Description
Navigating a month of school, and an upcoming soccer championship while fasting for Ramadan, can be tough. Luckily, Hassan has a winning combo of family, friends and faith - and his goals in sight!
It’s almost sunset, and Hassan has been dreaming about eating since the sun rose this morning. He’s facing a hectic month of homework, gaming and soccer, all while fasting every day for the holy month of Ramadan. Not eating until sundown intensifies Hassan’s already stretched days – his teachers and friends barely understand Ramadan and its traditions, and it’s especially tough keeping up with soccer practice, as the team’s first game looms in a few weeks.
At the same time, Ramadan brings Hassan’s family and community closer together, from waking up at 4am every morning to feasting and attending mosque in the evenings. Throughout this epic month, while the secular world flows on a different path, Ramadan becomes a steadying force in Hassan’s life while illuminating surprises about his family, his faith – soccer too! – and most importantly, Hassan’s own path ahead.
Review
It is Ramadan, and for Hassan, it means a month of fasting, family and prayer. But it also coincides this year with the lead up to the soccer playoffs, which Hassan is worried about.
Hassan is having a hard time concentrating at school and at soccer practice, and having to leave early every night from training so that he can rest before dinner is causing issues for him. His coach is upset, and he feels like he is letting the team down. Not to mention how left out he feels with his friends when he can’t play video games with them.
Hassan hasn’t told everyone what he is doing, so they just don’t understand. But how can they know how he is feeling if he isn’t honest with them? But if he does tell them, would they understand anyway?
This is a graphic novel that will resonate with those who undertake Ramadan, but is also a great read for those don’t, as it highlights the challenges that can come with it and how, by trying to understand other cultures and religions, we might be able to better know our friends for who they are. It is best suited to those in younger secondary school.
