From Afghanistan to America, family matters most in this companion to Shooting Kabul , which Kirkus Reviews called “an ambitious story with much to offer.” A rough and tumble tomboy, twelve-year-old Ariana couldn’t be more different from her cousin Laila, who just arrived from Afghanistan with her family. Laila is a proper, ladylike Afghan girl, one who can cook, sew, sing, and who is well versed in Pukhtun culture and manners. Arianna hates her. Laila not only invades Ariana’s bedroom in their cramped Fremont townhouse, but she also becomes close with Mariam Nurzai, Ariana’s best friend. Then a rival Afghan grocery store opens near Ariana’s family store, reigniting a decades-old feud tracing back to Afghanistan. The cousins, Mariam, and their newfound frenemie, Waleed Ghilzai, must ban together to help the families find a lasting peace before it destroys both businesses and everything their parents have worked for. Gr 4–6—Twelve-year-old Ariana is Califonia tomboy who dreams of having a room of her own. When her polite, pretty, perfect cousin Laila arrives from Afghanistan and steals Ariana's best friend and her personal space, she is less than thrilled. To make matters worse, the family store, Kabul Corner, is vandalized and business is going terribly. When a rival Afghan grocery opens up nearby and a decades-old feud between the two stores is reignited, Ariana must learn to get along with her cousin and her family's enemy in order to solve the mystery of who is sabotaging their livelihoods. While this title is not quite as fast paced as Senzai's Shooting Kabul (S & S, 2010), the mystery coupled with Ariana's struggles in middle school will keep readers interested. Several characters from Shooting Kabul return, but this companion title can be enjoyed on its own. Ariana's voice is relatable and her feelings of unsureness and frustration will be familiar to readers. While all of the main characters share an immigrant experience to some degree, the different struggles that each character faces makes for a more nuanced and compelling read. It is refreshing to see such a vastly multicultural cast in children's literature, and no character is portrayed as stereotypical or overly generalized. The glossary of terms in the back is also a nice touch. Recommended for any fan of multicultural literature or realistic fiction.—Ellen Norton, White Oak Library District, Crest Hill, IL Despite a bevy of parallel plots and some improbably neat resolutions, middle-grade readers should enjoy this multicultural suburban mystery. Twelve-year-old Ariana’s happy life starts to go awry when her cousin Laila arrives from Afghanistan, full of cultural charm, perfect manners, and a bilingual fluency that makes adults coo and Ariana cringe—and even sweeps away Ariana’s best friend. To make matters worse, the cute new boy in school is from a rival family of Ariana’s: his father opens up a new Afghani grocery store in the same strip mall, and just like that an old feud between the families is resurrected. When both stores are vandalized, the children unite, and with some clever sleuthing they unravel the mystery and put the feud to rest. Adolescent misconceptions, Taliban kidnapping, and local Fremont politics swirl together to interrupt any notions readers may have about sleepy suburban life. A touch of romance provides a satisfying fairy-tale ending. Grades 4-7. --Amina Chaudhri SAVING KABUL CORNER Author: N.H. Senzai Review Issue Date: December 15, 2013 Online Publish Date: December 1, 2013 Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster Pages: 288 Price ( Hardcover ): $16.99 Publication Date: February 4, 2014 ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-1-4424-8494-8 Category: Fiction The arrival of a rival Afghani food market at the same California shopping plaza as the Shinwari family’s already established store brings with it the threat of an awakened family feud. Eleven-year-old Ariana Shinwari feels klutzy and inadequate next to her almost-12-year-old perfect cousin, Laila, who has moved in with Ariana’s family after fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan, leaving her father, a translator for the American Army, behind. And now it looks like Ariana’s best friend, Mariam, who also fled Afghanistan with her family, has all of her classes with Laila. But when strange things start to happen at both Kabul Corner and the upstart Pamir Market, schoolgirl conflicts give way to collaboration among Ariana, Laila, Mariam and Wali, the son of the new store’s owner. Senzai successfully weaves the dynamics of Afghan culture, history and political wranglings into a classically American mystery story, unraveling who and what are really at the heart of the conflict between the two Afghani grocery stores. Readers will appreciate that young people solve all of the questions at hand and ultimately bring the two families together. An engaging mystery—that it’s about Afghani families struggling and surviving in America is a plus.