Alina in the Deep

Alina #2

by Shenaaz Nanji

Alina has always dreamed of having a sibling, an instant BFF, and with her cousin Safi arriving from Kenya for the summer, her dream can finally come true!


Alina creates a list of things to do with Safi, but nothing goes as planned when she finds it hard to connect with her cousin. Safi is not who Alina expected her to be. She wears her culture proudly and acts in ways that make her stand out—and Alina hates standing out!


What will happen to the summer Alina had planned? And will she and Safi ever become BFFs?


The sequel to the award-nominated Alina in a Pinch!

118 pages, Paperback

Published October 8, 2024

About the author

Shenaaz Nanji was born on the ancient island of Mombasa, one of the oldest settlements on the East African coast, and grew up amid a fusion of cultures: Bantu-Swahili, Arabic, colonial British, and East Indian. Every year she visited her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins in Uganda until Idi Amin turned them into refugees. She moved to the United States and lived in upstate New York before moving to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she now lives with her husband and children. She holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College and has written several books for children.

Reviews

[Kay S.]

I like this series so far. Alina is a memorable character that shares a lot of traits with the middle-grade age group. Part of this story is realizing just how much she cares about the things that make middle-graders middle-graders: clothing, hanging with friends, having a "thing", fitting in, etc. Juxtaposing her character with her cousin (who is everything a Canadianized kid isn't) is a great choice.

My qualms about this book come in a lot of the realizations Alina comes to are not developed to the end. What she's feeling isn't named and dealt with. It just kind of goes away or she realizes it's silly and moves past it. I can appreciate handling it this way but in a story about overcoming that urge to conform and familial relationships, the jealousy and embarrassment should be talked through, if only with the reader, especially for this age group.

Having all of these character development moments only occur when her dog goes missing -a traumatic experience - felt a bit cheap. Her family coming to her aid in a time of crisis shouldn't be the catalyst to realizing she's falling into the traps of white-majority Canadians and demanding others conform with her.

[Rachel]

A early chapter book, with more words and harder vobcab. Love that the book talks about Kenya and there is much diversity in the book. A cute story about Alina's cousin from Kenya visiting, and the many differences and similarities the two find out about each other. Kids will relate to Alina and her questions, curiosity and enthusiasm.