Can Kiki and Jacques be friendsâor are they just too different?
Life could be better for twelve-year-old Jacques. His mother just died, his father is jobless, and his grandmotherâs bridal store is on the verge of closing. At least he can look forward to the soccer seasonâafter all, heâs a shoo-in for captain. But the arrival of Somali refugees shakes up nearly everything in his French-American Maine town, even soccer.
Jacques isnât the only star anymoreâMohamed is just as good as him, maybe better. School, church, sports . . . everything suddenly seems different. So Jacques is surprised to find himself becoming friends with Kiki, a smart, kind, and strong-minded Somali Muslim girl with a mysterious scar.
Can kids as seemingly different as Jacques and Kiki be friends? Kiki and Jacques offers a realistic and heartwarming portrait of a town learning to embrace its changing face.
A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year