Toby: Naji and the Mystery of the Dig, by Vahid Imani

This book is set in Iran in 1942, and is about a normal girl who lives in a house, but she believes in magical creatures. One day, she sees that there are random men digging a hole in her garden. She asks her sister what is happening, and her sister replies that they are digging a hole for a new outhouse. Naji immediately gets agitated, and worries that they'll disturb an evil force. So, Naji starts watching - then her mother shouts to wash up.
 
A few days later, a man comes over to fix the pool. Naji believes that he is a looloo (a kind of child-stealing demon), because he has the name of one of the looloos. She is told to go and give him some tea, so she goes and sees if he is actually going to take children from their parents. Even though she is not stolen, she still wants to learn what is down that hole - she feels like some monsters will pop straight out of it. Is she right, or is she not?
 
My favourite part in this book is where Naji goes to see if the man that was there fixing was actually evil, because, while she is going to see him, the book describes all her thoughts. I like this book, because it has a very wide age range, and is fun for probably even grown ups to read. It has a lot of imagination for the 150 pages it is, and it has a lot about Persian culture in it.

Toby: It Ain't So Awful, Falafel, by Firoozeh Dumas

How many times have you moved? If you have, you'll know that it's very hectic. In this story, Falafel is fed up with moving. Of course, Falafel isn't her real name. Her real name is Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh. She gets called Falafel, because her next-next door neighbour is a little bit crazy. Zomorod's parents are from Iran, and it's the late 1970s, a time when there is a revolution in Iran, and the Shah is going into exile. When the revolution happens, there had been a Persian Shah for 2,500 years. Falafel is just a normal girl who wants to make friends and have fun. Her parents don't speak English, so Falafel has to translate for them, and she does not enjoy that. Zomorod changes her name to Cindy, to fit in better. When the revolution happens, people in America don't like Iran, and her father loses his job. They don't know what to do.
 
At the beginning, there is a dedication: "To all the kids who don’t belong, whatever the reason." This book is about and for kids who don't belong, and I hope that all children going through not belonging anywhere will find friends and be happy.

Sabine: The Blood of Flowers, by Anita Amirrezvani

When her father dies unexpectedly, a young woman and her mother are forced to seek the charity of extended family. The uncle, an accomplished carpet knotter, takes the young woman (we never discover her name) under her wing, and, against better judgement and his wife's advice, teaches her to design, plan and execute her own carpets. Despite her obvious giftedness and skill, this is not a rags to riches story, instead, a familiar plot of hardship, unfair treatment, and unlucky circumstances.

The book takes place in Persia around the 1600s, and describes to the reader the sights and sounds of ancient Persia. The heroine is all too human, with flaws, spirit, and anger. Following her life story made me in turn want to weep for her and shout at her. I did enjoy the detailed reference to carpet knotting, appreciating the research that must have gone into these sections.

This book is part of a series, but I haven’t read the other books yet. Rafe Khatchadorian is a mischievous boy who has been expelled from many schools. When he goes back to one of the schools he was expelled from, he finds out there is an art competition, and a teacher says he’d be really good at it. So he has a go. In the next few pages after that, it explains that he won the prize of having a full-expenses paid trip to Australia. Throughout the story, Rafe has an imaginary friend called Leo, who we learn was his brother who died.
 
When Rafe gets to Australia with his Mum, it takes over 24 hours to get to Shark Bay. Later in the book, he meets some people called The Outsiders, who don’t surf, but make horror movies. Rafe then becomes part of The Outsiders and makes a mischievous plan.
 
This book is funny and jam-packed with action. My favourite character is Ellie, who is the leader of The Outsiders. She is the special effects manager in their horror movies, and also, she makes monsters that can be controlled remotely. I think this book is great for 9-13-year-olds.