2026, Juvenile Fiction
WISE Score
A film-obsessed kid and his friends swap cultural ghost stories while trying to save a local haunted mansion before the bulldozers—and his dad—shut them down.
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Saadia Faruqi and Shadia Amin are a powerhouse duo for this kind of middle-grade adventure. This isn't just a generic ghost story; it's a look at what happens when your creative identity clashes with your family's expectations.
If you have a kid who is constantly trying to film things on their phone or who loves a good 'creepy mansion' mystery, this is a top-tier pick. It treats the kids' interests with respect rather than as a phase they need to grow out of.
Perfect for the 8-12 middle-grade bracket. It hits that sweet spot for kids who want something slightly edgy and 'scary' but still grounded in friendship and family dynamics.
The story centers on a supportive film club that acts as a 'safe haven' for first-gen kids. It navigates the tension between following your own path and respecting your parents' wishes without being preachy.
Mixing a ghost-hunting documentary with diverse cultural folklore is a great hook. It encourages kids to see their own heritage as a source of creative inspiration.
Published by First Second Books, which has a stellar track record for age-appropriate middle-grade graphic novels. Expect some 'spooky' visuals, but nothing outside the standard MG horror-lite territory.
It tackles the 'doctor or lawyer' career pressure common in many immigrant households while celebrating the specific literacy of filmmaking and storytelling.
There is a long tradition of 'kids on an adventure' stories, but Don't Be Scared feels fresh because it centers on first-generation kids who are navigating more than just a haunted house. They're navigating the weight of their parents' sacrifices. Riz's dad isn't a villain; he's a parent who wants stability for his son, which makes the conflict feel much more real than a standard 'mean adult' trope.
Since this is a collaboration between Faruqi and Amin, the visual pacing is expected to be cinematic. For kids who struggle with dense blocks of text, the graphic novel format is a massive win for literacy. It builds those language comprehension strands of the reading rope—narrative structure, vocabulary, and inference—while keeping the 'fun factor' high enough that they'll actually finish the book.
In a world where kids are often told to 'get off the screen,' this book makes a subtle but important distinction: there is a big difference between mindlessly scrolling and using a screen as a tool for creation. By framing Riz's filmmaking as a way to preserve history and culture, it validates the creative spark that many tech-savvy kids feel today.
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