Siddiqui, Maleeha. Bhai For Now. Scholastic, 2022. 978-1-338-70209-5. $17.99. 276 p. Grades 5-8.

Eighth-grader Ashar Malik lives for ice hockey and aspires to the National Hockey League via a spot on the Icecaps, the team from the prestigious Arlington Academy. Tired of his nomad-like existence, Shaheer Atique fills up his down time by watching The Property Brothers with his grandfather, Dada, and trying out interior design ideas. At the start of the school year, they bump into each other at their Northern Virginian middle school. Cousin Zohra is the first to suggest the two are identical twins.  Then, the pair start to piece the information together: Ashar lives with his Mom, a math teacher, who needs to stick to the budget; Shaheer lives with his emergency physician father, who hands him a shiny credit card instead of his time and stability. In addition to the same birth date, they both were born in New Jersey, are Muslim, and share their parents’ same names. Convinced, the impulsive Ashar insists they switch places to get to know each other’s custodial parent. This spin on The Parent Trap discloses the individual twin’s greatest qualities highlighted with the different parent. Dad responds positively to Ashar’s spontaneity and openness while Mom appreciates Shaheer’s thoughtfulness and talent. Both families practice the Muslim religion and the faith and belief is woven seamlessly throughout the story. When Dad decides to take a job in Missouri so that he can have a more regular schedule to spend time with his son, the boys’ plan goes awry. After the parents learn of the deception, both parents and brothers turn angrily on each other–no loving reunion here. The twins scramble to keep themselves together and are willing to sacrifice to make it so. Bhai For Now is a fun story that readers easily will get into. Author Maleeha Siddiqui keeps the plot fast-paced and the characters–even minor ones–interesting and memorable. 

THOUGHTS: Though the premise seems far-fetched (parents divorcing and each keeping one child without the siblings knowing of each others’ existences), this Parent Trap spin-off works. It is entertaining, alternately funny and tender. The community is in the beginning of creating a new masjid and Shaheer/Ashar gets involved in this activity. Dada, the grandfather prays his dua several times daily. The hockey plays are described in detail. The author successfully depicts a typical American family with Muslim customs. 

Realistic Fiction          Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia