Call Me Al by Wali Shah and Eric Walters

To find your place in the world, first, you need to find your voice.
Ali is an eighth-grade kid with a lot going on.

Between the pressure from his immigrant parents to ace every class, his crush on Melissa, who lives in the rich area of town while he and his family live in a shabby apartment complex, and trying his best to fit in with his friends, he feels like he's being pulled in too many different directions.

But harder still, Ali is becoming increasingly aware of the racism around him. Comments from his friends about Pakistani food or his skin color are passed off as jokes, but he doesn't find them funny. And when Ramadan starts, Ali doesn't tell anyone he's fasting because it just seems easier. Luckily he finds solace in putting his feelings into wordsand poems. But his father is dead set against him using art as a distraction when he's got schoolwork and a future career as a doctor to focus on. (From Orca Book Publishers)

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Wali Shah is a Pakistani Canadian poet and public speaker. He was previously the poet laureate for the city of Mississauga.Call Me Alis his first book.

Eric Walters is one of Canada's most prolific writers for young people. He's penned over 100 books, includingBear in the Family,The Power of ThreeandRun. His 2006 novelWe All Fall Downcame in at #88 on the list ofthe bestselling 150 Canadian books of the past 10 years. Walters won the2020 Governor General's Literary Prize for young people's literature textforThe King of Jam Sandwiches.