The Strongest Heart, Saadia Faruqi
The Strongest Heart, Saadia Faruqi
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

The Strongest Heart

Author: Saadia Faruqi

Narrator: Imran Sheikh

Unabridged: 8 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/04/2025


Synopsis

A Schneider Family Book Award HonoreeFrom beloved middle grade author Saadia Faruqi comes a poignant exploration of the impact of mental illness on families—and the love and hope that it takes to begin telling a different tale. Mo is used to his father’s fits of rage. When Abbu's moods shake the house, Mo is safe inside his head, with his cherished folktales: The best way to respond is not to engage. Apparently, his mama knows that too—which is why she took a job on the other side of the world, leaving Mo alone with Abbu.With Mama gone, the two move to Texas to live with Mo’s aunt and cousin, Rayyan. The two boys could not be more different. Rayyan is achievement-driven and factual; Mo is a “bad kid." Still, there is a lot to like about living in Texas. Sundays at the mosque are better than he’d expected. And Rayyan and his aunt become a real family to Mo.But even in a warm home and school where he begins to see a future for himself, Mo knows that the monster within his father can break out and destroy their fragile peace at any moment…

About Saadia Faruqi

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American writer, interfaith activist, and cultural-sensitivity trainer. She is the author of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Saving Sunshine, the popular early-reader series Yasmin, and the middle grade novels A Thousand Questions, Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero, and The Partition Project and the coauthor of the middle grade novel A Place at the Table as well as The Wonders We Seek: Thirty Incredible Muslims Who Helped Shape the World. She was profiled in O magazine as a woman making a difference in her community and serves as editor in chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry, and prose. She resides in Houston, Texas, with her family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Hoover Public Library on April 15, 2025

"Thought-provoking and insightful, this novel humanizes mental illness while unflinchingly showing how families and communities are affected." [Booklist]......more

Goodreads review by Melanie on November 08, 2024

The Strongest Heart is not at all like Saadia Faruqi’s light hearted and wonderful Yasmin chapter books for grades 1-4ish, nor is it a friendship and sharing of faiths like A Place at the Table. This is a book that is, at times, very hard to read due to the hardships experienced by Mo/Mohammed but s......more

Goodreads review by DaNae on April 30, 2025

Mo has moved from Queens, NY to Huston, Texas. The culture shock of a new place is nothing compared to the same old frustration and anger that Mo has toward living with a monster. A monster who makes his life miserable and predictably unpredictable- the monster who is also known as his father. I fee......more

This is a powerful, heavy, necessary and heartbreaking story of a middle schooler navigating life with a parent who has a mental illness. There is some levity with humor sprinkled throughout. It would be a great read alike for readers of “Quagmire Couldn’t Be Better” by Mylisa Larsen.......more

Goodreads review by Richie on December 14, 2024

Richie’s Picks: THE STRONGEST HEART by Saadia Faruqi, HarperCollins/QuillTree, March 2025, 384p., ISBN: 978-0-06-311585-9 “Schizophrenia is a type of mental illness whose symptoms usually occur in phases. In the active stage, your symptoms are most noticeable. You may see or hear things that don’t e......more