It bears the meaning of festival, holiday, or feast. Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices (2020) Image via ĭo you realize that Once Upon an Eid is a delightful anthology of short stories written by and about Muslims? Proudly said, Hanna Alkaf is one of the multiple authors of the book, and it features the most lively festival of the year, Eid.

Their bonds are stronger by assisting Pink in escaping the evil grips of a pawang hantu (spirit-catcher).ģ. Lastly, Suraya and her pelesit understand the significance of compassion and letting go. The conflict between Suraya and Pink increased and put both girls in peril. Then, his enviousness overflowed when Suraya befriends Jing Wei, the new Chinese girl at school. However, Pink has an evil tendency, even though he appears to search for Suraya by playing horrible pranks on the classmates who mistreat her. As time flies, the two are close friends, with Pink serving as the guardian of Suraya. More surprisingly, she is not frightened, embraces the pelesit joyously, and names him Pink. Furthermore, the book portrayed Suraya as a character often neglected by her mother and others. The book starts with the death of a wizard in a kampung home, continuing to bequeath her pelesit (a trickster-like spirit according to Malay folklore) to her granddaughter, Suraya. The Girl and the Ghost (2020) Image via ĭear fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies, look here! Introducing The Girl and The Ghost, an emotionally rich and eerie book, brings a famous Malaysian folk story to life! Undoubtedly, you will cherish this book features covetousness, love, and the remarkable power of friendship! Hence, Melati, with the assistance of a Chinese youngster named Vincent, confronts deadly roadblocks, gangsters, arson threats, biases, and her djinn’s increasing strength to return to her mother.Ģ. With a 24-hour curfew implemented everywhere and the loss of communication, the deserted Petaling Street transforms into an inhumane battle-like zone. Consequently, Melati and her mother are separated by a city in flames as the Chinese and Malays are in discord. However, the 13th of May 1969 (evening) marks the boiling point of the racial tensions in her hometown (Kuala Lumpur).

The djinn often haunts Melati with awful memories (her mother’s demise), except that she follows an intricate routine of counting and tapping to keep him contented. The protagonist, Melati, different from most sixteen-year-old girls, thinks a djinn (a mythical creature from Islamic fables) possessed her. During the infamous racial riots in 1969 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Melati tried hard to search for her mother. In this thrilling young adult fiction, The Weight of Our Sky depicts a music-loving youngster, Melati, with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), one of the mental health concerns.

Hanna alkaf the weight of our sky