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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSYusuf Azeem is a sixth grader starting middle school in the small town of Frey, Texas, with big plans: join the robotics club, compete in the Texas Robotics Competition, and have the best year of his life. But on the very first day, he finds a mean note in his locker, and more notes keep coming. When the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 arrives, the hostility toward Yusuf's Muslim family and community starts spilling into the open, stirred up by a newcomer named Trevor Grant and his group, the Patriot Sons, who are threatening to shut down the mosque the Muslim community is building. As the year heats up, Yusuf also reads a journal his uncle wrote in 2001, when his uncle was Yusuf's exact age and living through the aftermath of 9/11 firsthand, and the parallels between then and now are impossible to ignore.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book is a dollar store owner praised for stopping a robber with a cricket bat?
✓ Answer
Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi
Abba famously kept a cricket bat under his register and used it to take down an armed robber in 2011. A plaque on the store wall honors his courage, and he still cleans it every day with pride.
- First half
In what book does a young pastor share falafel with Muslim families to show they are neighbors?
✓ Answer
Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi
Pastor John Nielson from New Horizons Church crosses the street, eats with the families, and reassures Abba that his congregation cares about them. Yusuf is not yet sure he believes the comfort.
- First half
In what book does a librarian show a boy how to search archive databases for old news stories?
✓ Answer
Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi
Mrs. Levy proudly tells Yusuf the library computer is connected to the best libraries in Texas. He uses it to dig up September 11 articles and images while writing his social studies report.
- Second half
In what book does a Sunday school teacher reveal her own hijab was ripped off on September 12, 2001?
✓ Answer
Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi
Sameena Aunty quietly admits to Yusuf and Danial that she was fifteen on her first day wearing a hijab in a New York high school, and her own best friend called her a terrorist and tore it off. The story shows how the past wound has shaped her.
- Second half
In what book does a family stop at Buc-ee's, where a boy eats sweet, buttery beaver nuggets?
✓ Answer
Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi
On the drive from Frey to Houston, Aleena needs a bathroom break, so the family stops at the famous Texas travel center. The boy cannot wait to brag to his robotics team that he ate the legendary beaver nuggets.
- Near the end
In what book is a sixth grader handcuffed and driven to a police station over a tiny computer?
✓ Answer
Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi
Officer Strickland pulls the boy up by the shoulder and another officer snaps cuffs onto his wrists. The half-built virtual cat he is coding for his little sister beeps in his backpack, sparking a full bomb scare, and he is hauled to the downtown station.
