But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.Īutumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart their mothers are still best friends. Unabashedly rooted in the author’s homeland and confronting timely topics and challenging themes, this book has broad appeal for teen readers. Above all, the raw emotion splashed across the pages will resonate deeply, no matter one’s race or religion. This is a brutally honest, no-holds-barred reimagining of the time: The evocative voice transports readers to 1960s Malaysia, and the brisk pace is enthralling. When faced with a life-or-death situation, Mel digs deep and finds the inner strength to confront the Djinn and stand up for what she believes in. Armed with a Red Cross curfew pass, Mel and Vince scour the city helping those in need.

While the war between the Chinese and Malays rages on, Mel finds an ally in Auntie Bee’s son, Vince. Wracked with guilt, Mel must battle her rising anxiety and the Djinn’s accusatory voice to find her missing mother. On May 13, the first day of the riots, Mel is saved by Auntie Bee, a Chinese-Malaysian stranger, and forced to leave her best friend, Saf, for dead. Mel believes a djinn has taken over her consciousness and if she doesn’t placate it by counting in threes-her compulsive behavior-all her loved ones will die, and it’ll all be her fault. Sixteen-year-old Melati Ahmad, a Malaysian of Malay descent, has obsessive-compulsive disorder. A girl battling mental illness searches for her mother during the historic race riots of 1969 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf