Review Detail

Marya Khan and the Disastrous Class Project (Marya Khan #5)

Kids Fiction 523

Helping a New Classmate Feel at Home

July 13, 2025 (Updated: June 06, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Marya is a very exuberant third grader who loves new words, and informs her best friend Hanna one morning that she will have an "exceptional" day! Things don't quite work out that way; there is a new student, Waleed, who has moved to the US from Pakistan, where Marya's family has roots, but he looks scared and shy. Marya wants to make friends with him, but just about anything she says seem to make him downcast. Marya also struggles a bit with fellow student Alexa, who is friendly but brags a lot about the trips that her parents take her on, and rather exasperates Marya, although Hanna doesn't seem to mind her. When her teacher, Mrs. Piccolo, assigns group projects on countries, she pairs Marya with Waleed and has them researching Pakistan. As the two research the country, Marya tries again and again to make overtures and "make" Waleed like her, but fails again and again. She even asks her brothers, parents, and grandmother what she can do to make a friend. Her grandmother suggests that it might be a hard transition for Waleed, and that Marya should be patient, but it isn't until she sees Waleed at a local Pakistani market that she begins to understand how much he has left behind in his old home. Eventually, the two present their project, and Waleed helps Marya out when she gets nervous, cementing their friendship.

Good Points

School days play a large part in the lives of elementary students, but it's not the same drama as middle school. With older kids, it's all about relationships, romance, and keeping up with trends, be they technological or fashion. With younger ones, it's about interpersonal relationships and navigating the work that needs to be done. Family life also figures largely, since third graders don't spend nearly the amount of time sulking in their rooms that seventh graders do. It's interesting to watch how Marya deals with her siblings, classmates, and the adults in her life, and how she weighs their advice and tries to put it into practice.

This book has a somewhat larger font, is under 150 pages long, and has plentiful illustrations, making this perfect for first and second graders who are becoming interested in longer chapter books and want to read about older kids and get a feel for what their lives will be like in the future. Series books allow students to have some familiarity with the character and not have to process information about new characters while they are trying to deal with the social situations. Many students may never have met a classmate who has moved from another country, so books like this are a good way to help build empathy.

Marya would be right at home with Haywood's Betsy, Sheth's Nina Soni, Butler's Kayla, and Barrows' Ivy and Bean. The books are a nice small size, perfect for taking out into a tree fort or reading under the covers!