Marya Khan and the Fabulous Jasmine Garden

Saadia Faruqi's Marya Khan and the Fabulous Jasmine Garden is a funny school story for 9 year olds about a girl who would LOVE to be in charge for once.

What happens

Marya is the youngest in her family, and nobody at home ever listens to her brilliant ideas. Her big brother Sal and her teenage sister Aliyah make very sure of that.

So when a giant digger turns up next to her school, she's hoping for buried treasure. It turns out to be a community garden. Then her class gets picked to plant a garden of its own in the playground, and somebody will have to be garden leader.

Marya wants that job more than anything. Unfortunately so does Alexa, who is her next-door neighbour, her classmate and (according to Marya) the most annoying person on the planet.

Operation Be a Leader begins. Marya draws a fabulous plan with a pond in the middle, copied from a photo of the Shalimar Gardens in Pakistan that Baba shows her. At the last minute she adds jasmine, because it's Dadi's favourite flower. Then Alexa hands in a plan with a border like a wedding invitation.

Marya tells the story herself, and she's brilliant company. She's dramatic, a bit bossy and completely sure she's right. Her mum runs a flower shop, so the family van is full of fertiliser, which Marya happily explains to the whole class is poop. Who hasn't felt like the one person in the family nobody takes seriously?

There's lots of warmth under the squabbling. Dadi pinches her peanuts and calls her Marya jaan. Mama's biryani is DELICIOUS. And every now and then Marya notices that Alexa, with her busy parents and a gardener to do the work, might not have everything after all.

The rivalry is the fun of it, though. Marya is certain a bird feeder will make the garden perfect. Alexa is certain the birds will eat all the plants. You can probably guess where that's going before Marya does!

If you've got a reader who has big feelings and an even bigger sense of injustice, this will make them laugh.

What to read next

If Marya wins them over, try Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party. Her birthday is two days after Alexa's, and Alexa always gets the bigger party.