Some of Us Are Brave is a middle grade natural disaster novel voiced by three strongly-written protagonists.
I did not live in Texas during Hurricane Harvey, so I didn’t have a point of reference for it. The author does though! She lived through it herself, and that shines through beautifully in the story’s events. Highly-recommended for middle school readers.
Author and Illustrator: Saadia Faruqi
Genre: adventure, historical fiction, survival
Setting: 2017 Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, USA
Themes: hurricanes, poverty, class, flooding, friendship, natural disasters, world mythology, flood myths, soccer, bullying, anti-immigrant propaganda, Texas history, courage, overcoming adversity
Protagonist: three rising 8th graders, one Pakistani American, one Asian American, and one white
Recommended for: Grades 3-7
Starred Reviews: Kirkus
Notes: Includes illustrations.
It’s a humid summer in Houston, Texas, and Yasir is dreaming of being soccer team captain—if only he could get the team bully, Cody, off his back, and maybe impress his sort-of-crush, Mona. Meanwhile, Mona is turning her nightmares into art, and Cody’s home life feels as tense as the storm literally brewing down the coast.
When Hurricane Harvey makes landfall, the three kids could hardly be called friends. But as their regular lives fall apart and rising floodwaters pull them together, Mona, Cody, and Yasir will need to work as a team if they want to survive. The hurricane will churn up their deepest fears and cement their bond forever—if it doesn’t tear them apart.
The three main characters are by far this book’s greatest strength. All three are eighth graders at the same Houston, TX middle school. They are very different from each other – three different ethnicities, three different socioeconomic groups, three different family situations.
We’ll start with Yasir. He cues Middle Eastern or maybe Indian American. He lives alone with his single mother. He has no siblings, and he and his mother struggle financially. Though his mother seems perfectly capable, Yasir believes it is his job to take care of his mother and not to worry her too much about himself. He also has PTSD since he nearly-drowned in the community pool last summer.
Next there’s Mona. She is constantly in charge of her 8-year old brother Omar because her parents are university lecturers who travel all the time. She loves Omar, but she also resents being parentified and wishes her parents would step up. Mona is an artist who is never seen without her sketchpad. She is somewhat obsessed with the story of Noah and the Flood, and her artwork reflects this. Her family is upper-class.
Last, we have Cody. Oof, this one just made me so sad. He’s a school bully whose ex-military dad, whom Cody calls “The Bear,”, abuses him through fear, control, and isolation. He locks his son in a dark shed on the regular. Cody’s mother fades into the background and tiptoes around her husband. We see tenderness from Cody when he finds a stray dog, who Cody names Killer. Cody’s family is white and seems to be middle class.
All three main characters are dealing with serious issues. Their problems are written sensitively and realistically for the protagonists and for readers. Yasir, Mona, and Cody all deal with problems that unfortunately, many readers will identify with. I myself identify with both Mona and Yasir.
I love the Texas history and the Houston love. Some of Us Are Brave would make a great addition to the Texas Lonestar Reading List (middle school booklist) and the Spirit of Texas List (highlights Texas authors and settings for all grades).
I also enjoyed the occasional break-ins from local weather radio throughout the story. According to the Author’s Note, these are based on real weather reports from local Houston radio during Harvey.
The flood myths and stories from different cultures were fun, too! I love that the stories of a Great Flood span across so many different cultures. This book embraces many different cultures and has lots of diverse characters.
I also love the cover art! It goes perfectly with the story!
I read the audiobook version, but I wish I had read the print version instead. There are four narrators: Yasir, Mona, and Cody, plus the occasional radio DJ voice. The author also reads the Author’s Note at the end, detailing her own experience with Hurricane Harvey in Houston.
Speaking of the radio voice – I loved that one! Is that guy a real radio DJ? He sounds so authentic.
The audiobook is well-narrated, so this is probably more a me-issue than a problem with it. I got super-annoyed with Mona’s and Omar’s voices in particular. Mona voice is soft and quiet, but it sounds like she’s 8 years old. It sounds like babytalk. Omar’s voice is less-frequent, but it also sounds way too young for an 8-year old.
The ending is too pat, especially for Cody’s and Mona’s stories. All their very serious problems are wrapped up quickly, tying a nice, happy little bow. I’d almost rather they weren’t wrapped up and we got a sequel in a year. The three characters are compelling and believable, but their endings really are not. I would totally read a sequel that features a more fleshed-out plotline about how they are dealing with these serious issues as 9th graders.
I’ve made a free poster in Canva! It has a quotation from Chapter 33 of Some of Us Are Brave. It’s editable in Canva, or you can download a PDF from my Google Shared Drive.
To edit in Canva, open the link above. Then, click FILE – Make a Copy to edit.
In the Google Drive, click the link above. Open the Librarians folder – Posters and Signs – Quotation Posters. Note that the Google Drive version is a PDF and is not editable in Google.
Click the poster image below for a larger view.
All three main characters are 8th graders at the same middle school in Houston. Yasir, Asian American male, cues either Middle Eastern or Indian. Cody is a white male. Mona and her brother Omar are both Pakistani American. They come from three very different socioeconomic backgrounds, from upper-middle class to middle class to financially struggling.
Secondary characters are also diverse. Yasir and Cody’s female soccer coach is Scandinavian. Groundskeeper and retired fireman Mr. Delgado speaks Spanish and cues Mexican American (he knows Aztec myths).
I listened to this book entirely on audiobook. I did not love it, even though it is well-narrated. The voices of Mona and Omar sounded way too young for the characters.
Would adults like this book? MAYBE. It’s a middle grade book that is perfect for middle grade readers. Adults who love middle grade books will likely find much to enjoy.
Would I buy this for my high school library? No–it’s too young. I suggest Meet the Sky (Hoyle) or Between Two Skies (O’Sullivan) instead.
Would I buy this for my middle school library? YES, no reservations for middle school
Would I buy this for my elementary school library? MAYBE – Professional reviewers recommend this for Grades 3-7, but I would age that up a little due to the more mature themes (specifically Cody’s abuse) and almost-profanity listed below. It feels solidly middle school to me, so I’d personally recommend Grades 5-8.
Language: There are some almost-cuss words, like “shiitake mushrooms” and “frackin” – Cody says these frequently.
Sexuality: Yasir and Mona are crushing, but there is nothing physical between them.
Violence: Cody’s father is abusive, controlling, and angry – He locks Cody in a dark shed as punishment, sometimes overnight.
Drugs/Alcohol: none
See my longer list of recommended Middle Grade Natural Disaster Survival Books on Amazon (I curated this Affiliate list – When you view this list and make an Amazon purchase, I may get a small commission at no cost to you.
