Publisher Description
Four kids meet at an airport for one unforgettable night in this middle-grade novel by four bestselling and award-winning authors
When a thunderstorm grounds all flights following a huge Muslim convention, four unlikely kids are thrown together. Feek is stuck babysitting his younger sister, but he'd rather be writing a poem that's good enough for his dad, a famous poet and rapper. Hanna is intent on finding a lost cat in the airport—and also on avoiding a conversation with her dad about him possibly remarrying. Sami is struggling with his anxiety and worried that he'll miss the karate tournament that he's trained so hard for. And Nora has to deal with the pressure of being the daughter of a prominent congresswoman, when all she really wants to do is make fun NokNok videos. These kids don't seem to have much in common—yet.
Told in alternating points of view, Grounded tells the story of one unexpected night that will change these kids forever.
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“An ensemble cast brings listeners to Zora Neale Hurston Airport, where bad weather grounds four preteens who are traveling home with their families…Each kid is a carefully developed individual whose complex emotional interiority emerges in thoughtful vocal performances…There’s much to enjoy.”
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AudioFile
About the Authors
Aisha Saeed is the author of Written in the Stars (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books, 2015) which was listed as a best book of 2015 by Bank Street Books, a 2016 YALSA Quick Pick For Reluctant Readers, and named one of the top ten books all Young Georgians Should Read in 2016. She is also the author of the middle grade novel Amal Unbound (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018) which has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus and is a Global Read Aloud for 2018. She also has a forthcoming picture book Bilal Cooks Daal (Simon & Schuster/Salaam Reads, 2019). Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books. She has been featured on MTV, the Huffington Post, NBC, and the BBC, and her writings have appeared in publications including the journal ALAN and the Orlando Sentinel.
Aisha is represented by Taylor Martindale at Full Circle Literary Agency and lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and three sons.
Neil Shah is an Audie-nominated narrator and winner of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards who has recorded over 150 audiobooks. AudioFile magazine has commended him for “an absolutely mesmerizing listening experience” and as “an outstanding narrator who adds a healthy dose of personality to each of the characters.” As a classically trained actor with an MFA from the Old Globe/University of San Diego, he has appeared off Broadway and on regional stages, as well as in film and television. He records from his home studio in Portland, Oregon.
S. K. Ali is a teacher based in Toronto whose writing on Muslim culture and life has appeared in the Toronto Star. Her family of Muslim scholars is consistently listed in the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World, and her insight into Muslim culture is both personal and far-reaching.
About the Narrators
Deepa Samuel is a voice artist and audiobook narrator.
Neil Shah is an Audie-nominated narrator and winner of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards who has recorded over 150 audiobooks. AudioFile magazine has commended him for “an absolutely mesmerizing listening experience” and as “an outstanding narrator who adds a healthy dose of personality to each of the characters.” As a classically trained actor with an MFA from the Old Globe/University of San Diego, he has appeared off Broadway and on regional stages, as well as in film and television. He records from his home studio in Portland, Oregon.