Watched by Marina Budhos
"Naeem is far from the “model teen.” Moving fast in his immigrant neighborhood in Queens is the only way he can outrun the eyes of his hardworking Bangladeshi parents and their gossipy neighbors. Even worse, they’re not the only ones watching. Cameras on poles. Mosques infiltrated. Everyone knows: Be careful what you say and who you say it to. Anyone might be a watcher." (from the flyleaf)
Naeem is more interested in street life than in studying and when his friend Ibrahim frames him for shop lifting, he finds himself faced with a hard decision. The cops give him the choice of jail or becoming a watcher, an informer. Naeem tries to convince himself that he is keeping people safe but as he starts attending mosque and participating in a Muslim teen volunteer group, he begins to like how being a good Muslim boy feels. His unease with the role the cops have forced him into grows as he tries to extricate himself from their power.
This is a fast moving gripping tale that examines how it feel to grow up under surveillance, something that is a reality for may Muslim Americans.
Tessa's Picks, 8th grade Summer 2017, 7th grade, Contemporary Fiction, Issues Fiction, Character driven
Naeem is more interested in street life than in studying and when his friend Ibrahim frames him for shop lifting, he finds himself faced with a hard decision. The cops give him the choice of jail or becoming a watcher, an informer. Naeem tries to convince himself that he is keeping people safe but as he starts attending mosque and participating in a Muslim teen volunteer group, he begins to like how being a good Muslim boy feels. His unease with the role the cops have forced him into grows as he tries to extricate himself from their power.
This is a fast moving gripping tale that examines how it feel to grow up under surveillance, something that is a reality for may Muslim Americans.
Tessa's Picks, 8th grade Summer 2017, 7th grade, Contemporary Fiction, Issues Fiction, Character driven
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