From Fatima Tate to My Perfect Family
An Interview with Khadijah VanBrakle
In this week’s Q&A, award-winning author Khadijah VanBrakle (Fatima Tate Takes the Cake) gives us the inside scoop on her sophomore young adult novel, My Perfect Family.
Relatable, page-turning, and honest, this story will leave readers wishing for more and thankful for the space it dares to create. An engrossing, emotionally rich meditation on faith, family, and the courage it takes to create your own story. —Kirkus
How do you like to introduce My Perfect Family to readers?
My sophomore, young adult novel examines the complexities of family dynamics. In My Perfect Family, the sixteen-year-old main character mistakenly believes that if she had a larger family, not just her and her mom, that her life would be better. When long lost family comes to light, Leena learns that sometimes getting what you’ve always wanted threatens what you already have.
Leena has always dreamed of a large extended family, but finds out it comes with a bit more drama than she anticipated. What inspired you to explore this experience?
My Perfect Family was inspired by my love of the fraught mother/daughter relationships in Gilmore Girls, but within a fractured Black American Muslim family. It is important to me to write about teens within my faith community going through universal themes in my coming-of-age stories. I love that readers from different backgrounds are able to see commonalities with my characters who have different lived experiences than themselves.
You’ve shared that the journey to writing your award-winning young adult novel Fatima Tate Takes the Cake began with a consequential trip to the library with your daughter. Can you tell us about that?
In 2017, my youngest daughter came home from school and told me she almost got in a fight. Another ninth grader told her that she couldn’t be both Black American and Muslim at the same time. At our next visit to our local library, we discovered there wasn’t a single traditionally-published novel in contemporary YA that featured a protagonist that shared our dual marginalization. That reality convinced me to begin writing stories to fill the void in this specific genre.
What has it been like to now come full circle — and maybe hear from readers who see themselves in the Black American Muslim teen protagonists you’ve brought to life?
It’s the best feeling in the world to hear from readers, especially young adults, who relate to the main characters in my novels. Being complimented on the authenticity of the protagonists’ voices and how realistic their personal journeys are means so much to me. The positive support from readers keeps my ever-present imposter syndrome locked up and provides me with fuel to keep writing.
Are there any books releasing this fall that you’re excited to recommend?
This is probably the hardest question for me to answer. Because you asked, I’ve narrowed down my list to three books.
Make Me A Monster by Kalynn Bayron –YA Horror (Sept 2025)
The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson –YA Thriller (Oct 2025)
Reasons To Hate Me by Susan Metallo – YA Contemporary (Sept 2025)
Khadijah VanBrakle is an award-winning author who writes coming-of-age stories about Black American Muslim teens, a dual marginalization that she shares. She was born and raised in Canada to American parents. Khadijah’s debut, FATIMA TATE TAKES THE CAKE, was a 2024 NAACP Image Awards finalist in the Outstanding Youth/Teens literature category. She’s a mom of five and lives in New Mexico with her family. To learn more, please visit her at www.khadijahvanbrakle.com.