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Saadia Faruqi
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Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero Hardcover – September 7, 2021

by Saadia Faruqi (Author)

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At a time when we are all asking questions about identity, grief, and how to stand up for what is right, this book by the author of A Thousand Questions will hit home with young readers who love Hena Khan and Varian Johnson—or anyone struggling to understand recent U.S. history and how it still affects us today.  

Yusuf Azeem has spent all his life in the small town of Frey, Texas—and nearly that long waiting for the chance to participate in the regional robotics competition, which he just knows he can win.

Only, this year is going to be more difficult than he thought. Because this year is the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an anniversary that has everyone in his Muslim community on edge.

With “Never Forget” banners everywhere and a hostile group of townspeople protesting the new mosque, Yusuf realizes that the country’s anger from two decades ago hasn’t gone away. Can he hold onto his joy—and his friendships—in the face of heartache and prejudice?

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  1. Reading age
    8 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    368 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    3 - 7
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.19 x 8.25 inches
  6. Publisher
    Quill Tree Books
  7. Publication date
    September 7, 2021
  8. ISBN-10
    0062943251
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0062943255
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The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

From the Publisher

The Strongest Heart
A Place at the Table
Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero
The Partition Project
A Thousand Questions
Rani's Remarkable Day
Buying Options
More books by author Saadia Faruqi A deeply empathetic story about a boy grappling with his father’s mental illness and trying to find home and family in a new place. Sara, a Pakistani American girl, and Elizabeth, a white Jewish girl, bond in a cooking class in this story about sixth grade, food, friendship, family and what it means to belong. A powerful and relevant story about friendship, pride, grief, and standing up for what is right. In this engaging and moving middle grade novel, a Pakistani American girl's passion for journalism inspires her to learn more about her grandmother’s experience of the Partition of India and Pakistan. Set against the backdrop of Karachi, Pakistan, Saadia Faruqi’s tender and honest middle grade novel tells the story of two girls navigating a summer of change and family upheaval with kind hearts, big dreams, and all the right questions. A modern South Asian princess, sparkling writing, lots of humor, and just the right amount of conflict come together for a clever and enchanting friendship story.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Faruqi finds engaging ways to explore how myriad tragedies of 9/11 have lodged in our memories, from uncomfortable questions in Yusuf’s classroom to a conflict over the construction of a mosque... Among the novel’s strengths is the hope it offers young readers, because despite the real menace from those who consider Muslim Americans “the enemy … among us,” Yusuf does have allies. They cannot solve all his problems, but they can see him as we all hope our children will be seen, for their decency, potential and hearts." — New York Times Book Review

"Gripping, well-paced, and poignant, this is an essential purchase for all libraries and a must-read book of our times that raises important questions about who controls historical narratives, what it means to stand up for justice, and the legacy of an event that cannot be forgotten." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"A timely, emotional story full of hope and love even in the face of discrimination and prejudice." — Kirkus Reviews

"Yusuf Azeem Is Not A Hero will surely help spark many conversations about Islamophobia and xenophobia, as well as how much things have changed in the past 20 years. Faruqi's emotional story will resonate with older readers who lived through the events many years ago, and younger readers will gain insight on the lasting effects that the 9/11 attacks had on Americans and why they are an important part of history." — Booklist

"Faruqi effectively probes complexities of radical activism vs. peaceful accommodation as Muslim response to prejudice, as well as the non-Muslim community’s deep discomfort in stepping beyond a bystander role in defense of their neighbors." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"[A] timely, hopeful middle grade novel." — Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American writer and interfaith activist. She is the author of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Saving Sunshine, the popular early-reader series Yasmin, and the middle grade novels The Strongest Heart, 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.

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Saadia Faruqi

Saadia Faruqi

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Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author and interfaith activist. She writes the popular children’s early reader series “Yasmin” and other books for children, including chapter books, graphic novels, and picture books. Her middle grade novels include “A Place At The Table” co-written with Laura Shovan (a Sydney Taylor Notable 2021), “A Thousand Questions” (a South Asia Book Award Honor 2021) and “Yusuf Azeem Is Not A Hero”. Her first graphic novel “Saving Sunshine” was nominated for the Eisner and Harvey awards in 2024, and was a Kirkus Best Book in 2023. Saadia is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose, and was featured in Oprah Magazine in 2017 as a woman making a difference in her community. She lives in Houston, TX with her husband and children.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Jennifer Engle
    5.0 out of 5 stars necessary book
    Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2025
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    This book was so wonderful to read and showed a town ultimately doing the right thing after members of the community were wrong. It is the kind of book that should be showcased and lets love triumph.
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  • rungirl25
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
    Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
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    Came on time and good packaging
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  • Casey Moseman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Relatable book for Middle school students.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2024
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    This book was great for my middle school students. Very current and relatable to middle school aged kids.
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  • 2012momof1
    5.0 out of 5 stars Story of 9/11 through a child
    Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2022
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    Good book for an grade school reader.
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  • Rommel Momen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Informative
    Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2021
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    My 5th grader found it interesting, relatable and informative.
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  • Lack
    1.0 out of 5 stars Mundane
    Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2025
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    Constant subpar examples, stereotypes and exaggerations to make some points, mixed with foreign language all over the book make it a tiring read.
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  • Jennifer C.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Yusuf Azeem is not a hero....except when he is.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2022
    Yusuf Azeem is not a hero, except when he is. This book opens with Yusuf starting middle school as a sixth grader. He enjoyed elementary school and he's looking forward to middle school, especially because he can now participate in the TRC (Texas Robotics Competition) that he's been practicing for since third grade. On his first day of school, Yusuf and his friend Danial pass under a banner that has been hung in the hallway which says "Never Forget - Twenty Years" - but they aren't really concerned about it. Yusuf knows that middle school is going to be awesome - right up until he opens his locker for the first time and sees a note that says "You suck." At first, Yusuf shrugs it off, thinking the note couldn't possibly be for him because it's the first day and how could anybody even know which locker is his?

    Unfortunately, that begins a series of events that make clear that there are individuals in the small town of Frey who think that all Muslims should just "go home" because "their kind don't belong here." At first, Yusuf tries to just keep his head down and ignore the bullying, but he quickly finds that his faith - which teaches to help those who need it and stop those who are doing wrong - won't let him ignore it, and he begins to stand up to the bullying - though he doesn't always win.

    Yusuf's story is interspersed with entries from his uncle's journal entries during the same time frame in 2001. The similarities of the struggles both boys faced show us that, even though it may be 20 years later, there are many Americans who still view all Muslims as the enemy, with suspicion, and as dangerous. This is illustrated extremely well when Yusuf takes his new Micro:bit to school with him.
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  • Sarashee
    2.0 out of 5 stars Flawed and lacking complexity
    Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2025
    I really want to rate this book highly. I lived through and was affected by the events in the novel as a Muslim American growing up in the 90s and early 2000s. This is definitely a novel that needs to be written to convey an important piece of history to the next generations. Unfortunately, the book suffers from major underlying flaws. It does not show why being Muslim is so different from being of any other background. The book reduces being Muslim to an ethnicity. Defining practices in Islam are presented as having no deeper meaning. Half of the Muslim characters are barely practicing. They don’t wear hijab, they don’t eat halal food, etc. On the other hand, the characters that do follow those practices are portrayed as rigid and negative. It would have been better if the 9/11 memorial had forced Yusuf to re-examine his faith and set him on a quest for the deeper meaning behind Islamic practices. This would be consistent with the history, as for many Muslims in the early 2000s, 9/11 served as a catalyst for them to re-discover their faith and learn it in more depth than before. Alternatively, the events could have forced Yusuf to re-examine the meaning of Patriotism when he was forced to come to terms with the atrocities his country committed as a response to the War on Terror, such as Guantanamo Bay, and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Without this deep internal dialogue and catharsis, the patriotism of the Muslim characters in Frey feels lacking in complexity.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Sal
    1.0 out of 5 stars Screaming inferiority complex from start to finish!
    Reviewed in Australia on August 9, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    So I purchased this book for a proposed Muslim Children's Library. I was excited to increase our range for chapter books as Muslim lit for this age range is limited. I was so extremely disappointed. The whole book screams of inferiority complex from beginning to end. For starters, the only fully religiously practicing aunty (Sameena Aunty) is the most condescending, arrogant, inconsiderate character. I'd argue she is worse than the obvious antagonist in the story. Other practicing characters are portrayed as rigid and perhaps backward.
    So much emphasis is put on all the religious and paganistic rituals of other religions and cultures; which normally doesn't bother me except that the Muslim children are continuously engaged in them throughout the story. Muslim children unabashedly eating non-halal food etc. This is definitely not a book for a young, impressionable Muslim audience.
    The only value in the book is perhaps for those that lived through 9/11 as a non-Muslim and was not aware of how the discourses of the time really affected Muslim families and children. Nothing more than that. The book will not be making it into our library catalogue.
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