Middle School Mischief

The Magical Reality of Nadia #2

by Bassem Youssef, Catherine R. Daly, Douglas Holgate (Illustrator)

Inspired by the author's real-life experiences, this second hilarious and sweet novel about sixth grade Egyptian immigrant Nadia has her battling school newspaper drama, controversy with the school mascot, and some magical mischief, too. Nadia loves fun facts. Here are a few about ...Maybe. A couple of weeks in, the newspaper is a big mess. The mascot contest is mayhem, too. (Who knew choosing a costumed character could cause such controversy?!) Then Nadia and Titi discover that the hippo amulet holds a second secret, one that’s super powerful―and super scary. Too bad they have no idea how to stop it. But Nadia is on the case! If she can solve the mystery of an ancient amulet, winning the mascot contest and acing her reporter assignments should be easy...right? From The Daily Show comedian Bassem Youssef and author Catherine R. Daly comes a humorous and heartfelt story about integrity, empathy, power, and friendship. Includes sections of black-and-white comics as well as black-and-white illustrations throughout, brought to life by Last Kids on Earth illustrator, Douglas Holgate.

Genres: Middle Grade, Humor, Fantasy

176 pages, Hardcover

Published November 2, 2021

About the author

Bassem Raafat Muhammad Youssef is an Egyptian comedian, writer, producer, physician, media critic, and television host. He hosted Al-Bernameg, a satirical news program, from 2011 to 2014.

Reviews

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

مغامرة جديدة ل نادية وآدم والمعلم الفرعوني تي تي
اتبسطت اوي بالقصة 😍
اتمنى السلسلة يكون فيها قصص تانيه ف المستقبل 😌
الرسومات ف الكتاب كيوت جدا 😍

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Youssef, co-author Daly, and illustrator Holgate combined their talents to produce a humorous fantasy-mystery that also contains much realism about middle school.

Readers looking for humor will find butt jokes & backwards-talking (ekil sith).

Readers looking for realism will get caught up in the storyline about Nadia & her friends' investigative & research work on the school paper, as well as their quest to get the school a better mascot than the Bridget Mason Middle School *Petunia* so their basketball team will no longer be ridiculed. Not to mention the cultural asides of the various diverse friends.

Readers looking for fantasy will appreciate the battle between the ancient Egyptian magical characters trapped by spells, shape-shifting to battle one another, etc. These culture-based mythology-like characters seem to be based in the cultural background of Bassem Youssef - giving this an authenticity with a sprinkling of language & historic stories.

And readers who enjoy mysteries will be curious to figure out exactly what is happening with the dueling fantastical magicians and how it affects Nadia's school.

It's a very quick read, especially since several episodes in fantasy spaces unfold as cartoons instead of chapters.

[Shniar Othman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm loving this series. hoping it will continue 🌸

[Nada · Rating 4 out of 5]

كاني كنت بقرا مجلة أو كوميكس
الرسومات لطيفة و لغتها سهلة و لطيفة
كانت تجربة refreshing
مناسبة للمراهقين أو مبتدئين لغة
Fun fact: it was enjoyable 💙💙