SAY SOMETHING, POUPEH BABAEE! by askdrwoodchuck Haleh Massey and illustrated by Ghazal Qadri is a super powerful middle-grade graphic novel that honestly hit me way harder than I expected. It follows Poupeh, a young Iranian girl who moves to the U.S. to stay with her relatives while she waits for her parents to join her from Iran. But right when they’re finally able to come, the U.S. puts a temporary travel ban on several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran. Poupeh finds herself stuck in the U.S. without her parents for months, and the loneliness really starts to take a toll. Even though she’s living with her aunt, Poupeh feels empty and out of place. She knows English, but the stress and anxiety of everything going on causes her to develop selective mutism, a childhood anxiety disorder where you literally can’t speak in certain situations. The illustrations and writing in this touching #GN demonstrates this in such a real and relatable way that it’s impossible not to feel for Po...