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    Power Forward
    Power Forward
    Power Forward
    Ebook97 pages53 minutes

    Power Forward

    By Hena Khan and Sally Wern Comport

    4.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    From the critically acclaimed author of Amina’s Voice comes the first book in an exciting new middle grade series about a fourth-grader with big dreams of basketball stardom.

    Fourth grader Zayd Saleem has some serious hoop dreams. He’s not just going to be a professional basketball player. He’s going to be a star. A legend. The first Pakistani-American kid to make it to the NBA. He knows this deep in his soul. It’s his destiny. There are only a few small things in his way.

    For starters, Zayd’s only on the D-team. (D stands for developmental, but to Zayd it’s always felt like a bad grade or something.) Not to mention, he’s a bit on the scrawny side, even for the fourth grade team. But his best friend Adam is on the Gold Team, and it’s Zayd’s dream for the two of them to play together.

    His mom and dad don’t get it. They want him to practice his violin way more than his jump shot. When he gets caught blowing off his violin lessons to practice, Zayd’s parents lay down the ultimate punishment: he has to hang up his high tops and isn’t allowed to play basketball anymore.

    As tryouts for the Gold Team approach, Zayd has to find the courage to stand up for himself and chase his dream.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateMay 8, 2018
    ISBN9781534412002
    Power Forward
    Author

    Hena Khan

    Hena Khan is the author of Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets, Night of the Moon, and many other books for children. She lives in Rockville, Maryland.

    Read more from Hena Khan

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    Reviews for Power Forward

    4.5/5

    13 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I liked this book because it was about just staying on the right track, and just keep on going and don't give up.
    • 5/5
      Fourth-grader Zayd really loves basketball and hopes to make it to the "gold team" when tryouts come along. But his parents -- especially his well-meaning Mama -- would prefer if he plays violin in advanced orchestra every day instead. Can Zayd convince his parents about his real passion for the game?This was a great book for so many reasons. It's a quick read, which is especially good for reluctant readers. (So often, reluctant readers are interested in sports books, and many of those are thicker than the non-sports books!) The short chapters and smooth-flowing prose add to the pace. The story is about everyday stuff that kids can empathize with easily -- family commitments, sports practice, instrument rehearsal, homework, school, etc. Zayd's Pakistani-American family members are lovable and quirky from his health-nut Mama to his soaps-loving Naano (grandmother) to his goofy Jamal Mamoo (uncle). This is especially promising, given that this is the first of a series; it's easy to see why readers would want to come back to this cast of characters. The illustrations aren't strictly necessary, but they are a nice addition, especially given how they have a comic-book-style cutout around their main focus that draws the viewer in. (I'm not sure how else to describe it; it's like the pointy spikes around "POW" but instead of words, these spiky call-outs are around people.) The characters are then drawn realistically in black and white.
    • 4/5
      Pretty straightforward basketball kid story. Main theme, being true to yourself and not lying. In the background an uncle thinking about a semi-arranged marriage and traditional Pakistani foods and games, casual mentions of Islam -- I love that this is a story that is clearly set in an immigrant family (at some point they were immigrants) but it isn't about that at all. It's about a kid who loves basketball, who missteps and has to make it up, and who has some underlying anxiety/food issues. Fast paced, easy to fall into.

    Book preview

    Power Forward - Hena Khan

    1

    I’ve imagined lots of ways to get famous. The best of all would be if I took a game-winning shot in the NBA finals. But I wouldn’t mind being a magician who slices people in half on America’s Got Talent. I’d like to set the Guinness World Record for burping the Chinese alphabet. I’ve seen lots of YouTube videos. I know what it takes to become famous.

    I never, ever, imagined getting famous by playing the violin at the Brisk River Elementary School fall concert.

    The concert program booklet calls it a memorable night of musical escape. The sweaty audience slumped on rows of metal folding chairs looks ready to escape. It feels like three hundred degrees in the school cafeteria. But memorable? I’m sure everyone will forget tonight as soon as they rush out the doors to the parking lot.

    Ms. Sterling is waving her baton like she’s conducting the National Symphony Orchestra, not the fourth-grade orchestra. I’m sitting on the second level of the stage, melting in a white shirt, black pants, and purple clip-on bow tie. It’s extra hot because I’m wearing my basketball training jersey and shorts underneath. I ran over from the gym right after practice. And I couldn’t find my dress shoes this morning, so I’m in my sneakers. My basketball and empty water bottle are tucked under my chair.

    Our third song goes perfectly. Ms. Sterling raises her hands, soaking in the applause. Next is our finale, Tribal Lament. It ends with a cool drum solo by Antonio. I raise my violin to my chin. Abigail, who’s sitting next to me, starts to whisper.

    Zayd! I need more room. She sticks her bow out so far that it almost touches my face.

    See? she whines. Move over!

    I scoot my chair to the right a few inches and start playing.

    I need more room! Abigail hisses.

    It looks like Abigail has plenty of room, but she’s glaring at me. So I scoot over again, way over to the edge of the riser. I shift in my seat, still playing, and then—oh no! My chair tips over and I’m falling. AHHHHH!

    I see my life flashing before my eyes. Wait, no. Phew. It’s the flashes of everyone’s cameras. And then, CRASH! I land smack in the middle of the drums, barely missing Antonio. My chair clangs to the floor somewhere behind me. WHACK! My basketball smacks me on the head before bouncing into the audience.

    All the music stops. I hear gasps from the crowd. Then there’s nothing but silence. Ms. Sterling rushes over to me, her face pale.

    Zayd! Are you okay? Can you move? she shrieks.

    I nod, take her hand, and slowly stand up. My shirt is untucked and a little torn, and my bright red training jersey is peeking through. My bow tie is missing. But nothing seems broken, especially not my playing arms. For playing basketball, I mean. I can’t afford to be injured. My league has tryouts coming up in just four weeks, and I have to make the gold team.

    Ms. Sterling looks like she’s about to cry. I can feel everyone’s eyes fixed on me. And then, suddenly, I understand what the show must go on means.

    I face the audience and take an extra-deep bow. Everyone cheers, whistles, and applauds. And then I actually get . . . a STANDING OVATION! I bow again and can’t help but laugh with the crowd. I rub my head where the basketball hit me, and someone from the audience throws it back to me.

    As I climb back onto the risers, Abigail helps me set up my chair.

    Sorry, she mumbles.

    If you had told me I was going to be famous today, I wouldn’t have believed it. My older sister Zara posted a video of my fall on YouTube. It’s already been viewed forty thousand times. In six hours! I can only imagine how famous I’ll be by tomorrow. And in the end, this concert might actually be memorable after all.

    2

    Today I’m on fire. Not on fire as in stop, drop, and roll. On fire as in completely unstoppable on the basketball court.

    It’s almost the end of practice, and I’ve got a steal, six baskets, and four rebounds. All the soreness I felt the day after I fell off the stage is gone. Right now I

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