall, bemoaning homework, and dealing with younger siblings. But it also includes issues of living as a 1st and 2nd-generation immigrant in the US, including incidents of xenophobia that feel relatable and of realistic complexity. One of the things I like about it so far is that both the girls’ mothers are immigrants—one from Pakistan and one from England, and the things in common between the two mothers might be a good window/sliding door to people who stereotype immigrants as people of color and/or of Muslim faith (the English mom is white and was raised as a Christian.

This book has other appealing factors; among them were the food theme and descriptions (and even a recipe in the back of the book) and the interesting insights into the personal and religious lives of several different families.