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Call Me Al
Ali is an eighth-grade kid with a lot going on. Between the pressure from his immigrant parents to ace every class, his crush on Melissa, who lives in the rich area of town while he and his family live in a shabby apartment complex, and trying his best to fit in with his friends, he feels like he’s being pulled in too many different directions. But harder still, Ali is becoming increasingly aware of the racism around him. Comments from his friends about Pakistani food or his skin color are passed off as jokes, but he doesn’t find them funny. And when Ramadan starts, Ali doesn’t tell anyone he’s fasting because it just seems easier. Luckily he finds solace in putting his feelings into words―and poems. But his father is dead set against him using art as a distraction when he’s got schoolwork and a future career as a doctor to focus on. Ali’s world changes when he, his mom and his little brother are assaulted by some racist teens. Ali must come to terms with his roiling feelings about his place in the world, as a Pakistani immigrant, a Muslim and a teenager with his whole life ahead of him. With help from his grandfather, an inspiring teacher and his friend, Ali leans on his words for strength. And eventually he finds his true voice.
264 pages, Paperback
Published March 12, 2024
7 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 19, 2024
This book shines like a candle in a dark room!
Al, an eighth-grade boy, learns positive ways to deal with racism. He and his Pakistani family have lived in America for years, but not until recently have his “differences” started to cause a crack in relationships with schoolmates, even with Al’s best friend. It seems to him that white people are always the ones causing trouble for Muslims, and Al starts to reject any association with them; they just don’t get him, or his religion. It takes a tragic event at a place of worship for the members of Al’s community to join together in solidarity, and love.
Wonderful book about learning to appreciate differences in others, instead of ridiculing and hating.
Al, an eighth-grade boy, learns positive ways to deal with racism. He and his Pakistani family have lived in America for years, but not until recently have his “differences” started to cause a crack in relationships with schoolmates, even with Al’s best friend. It seems to him that white people are always the ones causing trouble for Muslims, and Al starts to reject any association with them; they just don’t get him, or his religion. It takes a tragic event at a place of worship for the members of Al’s community to join together in solidarity, and love.
Wonderful book about learning to appreciate differences in others, instead of ridiculing and hating.
June 2, 2025
This book just didn’t do it for me. Nowadays, Ali’s poetry could be written just as well on ChatGPT. 😑
May 1, 2024
I feel like I should have really liked this 264 page book: OWN voice, Muslim, MG, Pakistani, author is poet laureate for the City of Mississauga, Ontario, co authored by a prolific YA writer, but it unfortunately reads inconsistent and unpolished. The characters at the beginning and their relationships with one another don't read consistent with who they are in the middle. Sure the character arcs from the middle to the end are nice, but it feels really disjointed from the first quarter of the book. There are parts that feel so rushed, and other parts that are heavy handed with the preaching and the moral lessoning that I found myself skimming whole pages. He says his family isn't that "religious," but Islam is centered with quotes from "the Prophet" (no salawat given, only a few times Prophet Muhammad is mentioned to identify which Prophet is being quoted) and "Imam Ali" (who the protagonist is named after), yet Al telling a girl he likes her is no problem at all. He fasts because he has to, but tells his younger brother it is ok to sneak food, and the grandfather gives a whole speech on how the purpose of fasting is to feel empathy for the poor (face palm, in case you don't know, it is a commandment of Allah swt). I really struggled with how "Whites" are seen as opposites to "Muslims," there is some push back with quotes from Malcom X on his hajj experience, but I didn't feel like the character really ever accepted that Islam is a religion for all people, and White is a skin color. Honestly the book reads like an early 2000 memoir. I know it is fiction, but the cultural be-a-doctor-nothing-else-matters-stereotypes, and Islamophobic talking points that feel performative for a Western gaze, combine with a very unlikable arrogant protagonist, and result in a book that was difficult to connect with and get through.
SYNOPSIS:
Al, short for Ali does everything perfect, he has perfect grades, always listens to his parents, and respects the rules. The book opens with him sneaking off campus with friends for lunch at the mall where he is caught by his grandfather, who seems incredibly strict, but later is the soft spot in a firm family. His parents have moved to Canada from Pakistan, his mom used to be a teacher, but now takes care of their apartment building, his father was a physician and now drives a taxi. It is non negotiable that Al will be a physician when he grows up. The middle child of all brothers, his older brother Sam, short for Osama, has set the bar very high with his valedictorian status in high school, scholarships to start college, and student of the year award in middle school. Al is in 8th grade and is expected to follow in his footsteps. When Al's crush on Melissa results in him writing a poem about her, he realizes he likes the written word to express himself. His father thinks poetry is a waste of time. With a teacher that encourages creative writing, Islamophobia and hate crimes hitting close to home, and Al coming of age, the story focuses on Al's 8th grade year as he discovers his own identity, with some help from his friends and the month of Ramadan.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I like that his friends really pushed back on him to own some of his internalized Islamophobia. Zach is probably the most fleshed out character, and his humor, his teacher crush, his ability to apologize and make things right, is really the heart of the book. It contrasts so greatly to how I feel about Al. By the end he was ok, but at the beginning, his arrogance is obnoxious. I get that he is bright and a hard worker, but, yikes, he needs some humbleness. The supporting characters are rather flat. Al's crush Melissa is shallow and only desired for her appearance, Dad is strict and demanding, not in an abusive way, but in a cold undeveloped way, mom is idyllic and supportive, and Ms. McIntosh is the driving motivator for Al. The other characters do little to flesh out the main players which is unfortunate. I think some depth would have shown Al more rounded. His so called friends don't know he is Muslim or what he eats, but they are friends, not just classmates, seems off and lacking. The grandfather gives all the teachable moments, he starts off stern, and then is not, and the transition is jarring. He speaks in quotes and lessons, and if it were quirky, it might help the flow of the book, but he really is the Islamic conscience of the book so to speak, but we know so little about him and his relationship with Al.
I didn't like how fasting and Ramadan were presented. Al is embarrassed by fasting and being different. I like that it says the family goes to the mosque, not sure why masjid wasn't used, but there are no Muslim friends and no praying, so it has no real impact, which furthers the feeling that it is performative. Al doesn't seem to consider faith or culture until others question him about it, which is a missed opportunity to give Muslim kids a mirror to see themselves in the characters. There are chapters of the book that really are wonderfully written, they just are sadly too far and few between.
FLAGS:
Crushes, Islamophobia, physical and verbal assault, racism, classism, bullying, lying, sneaking out, discussion of partition violence including great grandfather being killed. The book though, aside from the crush thread at the start and end, is quite clean, and the crush is pretty innocent.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I wouldn't seek out this book for a classroom shelf, but if it was in the library I would leave it. I don't think most kids would pick it up and make it past the first 25 pages though, Al is really unlikeable at the start.
SYNOPSIS:
Al, short for Ali does everything perfect, he has perfect grades, always listens to his parents, and respects the rules. The book opens with him sneaking off campus with friends for lunch at the mall where he is caught by his grandfather, who seems incredibly strict, but later is the soft spot in a firm family. His parents have moved to Canada from Pakistan, his mom used to be a teacher, but now takes care of their apartment building, his father was a physician and now drives a taxi. It is non negotiable that Al will be a physician when he grows up. The middle child of all brothers, his older brother Sam, short for Osama, has set the bar very high with his valedictorian status in high school, scholarships to start college, and student of the year award in middle school. Al is in 8th grade and is expected to follow in his footsteps. When Al's crush on Melissa results in him writing a poem about her, he realizes he likes the written word to express himself. His father thinks poetry is a waste of time. With a teacher that encourages creative writing, Islamophobia and hate crimes hitting close to home, and Al coming of age, the story focuses on Al's 8th grade year as he discovers his own identity, with some help from his friends and the month of Ramadan.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I like that his friends really pushed back on him to own some of his internalized Islamophobia. Zach is probably the most fleshed out character, and his humor, his teacher crush, his ability to apologize and make things right, is really the heart of the book. It contrasts so greatly to how I feel about Al. By the end he was ok, but at the beginning, his arrogance is obnoxious. I get that he is bright and a hard worker, but, yikes, he needs some humbleness. The supporting characters are rather flat. Al's crush Melissa is shallow and only desired for her appearance, Dad is strict and demanding, not in an abusive way, but in a cold undeveloped way, mom is idyllic and supportive, and Ms. McIntosh is the driving motivator for Al. The other characters do little to flesh out the main players which is unfortunate. I think some depth would have shown Al more rounded. His so called friends don't know he is Muslim or what he eats, but they are friends, not just classmates, seems off and lacking. The grandfather gives all the teachable moments, he starts off stern, and then is not, and the transition is jarring. He speaks in quotes and lessons, and if it were quirky, it might help the flow of the book, but he really is the Islamic conscience of the book so to speak, but we know so little about him and his relationship with Al.
I didn't like how fasting and Ramadan were presented. Al is embarrassed by fasting and being different. I like that it says the family goes to the mosque, not sure why masjid wasn't used, but there are no Muslim friends and no praying, so it has no real impact, which furthers the feeling that it is performative. Al doesn't seem to consider faith or culture until others question him about it, which is a missed opportunity to give Muslim kids a mirror to see themselves in the characters. There are chapters of the book that really are wonderfully written, they just are sadly too far and few between.
FLAGS:
Crushes, Islamophobia, physical and verbal assault, racism, classism, bullying, lying, sneaking out, discussion of partition violence including great grandfather being killed. The book though, aside from the crush thread at the start and end, is quite clean, and the crush is pretty innocent.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I wouldn't seek out this book for a classroom shelf, but if it was in the library I would leave it. I don't think most kids would pick it up and make it past the first 25 pages though, Al is really unlikeable at the start.
October 1, 2025
This is a strong book about growth, and I had a really interesting time with it. Al is a neat character, and although I didn't necessarily forgive the people around him for some of the comments they made, I understand the underlying lesson here. This was good!
July 19, 2025
Read this for school, in short words MEH
November 15, 2023
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Ali Khan is in the 8th grade, and struggling with several issues. His family works hard, and there is a lot of pressure for him to do well in school like his older brother, Osama, who goes by Sam. His father was a doctor in Pakistan, but drives a cab, and his mother, who was a teacher, is the manager of the apartment building where they all live. His grandfather was a well known professor of literature, but now works as a security guard. There's some tension with his longtime neighbor and best friend, Zach, who is hanging out with a well-to-do crowd of white students, and even leaves school for lunch at a nearby mall. Al wants to tag along, but feels guilty the whole time, especially when he runs into his grandfather. Al also has a crush on one of the girls in this group, Melissa, and is inspired to write a poem about her, which he keeps to himself. His teacher, Ms. McIntosh, encourages his writing, but does constructively criticize his work when he writes about what it is like to live in a ghetto: she wants him to use his own voice instead of trying to sound like a rap song. After Al's father helps deliver a baby in his taxi while Al is tagging along, Al has a lot of conflicting emotions about the way his father is perceived. When he, his mother, and his younger brother Danny are verbally and physically assaulted on their way home from the grocery store, Al has conflicting feelings about Zach, since his friend has made similar comments but brushed them off as "jokes". Emotions are running high as these events pile up during Ramadan. When a mosque in the US is the target of violence, Al finds himself turning more and more to writing poetry even though his father wants him to concentrate on his school work, since it is more important to learn skills so he can eventually deliver babies instead of writing about delivering them. Ms. McIntosh, as well as Al's grandfather, understand the importance of writing as a way to deal with events around him, but his father still is more interested in his academic progress. The Khans invite a larger number of people for their Eid feast, and include the wealthier classmates, some teachers, and others with whom they have interacted, as a way to increase understanding in the community. Zach surprises them by encouraging Al's classmates to fast during the day of the celebration so that they know a bit more about what the process feels like. At the end of the school year, Al is named the valedictorian of his class and encouraged to share his poetry, and his father makes peace with this after learning about Lazarus, the Detroit, Michigan based rapper, songwriter and physician of Pakistani descent.
Strengths: Walters is a prolific Canadian author who has done interesting collaborations with a number of others, in this case the poet and motivational speaker Wali Shah. This is a good look at how a middle school boy might struggle with racism, microagressions, and family expectations, on top of other pressures of middle school like crushes and fitting in. The story moves along quickly, and has a nice mix of topics.
Weaknesses: My students are not particularly fond of poetry, so I wish there had been a tiny bit more basketball in this to hook them, especially since Walters does such a good sports novel. I also wish there were more books about Muslim students who are of Somali descent, since that's the background of most of my students. There are a lot of books by Pakistani authors, but relatively few by Somali authors.
What I really think: This is a good choice for students who like Grimes' Garvey's Choice and Baptist's Isaiah Dunn is My Hero. As of November, 2023, Follett does not list a prebound copy for sale, and paperbacks do not hold up in my library, so I'll have to wait to purchase.
Ali Khan is in the 8th grade, and struggling with several issues. His family works hard, and there is a lot of pressure for him to do well in school like his older brother, Osama, who goes by Sam. His father was a doctor in Pakistan, but drives a cab, and his mother, who was a teacher, is the manager of the apartment building where they all live. His grandfather was a well known professor of literature, but now works as a security guard. There's some tension with his longtime neighbor and best friend, Zach, who is hanging out with a well-to-do crowd of white students, and even leaves school for lunch at a nearby mall. Al wants to tag along, but feels guilty the whole time, especially when he runs into his grandfather. Al also has a crush on one of the girls in this group, Melissa, and is inspired to write a poem about her, which he keeps to himself. His teacher, Ms. McIntosh, encourages his writing, but does constructively criticize his work when he writes about what it is like to live in a ghetto: she wants him to use his own voice instead of trying to sound like a rap song. After Al's father helps deliver a baby in his taxi while Al is tagging along, Al has a lot of conflicting emotions about the way his father is perceived. When he, his mother, and his younger brother Danny are verbally and physically assaulted on their way home from the grocery store, Al has conflicting feelings about Zach, since his friend has made similar comments but brushed them off as "jokes". Emotions are running high as these events pile up during Ramadan. When a mosque in the US is the target of violence, Al finds himself turning more and more to writing poetry even though his father wants him to concentrate on his school work, since it is more important to learn skills so he can eventually deliver babies instead of writing about delivering them. Ms. McIntosh, as well as Al's grandfather, understand the importance of writing as a way to deal with events around him, but his father still is more interested in his academic progress. The Khans invite a larger number of people for their Eid feast, and include the wealthier classmates, some teachers, and others with whom they have interacted, as a way to increase understanding in the community. Zach surprises them by encouraging Al's classmates to fast during the day of the celebration so that they know a bit more about what the process feels like. At the end of the school year, Al is named the valedictorian of his class and encouraged to share his poetry, and his father makes peace with this after learning about Lazarus, the Detroit, Michigan based rapper, songwriter and physician of Pakistani descent.
Strengths: Walters is a prolific Canadian author who has done interesting collaborations with a number of others, in this case the poet and motivational speaker Wali Shah. This is a good look at how a middle school boy might struggle with racism, microagressions, and family expectations, on top of other pressures of middle school like crushes and fitting in. The story moves along quickly, and has a nice mix of topics.
Weaknesses: My students are not particularly fond of poetry, so I wish there had been a tiny bit more basketball in this to hook them, especially since Walters does such a good sports novel. I also wish there were more books about Muslim students who are of Somali descent, since that's the background of most of my students. There are a lot of books by Pakistani authors, but relatively few by Somali authors.
What I really think: This is a good choice for students who like Grimes' Garvey's Choice and Baptist's Isaiah Dunn is My Hero. As of November, 2023, Follett does not list a prebound copy for sale, and paperbacks do not hold up in my library, so I'll have to wait to purchase.
November 24, 2024
Ali is in his last year of middle school and has all kinds of different interests: poetry, getting better at basketball, and maybe becoming a doctor like his father. He tries his best to get along, but the fact that he is from Pakistan and Muslim make him stand out a lot. He is starting to experience racist incidents, such as comments, and being confronted in public for being who he is. The people he encounters are in various levels of understanding his perspective, some not at all and actually openly hostile, some understanding him a little, some being racist without realizing at first, some who love and understand Ali very well. Ali's journey to absorb and make sense of all these different interactions are what make this story important to be read. There are no easy answers, everyone is mixed up when they are growing up and finding who they are and what is important to them. What is important is that we are all human and need to give ourselves and others grace to learn and improve.
March 12, 2024
I loved the world-building in Call Me Al -- I could picture the school and Ali's apartment building so clearly. I thought the authors did a wonderful job creating the community around Ali and his family, but I couldn't quite connect with the main character (which makes total sense). I felt like we were told more than shown what a great student he is: how smart, how inspiring, so helpful to his classmates. And the side plot about his crush on Melissa fell flat for me -- we know absolutely nothing about her or why Ali would even like her EXCEPT for her looks. Quite a few scenes were really powerful, but the bit about the mosque shooting seemed incredibly rushed.
Overall, I'm glad I read it!
(I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
Overall, I'm glad I read it!
(I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
November 14, 2024
Audiobook - YA Red Maple 2024-25
Perfect book for the current political/social climate. Everyone needs to give more grace, compassion and understanding to the members of our community. All students and their parents need to read this book!
Perfect book for the current political/social climate. Everyone needs to give more grace, compassion and understanding to the members of our community. All students and their parents need to read this book!
April 20, 2024
I could really see myself in Ali. This one of the first books where I can totally relate to the character when it comes to the way I look or even the things that I believe in.
May 2, 2024
Forthright, truthful, and relatable. Highly recommended.
July 17, 2024
Couldn't get into this one...
December 27, 2024
Immigrants live in two worlds and this book shows how the struggles to please his parents while trying fit in with his peers consumes a middle-grader. Racism collides with perfectionism creating a perfect storm. Al, the young Pakistani protagonist, discovers the power of words to build a bridge between his two worlds.
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