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Summary
Summary
In the vein of Year of the Dog and The Higher Power of Lucky , this Middle Eastern coming-of-age story is told with warmth, spirit, and a mischievous sense of humor
Spunky eleven-year-old Wadjda lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with her parents. She desperately wants a bicycle so that she can race her friend Abdullah, even though it is considered improper for girls to ride bikes. Wadjda earns money for her dream bike by selling homemade bracelets and mixtapes of banned music to her classmates. But after she's caught, she's forced to turn over a new leaf (sort of), or risk expulsion from school. Still, Wadjda keeps scheming, and with the bicycle so closely in her sights, she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Set against the shifting social attitudes of the Middle East, The Green Bicycle explores gender roles, conformity, and the importance of family, all with wit and irresistible heart.
Author Notes
Haifaa Al Mansour is a Saudi Arabian film director and screenwriter, and the winner of an EDA Female Focus Award. Her first feature-length film, "Wadjda," won the Best International Feature Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival, among other awards, and is the basis of this middle grade novel. Her next film, "A Storm in the Stars" starring Elle Fanning, is set to release in 2016. The Green Bicycle is her debut novel.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Spirited and outspoken, 11-year-old Wadjda lives in Saudi Arabia world where girls' activities and opinions are strictly controlled. Although Wadjda is regularly disciplined at school for not following exacting protocols, she remains independent and irrepressible. She longs for the freedom to ride a bike and race with her childhood friend Abdullah, and she devises strategies to earn the money needed to buy a coveted green bicycle. Wadjda's entrepreneurial efforts to sell homemade bracelets and mixtapes of banned Western music to classmates are derailed when her school discovers her activities. Wadjda is an intriguing and sympathetic character and listeners will want her to succeed, but this novelization lacks the impact of the film on which it is based, Al Mansour's 2013 Wadjda, since listeners miss seeing the Saudi locations and characters. Also, in spite of Ariana Delawari's competent narration, students who have not studied the culture may have difficulty understanding gender restrictions and segregation as well as religious and prayer requirements. VERDICT Recommended as an addition to multicultural fiction collections, especially if students have the opportunity to learn about the current culture of Saudi Arabia prior to listening to this work. ["Those seeking to introduce students to Saudi Arabian culture should consider this title": SLJ 8/15 review of the Dial book.]-Rebecca James, Hathaway Brown School, Shaker Heights, OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
A novelization of Al Mansour's film, Wadjda, about a Saudi girl who eventually gets her wished-for green bicycle (an unusual acquisition for a girl) with prize money from a traditional Quran recitation competition. Wadjda is quirky and independent, and she struggles in her strict Islamic school. While lacking the immediacy of the film, the novel provides an interesting look at life in Riyadh today. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Curious, creative, and strong-willed Wadjda stages small acts of rebellion at her girls' school in Riyadh. Eleven-year-old Wadjda isn't supposed to wear Chuck Taylor sneakers to school or sell bracelets and candy to her fellow students for extra cash. But money is tight at home, and Wadjda has always preferred to emulate tough, mischievous older girls like Fatin and Fatima rather than her pious, rule-abiding classmates. Wadjda particularly envies the freedom her childhood friend Abdullah has to roam the city on his bicycle; for Wadjda to ride a bike as a girl would not only look unseemly, but could also, as her mother explains with characteristic frankness and fear, "harm your virginity." Nevertheless, when Wadjda sees a perfect green bicycle at a toy shop, she is determined to save 800 riyals to make it hers. Wadjda's mother's strugglesa long, perilous commute to the only job she can find; Wadjda's father's search for a new wifeare juxtaposed effectively against Wadjda's own, and her alternating frustration with and compassion for her daughter's actions are palpable. Despite the restrictive environment and many setbacks, Wadjda's cleverness and determination keep the mood relatively hopeful. The author, a screenwriter, bases the novel on her first feature-length film, Wadjda. A winningly told story of struggle, solidarity, and optimism. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Wadjda takes pride in the fact that she stands out from the crowd, which is hard to do for an 11-year-old girl in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. What she really wants is a bike, and she resolves to buy one herself, even if her money-making schemes toe the line of acceptable behavior. Meanwhile, as Wadjda's father begins planning for a second wife, her mother struggles to accept the looming decrease in financial support. Based on her award-winning film Wadjda, Al Mansour's debut novel is a revelatory glimpse into a culture unfamiliar to many American readers. While the writing is occasionally clunky, Al Mansour nevertheless has structured her evocative novel brilliantly, subtly but incisively highlighting the frustrating, damaging, and pernicious gender politics that curtail women's freedom. Wadjda's rebellions, and even her mother's, are cheerworthy, and while the novel ends with a promise of a sunny future, it's chastening to see how risky even small actions can be. Young readers will easily sympathize with Wadjda's wish for a bike, and they will come away with a deeper understanding of a faraway culture.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2015 Booklist
