4 1/2 stars. After Noor's father leaves their family, her mother moves them to a small town in Illinois during Noor's senior year of high school. Her new school is far different than her diverse high school in Chicago and she is not used to being one of the few students of color. Noor had planned to quietly survive the last months of high school until she graduated. But that was before she learned that the school board had ordered a long list of books removed from the school library for review, primarily books by BIPOC and queer authors. She has to do something so she starts protesting and gets into trouble with the conservative school principal. Noor's mother wants her to stop, but Noor finds friends and allies at school and continues to find ways to share banned books with other students despite threats and intimidation. This scenario is actually happening at schools all around the country (I know for a fact since I am a high school librarian). In some places school board members requiring books be removed for review claiming that is not a ban, but with no clear standards, no time frame, no review by trained professionals, and no ability for students to access the books it does amount to a ban. This timely novel will make students think about their freedom to read. I liked that Noor sounds and acts like a typical teenager. Sometimes she is too impulsive or quick to anger. I also liked that the other characters are equally flawed. I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend it. ( )