Ms. Marvel: Remnants of the Past

Gr 5-9–Filled with magic and a diverse cast of characters, Faruqi’s (The Strongest Heart) book ticks all the boxes for readers seeking a fun, action-packed story. Kamala Khan, alias Ms. Marvel, is the first Muslim superhero; she uses her “embiggen” superpower to protect her hometown of Jersey City from evil villains such as Kingpin and Delilah. In this installment, Kamala and her besties, Nakia and Bruno, investigate the theft of an ancient pair of magical Mughal spectacles stolen from a local museum. Kamala, who is Pakistani American, struggles to balance her identities as an American teenager versus a traditional Pakistani daughter while digging into a mystery that hits close to home. She also tries to ignore her romantic feelings for Bruno, since he is not Muslim and she thinks her parents would disapprove of her dating him. Urdu and Arabic occasionally appear in the novel’s dialogue in a naturalistic way that makes the characters seem realistic in an otherwise fantastical tale. While the storyline has a mature message about the importance of family and cultural heritage, the straightforward character development and narration of action scenes will appeal more to upper elementary and middle-schoolers.