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.