Alina Butt

Twelve-year-old Alina is actually looking forward to going back to school. For once, she has some friends to sit beside on the first day. But when Alina walks into her classroom, someone is sitting in her spot and there are no seats left next to her friends. Grade seven is off to a rocky start! Then the teacher announces that the class will be going on a trip to Paris later in the fall. It's an expensive trip, but she's sure that with the right plan, she can convince her strict parents to let her go. What could go wrong? For starters, her passport is expired so she can't go on the trip to Paris. When her new passport does arrive, her parents announce a trip back to Pakistan. At first Alina is miserable, but soon she begins to see that when it comes to the things that matter the most, she might not be so unlucky after all. This is a sequel to the author's first novel, The Unlovable Alina Butt, which was a starred selection for CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible. Praise for The Unlovable Alina Butt: "In this charming, tightly plotted debut, Alina's witty, vulnerable narratorial voice guides readers through her intensely authentic personal evolution."-Kirkus Reviews "This charming, eye-opening book highlights not only the struggles of an immigrant girl, but the power that comes from seeing things through someone else's eyes."-School Library Journal (SLJ) Key Selling Points • Twelve-year-old Alina gets a new perspective when she returns to the country where she was born and learns to be grateful for all that she has. • Explores themes of cultural differences, friendship, family and gratitude. • This is an authentic representation of the immigrant experience based on the author's lived experience. • The story is a follow-up to the author's first novel, The Unlovable Alina Butt, which was a starred selection for CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens. • This delightful novel is full of the same wacky humor and over-the-top drama readers enjoyed so much in The Unlovable Alina Butt. In this sequel to the critically acclaimed The Unlovable Alina Butt, after lots of friendship drama and not being able to attend a school trip to Paris, twelve-year-old Alina reluctantly travels back to Pakistan with her family, where she gains a new perspective on family, opportunity and what really matters in life. Ambreen Butt-Hussain is the author of the debut middle-grade novel The Unlovable Alina Butt. Ambreen was born in Pakistan but lived in England and Scotland before finally settling in Canada for many years. She has a bachelor of science from the University of Toronto and a master of education from Queen's University. She continues to move around and has recently made Princeton, New Jersey her new home, with her husband and two sons. Meet Alina Butt, an endearingly awkward 11-year-old who must navigate the challenges of friendship, family, fitting in and standing out after moving from Pakistan to England. "Ambreen Butt-Hussain draws readers back into Alina's world while opening it wider with familiar and brand-new faces. From London to Paris to Pakistan, through school fairs, class trips, weddings and sleepovers, readers will experience the disappointments, devastations and joys of the twelve-year-old who may truly be as lucky as her pink-haired troll pen-topper." "An honest, moving journey of self-discovery that captures the complexity of the heartache and longing immigrants have for a homeland that feels both familiar and foreign at the same time. {Alina's} relationships with family are refreshingly real. A beautifully layered, unforgettable read."