Some of Us Are Brave

by Saadia Faruqi

From the acclaimed author of The Strongest Heart comes a stirring new novel from the perspectives of three very different kids who are navigating the waters of fear and friendship through the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

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.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Childrens

336 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 10, 2026

About the author

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author, essayist and interfaith activist. She writes the children’s early reader series “Yasmin” published by Capstone and other books for children, including middle grade novels “A Place At The Table” (HMH/Clarion 2020) co-written with Laura Shovan, and “A Thousand Questions” (Harper Collins 2020). She has also written “Brick Walls: Tales of Hope & Courage from Pakistan” a short story collection for adults and teens. Saadia is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose, and was featured in Oprah Magazine in 2017 as a woman making a difference in her community. She resides in Houston, TX with her husband and children.

Reviews

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three kids. One hurricane.
🌀
Yasir wants nothing more than to be captain of his soccer team. Too bad Cody, the team bully, won’t leave Yasir alone long enough for him to show his leadership skills. Cody’s home life is tense and filled with terror at times. Repeating his dad, The Bear’s, words to Yasir makes him feel in control when so often he’s not. Mona is the daughter of traveling professors and lives with the money and privilege that provides. None are friends, but in August 2017 when Category 4 Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Houston, TX, they will do everything to try to survive, together.
🌀
This was a heavy MG book, one that needs to be recommended and handled with care, but in the best possible way. How these three kids’ lives intersected and what their bravery showed about them will be one that will profoundly impact many students. This #novel goes beyond just an adventure story and dives into many important topics such as racism, domestic abuse, PTSD, parental abandonment and more. As a Texan whose campus was offered as a shelter for victims of Hurricane Harvey this title hit very close to home, as it’s the first time I’ve read about it in fiction. Grab this read when it releases February 10.

CW: parental abandonment, classism, bullying, night terrors, domestic abuse, child abuse, racism, physical assault, drowning, death of a parent, grief, PTSD, war

The Bear’s character did feel a bit cartoonish in the stereotypical way white ex-military racists have been portrayed and I wish I had seen more of a resolution with this story at the end instead of the dad not hitting him since Harvey and going to therapy.

[Mar 🧡🤍🩷 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

This was a touching and heartfelt story about bravery and friendship in the face of a natural disaster.
Set in Houston during Hurricane Harvey, four children become unlikely friends and companions as they work together to survive the hurricane and fight their own personal battles with fear.
Each child had a distinctive personality and life which felt realistic to who they were. I enjoyed reading about them working together to survive and becoming friends along the way. And I liked the inclusion of all the different flood legends and myths from around the world. I knew there were a lot of them but I’d never actually come across any of them before.
This is a heavier middle-grade book since it deals not only with a natural disaster but also with topics such as child abuse, child neglect/parentification, and PTSD. All of these topics are handled fairly well and realistically for the children. Although I do wish that Cody’s dad could have had a different ending. I would have felt better if he was never around Cody again. His past abusive behavior seemed almost dismissed at the end.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is one of those books that I think will be really beneficial for middle grade students. it follows four kids during and in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Harvey in Texas. each of the kids has their own thing going on and they would not become friends without this tragedy and being basically forced to work together. one of the kids is spewing rhetoric that he has learned from his father and it's super problematic and it really shows that children listen to what we say and while they may repeat it they are also capable of understanding and knowing what's going on. this kid logically understands that what his dad is saying is not true and he has to work extra hard to fight that and overall become a better person. I thought that was really well done.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

It's the last week of summer vacation in Houston, Texas in 2017, and Yasir Manzoor wishes he were attending soccer camp instead of being a coach for younger kids, since his life plan is to become a professional player and help out his mother, who has struggled since his father's death. He's not thrilled to run into school bully Cody at the rec center, especially since Yasir really wants to beat him out for team captain in middle school. One of the kids Yasir is coaching is Omar, who is also Punjabi. Omar's sister Mona is in school with Yasir, and he considers her well-to-do. Mona, however, struggles to take care of Omar when her parents, college professors, go off to attend conferences and leave her in charge. Since her grandmother passed away, they get Mrs. Shabazz to stay with the children. Cody's father is a veteran who has been injured, and has had anger management issues, yelling at Cody and his mother, and occasionally locking Cody up in a shed outside. All three children have fears; Yasir almost drowned in the rec center pool a year ago, Mona is anxious about floods, which comes out in her artwork, and Cody is afraid of the dark. As Hurricane Harvey bears down on the area, they children all find themselves fending for themselves. Mrs. Shabazz has to go to work, and tells Mona and Omar to stay inside, Yasir gets stranded at the rec center and tells his mother that he will meet her after the center is evacuated, and Cody spends the night in a rec center outbuilding for some piece. As the storm intensifies, all of the children find themselves fighting the flood waters. Cody and Yasir take cover in the shed until it's clear it will soon be flooded, and they meet Mona and Omar, who have found a canoe. They all try to get to the local fire station, along with Killer, a dog that Cody has found. At the fire station, they meet Mr. Delgado, a retired fire fighter who volunteers at the center. He helps them contact their parents and get to the George R. Brown Convention Center. Throughout their adventure, the children have shared flood stories from different cultures, and Mona has drawn artistic representations of stories about characters such as Noah, Gilgamesh, and Olorun. When the storm abates, Mona's parents come back and end up staying with Yasir and his mother, while Cody's father seems to be coping better. There is a lot of clean up to be done, but the children have all harnessed their inner bravery to survive.
Strengths: The author lives in Houston, and includes a note that while her home was not as badly affected by Hurrican Harvey, she saw how devastating the storm was to some areas of the city. I liked that the children were all separated from parents for reasons that made a fair amount of sense. The inclusion of soccer, and the prominence of the rec center in the lives of the children, both made the sense of community very strong. Cody has internalized his father's rants that "foreigners" are evil, and has been mean to Yasir because of these views, but when the two finally talk, he changes his mind. I loved that Omar looks up to Yasir; we don't see enough relationships between older and younger children in middle grade literature, and they can be quite powerful. The difference between eight year olds and twelve year olds is staggering. Mona's art, and the inclusion of different myths, added some different twists to a flood adventure story. The ending, with the characters having different amounts of damage to their homes, finished this story off nicely.
Weaknesses: I had a number of books about Hurricane Katrina, but they have never circulated very well. It might be because many of them are longer; Philbrick's Wild Wave has been very popular, but it's much shorter.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoy storm related adventure books like Feldman's The Puttermans Are in the House, Courage's Storm Blown, or Dodson's Escape from Hurricane Katrina.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saadia Faruqi, author of the chapter book series Yasmin plus middle grade novels such as Yusef Azeem is Not a Hero, Saving Sunshine and The Strongest Heart, writes Some of Us are Brave from the perspective of a Houstonian who experienced the flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. While her home was not impacted, those of her friends and neighbors were and the widespread devastation affected all who lived in the path of Harvey.

An omniscient narrator tells this hurricane/flooding story from the perspectives of Mona, Cody and Yasir. All three have hardships and fears that overlap and middle school, soccer and racial ties or preconceived notions about race also connect the three but at the start, the trio live very different and separate lives. Yasir lives with his single, hard-working and generous mother and both are struggling in various ways after the death of his father. Mona lives a fairly affluent life with her frequently absent and disconnected parents and is often tasked with taking care of her much younger brother during the day and with a neighbor who stays overnight. Cody’s father is former military who returned from active duty with severe PTSD resulting in a mother and older sister who try to cover up and deny the physical and emotional abuse that is going on in the household while Cody’s reaction is to become angry and overly aggressive towards anyone around him as well as feel contradictory hatred of his father and intense desire to please him. The group comes together at the area recreation center where both Cody and Yasir attend a soccer camp together, Yasir coaches Mona’s little brother Omar and Mona watches the behaviors of all at both soccer camps. When the flood waters rise, the group becomes united in a rowboat with a dog and very few supplies.

So much cannot be included in my brief introduction to the basic elements of Faruqi’s plot! There is Mona’s art that reflects her nightmares about water and storms and fascination with flood mythology, Cody’s fear of the dark and the origin of that fear at the hand of his father, and Yasir’s brush with death by drowning and subsequent fear of water. There is the symbolism of a whistle that passes from Yasir to Omar then Cody and finally back to Yasir. Themes of grief, prejudice, abuse and survival are interwoven into every event in such a non-preachy, smooth way that readers will be caught up in the survival and may not even realize all the principles and reassurances that are becoming a part of their hearts and minds. Given these elements plus the author’s skill in creating vivid pictures with her words, SOME OF US ARE BRAVE would make an excellent one school-one book, class or grade level novel study and should be on the radar of every MG award committee.

Highly recommended for grades 4-8. Representation: Mona and Yasir have AAPI heritages and Cody begins his connection with the pair having deep prejudices developed from long time exposure to the racial stereotyping committed by his father; diverse economic levels and family configuration; positive older figures such as Mona’s grandmother and Mr Delgado, the caretaker/retired fireman.

Thanks for the eARC, Edelweiss and Harper Collins/Quill Tree Books.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

“That’s the whole point,” [Mona] insists. “Not everyone’s brave. Some of us are just trying to survive.” (ARC 225)

In Saadia Faruqi’s newest novel, Hurricane Harvey impacts a community, especially three rising eighth graders and their families.

Yasir, Cody, and Mona are classmates who each have family issues and personal fears, but that’s where the similarities end. Yasir has a loving mother who struggles financially since the death of Yasir’s father. His Manzoor Life Plan is to become a famous—and rich—soccer player, but right now he is focusing on getting the skills to become captain of the middle school soccer team. However, the previous summer Yasir almost drowned in the Community Center pool and was left with memories of What Happened Last Year and a fear of water.

Cody, who is the current captain of the team, has a verbally and physically abusive father and a mother who doesn’t stand up to him. His father frequently sends him to the “dungeon,” a pitch dark shed on their property which generates a fear of the dark. Learning to be tough and nasty and bigoted like his father, he sees the American-born Yasir as a foreigner and beneath him.

Mona lives comfortably, but her university-professor parents frequently travel and leave her alone with her younger brother and, since her grandmother died, a neighbor who stays over with them. Mona is extremely competent, cooking meals for her brother, but has nightmares; her art is what saves her. “Art, that’s her passion. Drawing, sketching, making comics. Revealing her innermost thoughts on paper in ways that look cool and edgy.” (ARC 62) She also is interested in flood myths, beginning with Noah from the Bible and Quran, and she draws herself into the myths.

When Cody runs away and becomes entrapped in a shelter, Yasir saves him him and keeps him company. Inexplicably they become interdependent and possibly friends which makes Cody want to be a better person. “’Anyway, I’m sticking with you because it’s better to stay together,’ Yasir continues. ‘We can help each other out. Give each other, I dunno, courage.’…Suddenly [Cody] feels a thrill run through his spine. To think he could give Yasir Manzoor courage. That they could stick together and be brave. Fight Harvey as a team.” (ARC 177)

The storm hits, and when Yasir and Cody join Mona and her brother Oliver, whose house has flooded, in a rowboat and then a shelter, they each conquer their fears.
Narrated by an omniscient narrator who focuses on each of the three main characters in different chapters, this is a study in bravery and hope—friendship, collaboration, and change.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another shining example of how lives intersect and the power of coming together (even and usually because of a major tragedy- in this case Hurricane Harvey that was a real storm that hit Texas).

There are interconnected lives of Mona, Omar, Yasir, and Cody that are painting a picture of life before the hurricane. Cody living in fear of his father suffering from PTSD, Yasir wanting to make it as a soccer star, Mona, big sister to Omar drawing her dreams and taking care of her brother while their parents continue to travel and leave her to be the parent.

It's about the impending storm building the stress (the transitions are news reports about the storm) and the trauma it caused as well as the healing of a community coming together in the heartwarming way that Faruqi always does in her work. This is another wonderful addition to her collection, homage to her Texas roots, and a historical marker of the hurricane itself.

[Shirley Freeman]

Three youths are forced to confront their fears, and each other, during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 Houston. Upbeat and kind Yasir dreams of being a soccer star and almost drowned last year when he fell in a pool and couldn't swim. Cody's dad is a bully and therefore so is Cody. He, too, is a good soccer player but is afraid of the dark. Mona's drawing skills are remarkable but she is also in charge of her younger brother when her wealthy parents are out of town - often, and now as the hurricane approaches. Their stories are interwoven with newscasts and weather reports as flooding from Harvey devastates the city in the neighborhoods where the three kids live. All happen to be separated from their parents and have to rely on each other, and their own bravery, in order to survive.

[Martha Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as an Advanced Reader Copy without the internal illustrations (which are important to the plot.)

This is a really strong middle grade from Saadia Faruqi about three middle school kids' experience of Hurricane Harvey. Mona, Cody, and Yasir are all interesting main characters struggling with fears and family issues. They are thrust together during the hurricane and learn to support each other and grow as a result of the experience. There is a LOT of character change in the course of the book, maybe more than is credible, but it makes for a great story and one that gives us a blue print on rolling with the effects of climate change.

I am grateful to Saadia Faruqi for bringing up these sensitive and important topics! Kids are lucky to have her books as companions.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of Us Are Brave follows 4 kids through the lead up and descent of Hurricane Harvey on Houston, Texas in August 2017. While it begins as a soccer story, it transitions to read more like an “I Survived” book, which I think my students will love. The characters are vivid, their problems are real, and the way they come together (no spoilers) is a joy to read.

Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars
Pub date: Feb 10

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is an extremely feel-good story about a group of kids that are thrown together by circumstance during Hurricane Harvey. While I would love to think that overturning prejudicial minds happens that quickly, I would have liked to see a little more nuance in some of the relationships and character’s growth. I did appreciate the inclusion of several flood mythologies and think that will appeal to kids who have read Rick Riordan’s books.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in my late 20s when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and I remember seeing footage of the flooding but reading this book has prompted me to do some more research. They say that tragedy and disaster bring people together and that is exactly what happened for the characters in this book as well as the city of Houston. I enjoyed each character's bravery and their friendships develop throughout the book.

[Patti Sabik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlikely acquaintances become a team of survivors when Hurricane Harvey floods Houston. I really enjoyed this book and truly connected with the characters. Although some situations and dialogue felt a bit contrived, I think it works for younger middle schoolers.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

EARC provided by Edelweiss
What an action-packed story about an unlikely trio stuck together durning a hurricane. Each has fears to address and issues to work through as they face this storm- I couldn't put this down!

[Skyler Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up reading magic tree house and I survived books where it gave kids' perspectives on historical time and events--- reading one as an adult about something I was there for is so interesting and I enjoyed it :)))

[Laurel Zeisler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was terrific. It reminded me of the series "I Survived." It blended true weather events with a great cast of characters. I loved the way they interacted and their friendship. I highly recommend this book to school librarians for their collection.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

*seeking happiness in the small moments*

“The sun peeks out behind the clouds like a promise.”