It's Not Over Yet

TWO STARRED REVIEWS! • With sixteen weeks to go to his life-altering brain surgery, teenaged film buff Wali Khan decides it's time to turn the lens on community, family and friends in this tender yet humorous coming-of-age novel for ages 12 and up. For fans of John Green, Adam Silvera, Ned Vizzini and Adib Khorram. Fifteen-year-old Wali Khan, affectionately called "Vali the Vomiter" by his older twin sisters, has always chalked up his throwing up to a delicate stomach. And the headaches in ninth grade? Worrying about grades. But waking up in the hospital in the second week of tenth grade, he is shocked to hear the cause: acoustic neuroma, a golf-ball-sized tumor pressing on his ear canal. The good news: it's most likely benign. The bad news: surgery in four months, with probable hearing loss as a result. Starting a new year in high school with a looming life-altering surgery date forces Wali, a passionate film buff, to look inward, at his family, friends and even himself. Why is this happening to him? His Muslim father and Christian mother are supportive, yet sometimes a bit clueless when it comes to their children. His twin sisters are a mix of loving and teasing, and he bounces between spying on them and keeping their secrets. As for the new girl, Ruby Lai-Mirza, he's just not sure he has time for a new friend. Wali may fear the end, but he’s still got a lot of living to do. It's not over yet.