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Call Me Adnan: Reem Faruqi in conversation with Gayatri Sethi

Event date: 
Saturday, June 17, 2023 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm

This event takes place on crowdcast, Charis' virtual event platform. Register here.

Charis welcomes Reem Faruqi in conversation with Gayatri Sethi for a celebration of Call Me Adnan. For fans of Planet Omar and The Ethan I Was Before, award-winning Pakistani author Reem Faruqi of Unsettled delivers a middle-grade novel in verse about table tennis player Adnan, who dreams of the championship and a fun-filled family trip to Florida. But when tragedy strikes, he and his family must cope with a terrible loss and come together as one again. This poignant story about a Muslim family learning to heal is hope-filled and moving.

Adnan Zakir loves table tennis. He's also colorblind, left-handed, and has a fondness for the aviation alphabet. He's super close with his sister, Aaliyah, who is a great dancer and memorizer of Quran, and he loves his little toddler brother Rizwan, who only wants to grow up and play table tennis like his big brother. 

All Adnan dreams of is making it to the Ultimate Table Tennis Championship in Florida, and if he qualifies for the tournament, he knows he will get to spend the Eid holiday with his cousins! But when the family travels there, unthinkable tragedy strikes, and Adnan swears he'll never play table tennis ever again. Slowly, he and his family must learn to make peace and move forward, as a family.

Reem Faruqi is the award-winning children’s book author of Lailah’s Lunchbox, a book based on her own experiences as a young Muslim girl immigrating to the United States. She’s also the author of “Amira’s Picture Day,” “I Can Help,” and a middle-grade debut novel in verse, “Unsettled” which all got starred reviews. After surviving Atlanta traffic and the school drop off, Reem spends her days trying to write, but instead gets distracted easily by her camera and buttery sunlight. Reem Faruqi lives in Atlanta with her husband and three daughters. You can find her at www.ReemFaruqi.com or on Instagram or Twitter.

Gayatri Sethi (PhD) is an educator, writer, and independent consultant. She teaches and writes about Social Justice, Global Studies, and Comparative Education. Born in Tanzania and raised in Botswana, she is of Punjabi descent, multilingual, and polycultural. She reflects on these lifelong experiences of identity, immigration, and belonging in her debut non-fiction book titled Unbelonging

She is also the co-founder of the Desi KidLit community, an initiative to build solidarity among South Asian diaspora writers for young people. When she is not reading or recommending reads on Instagram as @desibookaunty, she is envisioning traveling and gathering in community safely again.

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

Please contact us at info@chariscircle.org or 404-524-0304 if you would like ASL interpretation at this event. If you would like to watch the event with live AI captions, you may do so by watching it in Google Chrome and enabling captions: Instructions here. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we begin this new way of connecting across distances.

By attending our virtual event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

Event address: 
CROWDCAST
Call Me Adnan By Reem Faruqi Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780063284944
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: HarperCollins - June 13th, 2023

"An emotional tale of a family’s grief and healing, full of courage and hope" —Kirkus Reviews


Unbelonging By Gayatri Sethi Cover Image
$16.95
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9781737055020
Published: Mango & Marigold Press - August 17th, 2021

Milloo's Mind: The Story of Maryam Faruqi, Trailblazer for Women's Education By Reem Faruqi, Hoda Hadadi (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Reem Faruqi, Hoda Hadadi (Illustrator)
$18.99
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9780063056619
Published: HarperCollins - January 17th, 2023

From the author of Lailah’s Lunchbox and Unsettled comes a powerful picture book biography about Maryam Faruqi, the founder of the Happy Home Schools, which provided education to thousands of girls across Pakistan at a time when girls weren't encouraged to go to school.


Golden Girl By Reem Faruqi Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780063044753
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: HarperCollins - February 22nd, 2022

From the award-winning, ALA Notable author of Unsettled and Lailah’s Lunchbox, this is a captivating coming-of-age middle grade novel in verse about seventh grader Aafiyah Qamar, a Pakistani American girl who hatches a special plan to help her family but finds that doing what’s right isn’t always easy.


Unsettled By Reem Faruqi Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780063044708
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: HarperCollins - May 11th, 2021

A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year · Kid's Indie Next List · Featured in Today Show’s AAPI Heritage Month list · A Kirkus Children's Best Book of 2021 · A National Council of Teachers of English Notable Verse Novel · Jane Addams 2022 Children’s Book Award Finalist · 2021 Nerdy Awa


Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story By Reem Faruqi, Lea Lyon (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Reem Faruqi, Lea Lyon (Illustrator)
$16.95
ISBN: 9780884484318
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Tilbury House Publishers - May 1st, 2015

*2019 Daybreak Children's Picture Book Award -- Recognizing Muslim Women's Contributions to Literature*


Amira's Picture Day By Reem Faruqi, Fahmida Azim (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Reem Faruqi, Fahmida Azim (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780823440191
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Holiday House - April 13th, 2021

Ramadan has come to an end, and Amira can't wait to stay home from school to celebrate Eid. There's just one hiccup: it's also school picture day. How can Amira be in two places at once?
 
An ALSC Notable Children's Book


Anisa's International Day By Reem Faruqi Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780063206236
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: HarperCollins - September 20th, 2022

From the award-winning author of Unsettled, meet Anisa, the adorable Pakistani American heroine of this irresistible younger middle grade novel about a girl who introduces her class to the art of mehndi for International Day.


Event Summary: 
A middle-grade novel in verse about table tennis player Adnan, who dreams of the championship and a fun-filled family trip to Florida.