Interview with Shifa Saltagi Safadi

Hello Shifa and welcome to Reading Middle Grade! It’s so great to be chatting with you about your debut middle grade book, Kareem Between.

Thank you so much, Afoma, for having me!!!

Your book is set in 2016, a pivotal time for Syrian-Americans in the US. Could you tell us why you decided to place Kareem in this time period?

Absolutely, honestly, for me as a Muslim American Adult, this was such a pivotal moment for me in America- and so I wanted to share that time with the reader and sort of memorialize it.

To give context, in 2016, Donald Trump won the election and became President of the United States in 2017. One of his first executive orders was banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including my own birthplace, Syria, from entering the US. He called these people dangerous and detrimental. 

I remember being devastated by this racist rhetoric. And this made me so heartbroken. 

But I also remember being inspired by the many people who protested the racism of this act. And I want to show young readers that you can stand up to injustice and use your voice to protest. 

The Muslim ban was challenged over and over until it got signed away.

I have to say that Kareem is not a very likable protagonist in the first half or so of this book. I found myself wanting to shake some sense into him. Why did you decide to write about a kid who’s making lots of mistakes?

lol, sorry!

Kareem definitely makes mistakes. He fumbles soooo sooo hard at first. But it is part of his character arc.

Middle schoolers don’t often make sense. At that age, only one thing feels important- to fit in with peers.

And for Kareem, whose friend moved away, who failed football tryouts, and who is living through a time where Muslims are villainized- he is trying to figure out how to belong.

At first, he assumes it is by leaving his Syrian identity behind- but through the book, he changes and grows and learns- and by the end, realizes that standing up for yourself is the way to find TRUE friendship and belonging.

That being said, I do hope readers find Kareem shoving his identity aside at first as wrong. Because it is wrong.

And I want kids to know that they should be themselves- not cater to what society or peers tell them to be!

Your book is written in verse, which makes the power of this story shine through. Have you always been drawn to verse and poetry?

Absolutely! I love verse SO MUCH. I make it a point to read every verse book out there, and one of my inspirations for KAREEM BETWEEN was The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. I love how the verse is used like spoken word in that beautiful book, and it inspired me to write my own story. Poetry is such a powerful way to show emotion, and I wanted the reader to FEEL every moment of this story.

I also love how short it reads. Poetry means the author has to make EVERY word count. I love poring over the book and making sure that each stanza and poem moves the plot forward. And I want it to be easy and accessible for kids to read, especially those who might be reluctant readers.

As an English/grammar nerd, I love the figure-of-speech play included in almost every chapter of this book. I’m curious why you decided to include that.

Haha, because I am a grammar nerd too!! 

In all honesty, it also has to do with Kareem’s characterization. It shows how he might struggle to make friends because he is not the popular kid- he’s more of a book kid (like me).

But also, it gave me, as an English teacher, an opportunity to add some learning into the book — which made me happy!

Some chapters of this book are written right to left in Arabic format, and I thought that was such a cool stylistic choice. Is there a reason why you chose to do that?

Absolutely, and it was precisely because Arabic is read right to left and English is left to right. I wanted those two sides to show how Kareem sort of bounces from world to world and feels between them.

And in the end, when they merge into the middle, I wanted to show how he finds his belonging in the between and is a part of both English and Arabic, Syrian and American.

You also blog about children’s books (or you used to). How has writing more books impacted your reading life? Which middle grade books have you enjoyed recently?

Absolutely, I started my journey with books as a reader. I LOVE READING. When I began buying Muslim books for my kids, my sister asked me to share them online. And I started reviewing, but all of a sudden it grew and grew in popularity- which I didn’t expect. So many Muslim parents wanted to find books for their kids, and looked to my reviews to see which would resonate with their families.

Lately, though, writing has TAKEN over my life! It takes a lot of time, so I definitely review and read fewer books. But I still try to share books I love, so maybe that makes me a bit more picky with my time, but it also maybe provides my followers with a more curated list.

One MG book I adored recently was Any Way You Look by Maleeha Siddiqui! It is so good to read and has so many important themes, too. I absolutely loved the main character, Ainy, and I want every young reader to learn to be empowered to have bodily autonomy through reading it!

What else do you wish I’d asked you?

Thank you so much for interviewing me Afoma! I am so glad you loved my book and hope you enjoy future books by me too! More is coming, wink wink!

Thank you so much for chatting with me, Shifa! I can’t wait for more readers to meet Kareem.

About Kareem Between

Kareem Between

By Shifa Saltagi Safadi

Seventh grade begins, and Kareem’s already fumbled it. His best friend moved away, he messed up his tryout for the football team, and because of his heritage, he was voluntold to show the new kid—a Syrian refugee with a thick and embarrassing accent—around school. Just when Kareem thinks his middle school life has imploded, the hotshot QB promises to get Kareem another tryout for the squad. There’s a catch: to secure that chance, Kareem must do something he knows is wrong. Then, like a surprise blitz, Kareem’s mom returns to Syria to help her family but can’t make it back home. If Kareem could throw a penalty flag on the fouls of his school and home life, it would be for unnecessary roughness. Kareem is stuck between. Between countries. Between friends, between football, between parents—and between right and wrong. It’s up to him to step up, find his confidence, and navigate the beauty and hope found somewhere in the middle.

BUY ON AMAZON

About Shifa Saltagi Safadi

Shifa Saltagi Safadi is the author of KAREEM BETWEEN (Putnam 2024), the AMINA BANANA chapter book series (Putnam 2025), the picture book THE GIFT OF EID (Holiday House 2025), and indie Muslim published SPELL IT LIKE SAMAR (2019), HEAVEN AT MAMA’S FEET (2021) and PEPPERONI, PITCHES, AND OTHER PROBLEMS (2021). Shifa shares her favorite Muslim books on her online Instagram book blog @muslimmommyblog and is an ELA middle school teacher, so books are basically her whole life! Shifa was born in Syria and immigrated to the US with her parents as a young girl. She lives near Chicago (GO BEARS!) with her husband and four children.