Borderline starts out as a coming of age story about Sami Sabiri, a Muslim-American teen who is struggling to balance his family with his school and social life in a very white suburb. It turns in to a taut thriller that explores safety in the Homeland Security era, race, and terrorism.

Now, if those were descriptions of two different books, I would probably pick up book #2. And if I did, I would be missing out. While the issues of justice, fear, and racial profiling that are addressed in the story of the arrest of Sami's father are extremely interesting and the author does a nice job of carefully weaving them into the text, I did find the situations sometimes past my point of belief. And I was genuinely more invested in Sami's story before he is thrust into extraordinary circumstances - not my usual reaction to a book.

Sami is such a likable kid, and his isolation from friends and schoolmates and his frustration with his strict father are shown in a way that make you really feel for him. Sami's easy sense of humor when he is with his best friends Andy and Marty contrasts with his insecurity at school, where he is the only Muslim student. But as Sami tries to navigate a path between the usual small teenage rebellions and his desire to please his parents, and especially his strict and distant father, Sami begins to drift away even from his friends, who don't understand the pressures that Sami feels. Sami's uneasy navigation of those relationships are this book's greatest strength.

Sami's father's strange actions begin to arouse Sami's suspicions, and shortly after Sami launches his own investigation of his father's activities, Mr. Sabiri is suddenly arrested and accused of being part of a terrorist plot. Not only is Sami ostracized and sometimes threatened by neighbors, classmates, and even school officials, but he is also desperate to learn the truth about his father. Whlie his mother works closely with a lawyer to fight a justice system that seems to ignore the idea that a person is innocent until proven guilty in the face of potential terrorism, Sami becomes convinced that he is the only person who will be able to reach the accused leader of the terror plot and prove his father's guilt or innocence. He and his buddies race off on a poorly-planned mission to seek out a possible terrorist.

This is the part of the story that I had some mixed feelings about. Maybe if Sami hadn't been such a vividly drawn character, I might have been more willing to gloss over some of the tremendously stupid decisions that were made by someone who seemed like a smart kid, if a little bit impulsive. If this book had started as a legal thriller, I probably would never have questioned Sami's actions in his quest to save his dad. But because Sami was so real to me, I had a little trouble reconciling the two parts of the book, which sometimes pulled me out of the action of the story.

I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that the true story behind Sami's father's arrest is much more interesting and convincing than I ever would have guessed. I may have drifted away a little bit, but the conclusion really grabbed my interest and pulled me back into the plot of the book. And I never drifted away from the characters - Sami and his friends and family had a grip on me from beginning to end.
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A book about racially profiling. A boy's father is accused of a terrorist plot and is taken by the FBI. Their house in tatters, they are forced to live in the public eye as everyone is keeping watch on them. In a hunt to find out whether or not his father is truly a part of a terrorist plot, he does his own digging, traveling to Canada to unravel the confusing trail of questions his father has left behind. Interesting look at the other side of a news story, and how events like this can ruin a family. ( )

Sami struggles with his desire to be an American teen while living with his strict father. Being bullied and harassed by classmates at his boys school, Sami's life is turned upside down after his dad is arrested as part of a terrorist plot. Sami is unsure of his father's guilt or innocence, but he needs to try to uncover the truth. He's got some good friends in Marty and Andy. ( )

Stratton, Allan. (2010). Borderline. New York: HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 304 pp. ISBN 978-0-06-145111-9 (Hard Cover); $16.99.

Sami Sabiri is used to being bullied for his Muslim faith. When his father is arrested for being a terrorist, however, the school bullying becomes a much smaller problem compared to proving his father’s innocence.

Sometimes in my mind significance trumps minor details. In this book Stratton introduces us to a very normal Muslim boy who is sometimes embarrassed by his parents religious instruction, especially when his friends are around. Nevertheless, Sami, in his own way, tries to create meaning within his family’s religious tradition. Stratton also forces us to confront the ongoing struggle with racism hiding in the clothing of fear and patriotism. We do not see many books for young readers that show so vividly the daily effects of fear-based border safety measures on our friends from the Middle East. The issues in this book make it best suited for high school libraries, but there is nothing in this book that should prevent it from being purchased for middle school libraries as well.

Good twist to the story. ( )