The Green Bicycle

Gr 4–6—Spirited and outspoken, 11-year-old Wadjda lives in Saudi Arabia world where girls' activities and opinions are strictly controlled. Although Wadjda is regularly disciplined at school for not following exacting protocols, she remains independent and irrepressible. She longs for the freedom to ride a bike and race with her childhood friend Abdullah, and she devises strategies to earn the money needed to buy a coveted green bicycle. Wadjda's entrepreneurial efforts to sell homemade bracelets and mixtapes of banned Western music to classmates are derailed when her school discovers her activities. Wadjda is an intriguing and sympathetic character and listeners will want her to succeed, but this novelization lacks the impact of the film on which it is based, Al Mansour's 2013 Wadjda, since listeners miss seeing the Saudi locations and characters. Also, in spite of Ariana Delawari's competent narration, students who have not studied the culture may have difficulty understanding gender restrictions and segregation as well as religious and prayer requirements.