clockwise: Aisha Saeed, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (Credit: Michael E Gray), S. K. Ali, and Huda Al-Marashi

Grounded takes off from the (fictional) American Zora Neale Hurston airport, where 11-year-old Hanna Chen, an outspoken animal rights activist – and member of the Animal Allies online forum – is determinedly wandering through the airport’s domestic departures terminal. When Hanna finds out through the forum that a cat named Snickerdoodle went missing at the airport a week before, she makes it her mission to find and rescue the cat.

While scouring the terminal, Hanna encounters 12-year-old Feek searching for his four-year-old sister Ruqi, who wandered off while he wasn’t looking; then, she comes across 12-year-old Sami who’s anxiously checking the flight notifications to ensure his flight home is on time; and finally, there’s 13-year-old Nora, who’s buying a cinnamon roll from Cinna-Yum to make up for the Chocolate Garden being closed.

When a storm unexpectedly grounds all flights at the airport, the foursome decide – or more accurately, are persuaded by the passionate Hanna – to dedicate their night to finding Snickerdoodle. The four kids forage in the food court, search a luxury luggage store, and – when both prove unfruitful – then sneak into and snoop around restricted areas, make their way into a private lounge, and are chased off by security agents.

Snickerdoodle is far from the only challenge the four face: Feek aspires to be a poet like his father but never gets a moment alone with him; he’s also frustrated at having to babysit his sister in his father’s absence. Sami wants to show his parents he is just as capable and unafraid as his older brother and dreads missing the karate match he trained so hard for so he could prove exactly that. Nora wants to grow her NokNok following but is hampered by her struggles with her identity and her mother’s political career. Even Hanna’s search for Snickerdoodle is partly to help reunite the cat with its family and partly to avoid a conversation with her father about him possibly remarrying. On their wacky journey to find a cat, the foursome end up finding something equally as precious: friendship.

Alternating between four points of view, each written by a different author (Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and S. K. Ali), Grounded is a delightful story with charming characters whose satisfying personal journeys carry emotional resonance. The book helps transform the airport – a tense and anxiety-ridden place for many, especially Muslims – into a place of connection and community, and teaches readers that most challenges can be overcome with love, community, and communication; some chocolate doesn’t hurt either.