Saving Sunshine: It’s More Than a Sibling Story, a guest post by Saadia Faruqi

Every author knows how surreal is can be to see their words come to life through pictures. I’ve had a lot of illustrations in my books, but a graphic novel is something else. It’s a story told in visual format, a way to grasp the nuances of the story and the emotions of the characters that transcends just the words themselves. It’s more. It’s elevated.

I learned this important lesson while writing the script for Saving Sunshine. I’d originally thought I’d write a middle grade novel, just like my previous ones, such as Yusuf Azeem If Not A Hero. Once I started outlining, though, I realized that the story was missing something. How could I describe the angst of siblings who hated each other, but were also hurting because of each other? How should I show an immigrant family facing microaggressions at the airport and the beach and at school? What did the ocean really look like at night, when the stars were out or even when it rained? What did an endangered turtle look like when it was sick and lonely?

I couldn’t do justice to these elements through words alone. That’s why Saving Sunshine became a graphic novel. I knew the illustrations by Shazleen Khan could bring out all the richness and vibrancy of the story that I couldn’t tell with text. For example, the relationship between the twins Zara and Zeeshan is so messy and complicated, and readers with siblings will definitely relate to it.

However, if you think this is just a sibling story, you’re in for a surprise. Saving Sunshine is more than a story about sibling angst. It’s also about earth versus space, as the opposing passions of the two main characters take center stage in the story. Zeesh is very much into space exploration, and I wanted readers to have a chance to see how cool planetariums and space centers can be.

There’s a scene where the twins Zara and Zeeshan are looking at the night sky, in front of the ocean, in all its beauty. I don’t think I could have done any sort of justice to the scene, but Shazleen does an amazing job of saying so much with her brushstrokes. In a regular novel, describing the sea and sky would be considered boring or overkill. Most readers would skip over the pages, or skim through to get to the next action part. But I’m sure they’ll pour over the illustration, analyzing it for the beauty it contains, the majesty of nature and the natural world. Maybe if they never considered the sky before, now they will do so. Maybe they never thought the beach could be a cool place to visit, but now it’s a consideration.

Saving Sunshine is also about planet earth and all the issues surrounding it today: global warming, human encroachment into animal habitats, endangering of species, and so much more. Zara is a dedicated animal activist, and seeing her world through Shazleen’s art is spectacular. There’s so much discussion not only about taking care of our planet, but also about what happens when we don’t. These are important lessons for us all to learn, and they’re well explained in visual form.

To me, Saving Sunshine was a big risk. I didn’t know anything about writing a script, about panels and thumbnails and all the things that make the final product. It was stressful to learn something new and a format I wasn’t used to. But the end result, I feel speaks for itself. I wanted to write a big, expansive story that covered so much more than one pair of twins. Zara and Zeeshan have to stop fighting each other and unite to save the turtle. In the process, maybe they will learn something about each other, as well as about the world around them. And perhaps in the end, not only will they save Sunshine, but their relationship too.

Meet the author

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author and interfaith activist. She writes the popular children’s early reader series “Yasmin” and other books for children, including chapter books, graphic novels, and picture books. Her middle grade novels include “A Place At The Table” co-written with Laura Shovan (a Sydney Taylor Notable 2021), “A Thousand Questions” (a South Asia Book Award Honor 2021) and “Yusuf Azeem Is Not A Hero” (a School Library Journal Best Middle Grade 2021 book). Saadia is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose, and was featured in Oprah Magazine in 2017 as a woman making a difference in her community. She lives in Houston, TX with her husband and children. 

Website link is http://www.saadiafaruqi.com

Buy link for Saving Sunshine is  https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250793805/savingsunshine

Twitter handle is @saadiafaruqi

Instagram account is @saadiafaruqi

About Saving Sunshine

From Saadia Faruqi and Shazleen Khan comes a relatable, funny, and heart-wrenchingly honest graphic novel about Muslim American siblings who must learn how to stop fighting and support each other in a world that is often unkind.

It’s hard enough being a kid without being teased for a funny sounding name or wearing a hijab.

It’s even harder when you’re constantly fighting your sibling—and Zara and Zeeshan really can’t stand each other. During a family trip to Florida, when the bickering, shoving, and insults reach new heights of chaos, their parents sentence them to the worst possible fate— each other’s company! But when the twins find an ailing turtle, it presents a rare opportunity for teamwork—if the two can put their differences aside at last.

ISBN-13: 9781250793805
Publisher: First Second
Publication date: 09/05/2023
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Filed under: Guest Post