Q&A with Seema Yasmin

  

Photo by Lucas Passmore

 

Seema Yasmin is the author of the new middle grade book Mo Farah, the Boy Who Ran to Be Free. It's the second in her Muslim Mavericks series. She is also a physician, a journalist, an educator, and a poet.

 

Q: Why did you choose Olympic runner Mo Farah as the subject of your new Muslim Mavericks book? 

 

A: Mo Farah is known as an iconic Olympic athlete who broke world records and is beloved around the world for his achievements and warm heart.

 

What many people might not know is that he had a difficult childhood which included being separated from his family, given a new name, and kept out of school for years. I wanted to share a story of hope and survival, and one that ends with triumph and truth. 

 

Q: How did you research his life, and what did you learn that especially surprised you? 

 

A: What was incredibly surprising is how many different versions of Mo's life are circulating in the ether, including in his autobiography, which sadly includes some half-truths because Mo was scared to tell the truth. Only recently did he make a BBC documentary sharing what really happened to him as a child.

 

This made it tricky to fact check the book and I included a note to my readers explaining this special situation.

 

Q: What do you think Noha Habaieb’s illustrations add to this new book? 

 

A: Noha's illustrations help create the Muslim Mavericks' world by guiding readers through visual representations of story elements. There are maps, landscapes, faces and more. It was important for me to bring young readers into this universe with visual cues as well as the written world. 

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from Mo Farah's story? 

 

A: Readers will learn what life can look like for the millions of children who are trafficked, and how friendships, support and hope can culminate in freedom.

 

I hope they'll take away that Mo's story is both exceptional and, sadly, not rare enough. And I hope they revel in the success he generated and the beautiful life he's living now. 

 

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

A: The third book in the Muslim Mavericks series! It's about a curious child who grows up to be a kind and influential adult. But I can't say more than that!

 

I'm also working on my second young adult novel, which will also be published by Simon and Schuster. As with my first YA novel, Unbecoming, this second novel is also set in the near distant future and is about a teenaged girl navigating her future in a topsy turvy world. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know? 

 

A: I am adapting Unbecoming into a feature-length screenplay, a creative journey that has landed me in acting school. Fun!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Seema Yasmin.