Omar Rising

Written by Aisha Saeed in 2022, Omar Rising is a contemporary middle-grade novel that follows the academic career of 12-year-old Omar Ali, who is the first boy in his Pakistani village to receive a scholarship to the prestigious Ghalib Academy. However, he soon discovers that the opportunity comes at an unexpected cost, for although attending Ghalib will pave the way to a better future for Omar and his mother, the boy learns that scholarship students like him are held to different (and nearly impossible) standards. As Omar and his friends Naveed and Kareem struggle to make the grade and overcome Ghalib’s discriminatory practices, Omar learns the importance of believing in himself, resisting injustice, and valuing the support of family and friends.

A Pakistani American author, Aisha Saeed is a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books, whose mission is to advocate for diversity and equity in the publishing industry and promote books that reflect a wide variety of social and cultural backgrounds. Her novel Omar Rising, which received favorable reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews, is a companion novel to Amal Unbound, which was named a Global Read Aloud in 2018.

This guide refers to the 2022 Nancy Paulsen Books edition.

Plot Summary

Twelve-year-old Omar has worked hard to earn his scholarship to the prestigious boarding school, Ghalib. An education there will enable him to go to college, pursue a career in astronomy, and financially help his mother, who currently works as a servant to the family of Omar’s friend, Amal. Omar’s goodbye party is crowded with villagers wishing him success, and Omar feels immense pressure to succeed. He worries about the academic rigor at Ghalib but is nonetheless excited by the prospect of joining the soccer team and the astronomy club.

At Ghalib, Omar is glad to see fellow scholarship students Kareem and Naveed, whom he met at summer orientation. Omar rooms with the cheerful Kareem, and a student named Aiden, the son of wealthy parents, rooms alone next door. Aiden snubs the scholarship students and declares Ghalib to be a substandard institution. In addition to this problematic exchange, Omar soon senses that the intimidating Headmaster Moiz, who teaches English to the scholarship students, does not like him or scholarship students in general. By contrast, Mr. Adeel, the art teacher, is a kind and encouraging presence. As Omar works to fit into his new life at Ghalib, he is always conscious of the difference between his own poverty and the other students’ wealthy backgrounds.

Omar learns that first-year scholarship students do not get to participate in after-school clubs, and this shatters his dreams of joining the soccer team and the astronomy club. Additionally, all of the so-called “Scholar Boys” must perform weekly hours of community service—a requirement that regular students do not have to meet. Omar is angry at the inequity of the school’s system. As he, Kareem, and Naveed work in the kitchen with the cooks Shuaib and Basem, Omar learns that Kareem’s father is a janitor: a fact that Kareem keeps secret because he was bullied about it at his previous school.

Through hard work, Omar excels in all his classes except English. Whenever he is amongst the wealthy students, he feels a strange kinship to the planet Pluto, for just as it was downgraded to a dwarf planet, he too finds himself feeling as though he is present but unequal. As a philosophical response to the understated inequalities he must endure, his collage project is inspired by Shehzil Malik, a contemporary artist whose works speak out against injustice. Her advice to stay “stubbornly optimistic” in the face of difficulty resonates with Omar, and he applies this encouragement to his own situation, holding fast to his dreams of success.

When Aiden mocks Kareem for his father’s janitorial position and taunts the other boys about their poverty, Omar points out that Aiden’s wealthy parents did not bother to visit him on parent day. Omar learns that scholarship students must maintain an A-plus average, and most are weeded out in their first year. However, Omar refuses to fail and become a so-called “ghost boy.” He, Kareem, and Naveed study harder, sacrificing fun and focusing on flashcards.

When Omar returns home for winter break, he ignores family and friends in his intense efforts to get ahead in his studying. The pressure of his position weighs heavily on him, for he does not want to fail his family or his community. During his visit, he fights with his friend Amal to avoid telling her what is really happening at Ghalib, then quickly apologizes. Amal advises him to be brave and to ask Moiz for help. Omar is glad that she still believes in him.

Upon returning to school, Omar finally accepts Aiden as a friend when he realizes how lonely the angry boy really is. Omar also asks Moiz for help in English, and under the headmaster’s tutelage, turns his grade around. Omar believes that everything is going well until the guidance counselor suddenly tells him that his scholarship is being revoked because he has not been able to achieve the required A-plus average. Naveed is also being expelled from the school for similar reasons.

Crushed by this news, Omar believes that his dreams are over. When he presents his collage in art class, he suddenly believes that Malik’s messages of fighting injustice and staying hopeful must be false. He explains to the other students the different, unequal rules that scholarship students must follow. Outraged, they pledge to help. With his determination regained, Omar writes a petition that most of the student body signs. They also organize a class walkout, which is dramatically successful; hundreds of kids leave class to protest the inequity perpetrated on the scholarship students. The upperclassmen paint a new mural that depicts students holding onto boys who are floating away, showing their solidarity with scholarship students.

Moiz is impressed with Omar’s grit. He was once a scholarship student himself and remembers thinking that the rules were unfair during his time in school as well. He agrees to take Omar’s petition to the school board. Friends and teachers wish Omar well and assure him that he will succeed wherever he goes. Upon returning home, Omar dreads telling everyone about his failure, but he soon learns that they believe in him unconditionally. Omar realizes that he believes in himself and will still find a way to get an education, even if it is not at Ghalib. He resolves not to give up on his dreams and knows that he can meet any challenge. Finally, Omar receives a letter reinstating his scholarship at Ghalib. The board has changed the scholarship students’ GPA requirement to match that of regular students. Omar is excited that his stubborn optimism and resistance against injustice have helped to bring about this positive change.