You're Out of Luck, Alina Butt

by Ambreen Butt-Hussain

Overview

Twelve-year-old Alina is actually looking forward to going back to school.

For once, she has some friends to sit beside on the first day. But when Alina walks into her classroom, someone is sitting in her spot and there are no seats left next to her friends. Grade seven is off to a rocky start! Then the teacher announces that the class will be going on a trip to Paris later in the fall. It’s an expensive trip, but she’s sure that with the right plan, she can convince her strict parents to let her go. What could go wrong?

For starters, her passport is expired so she can't go on the trip to Paris. When her new passport does arrive, her parents announce a trip back to Pakistan. At first Alina is miserable, but soon she begins to see that when it comes to the things that matter the most, she might not be so unlucky after all.

This is a sequel to the author’s first novel, The Unlovable Alina Butt, which was a starred selection for CCBC Best Books for Kids&Teens.

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Praise for The Unlovable Alina Butt:

“In this charming, tightly plotted debut, Alina’s witty, vulnerable narratorial voice guides readers through her intensely authentic personal evolution.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This charming, eye-opening book highlights not only the struggles of an immigrant girl, but the power that comes from seeing things through someone else’s eyes.”—School Library Journal (SLJ)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459841642
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/13/2025
Series:	Alina Butt , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ambreen Butt-Hussain is the author of the debut middle-grade novel The Unlovable Alina Butt. Ambreen was born in Pakistan but lived in England and Scotland before finally settling in Canada for many years. She has a bachelor of science from the University of Toronto and a master of education from Queen’s University. She continues to move around and has recently made Princeton, New Jersey her new home, with her husband and two sons.

Ambreen Butt-Hussain is the author of the debut middle-grade novel The Unlovable Alina Butt. Ambreen was born in Pakistan but lived in England and Scotland before settling in Canada for many years. She has a bachelor of science from the University of Toronto and a master of education from Queen’s University. She continues to move around and has recently made Princeton, New Jersey her new home, with her husband and two sons.

What People are Saying About This

Lara Okihiro

"Alina’s adventures make for a super-fun read that’s all the richer for the thoughtful lessons Alina lives along the way. You’re Out of Luck, Alina Butt is a gentle yet engaging story that shines light on the immigrant experience, champions diversity, and testifies to the challenges and gifts that living between cultures brings. An enjoyable story about a Pakistani girl living in England, the book speaks to the experience of growing up in a multicultural world, while touching on harder truths about kids and parents, regardless of their backgrounds, trying to get by with the difficulties life brings.”

author of I Got You Babe Paul Coccia

"Ambreen Butt-Hussain draws readers back into Alina’s world while opening it wider with familiar and brand-new faces. From London to Paris to Pakistan, through school fairs, class trips, weddings and sleepovers, readers will experience the disappointments, devastations and joys of the twelve-year-old who may truly be as lucky as her pink-haired troll pen-topper.”

Jessica Kim

"An honest, moving journey of self-discovery that captures the complexity of the heartache and longing immigrants have for a homeland that feels both familiar and foreign at the same time. [Alina's] relationships with family are refreshingly real. A beautifully layered, unforgettable read."

Paul Coccia

"Ambreen Butt-Hussain draws readers back into Alina’s world while opening it wider with familiar and brand-new faces. From London to Paris to Pakistan, through school fairs, class trips, weddings and sleepovers, readers will experience the disappointments, devastations and joys of the twelve-year-old who may truly be as lucky as her pink-haired troll pen-topper.”

author of Obaasan's Boots Lara Okihiro

"Alina’s adventures make for a super-fun read that’s all the richer for the thoughtful lessons Alina lives along the way. You’re Out of Luck, Alina Butt is a gentle yet engaging story that shines light on the immigrant experience, champions diversity, and testifies to the challenges and gifts that living between cultures brings. An enjoyable story about a Pakistani girl living in England, the book speaks to the experience of growing up in a multicultural world, while touching on harder truths about kids and parents, regardless of their backgrounds, trying to get by with the difficulties life brings.”

Joanne Levy

“You’re Out of Luck, Alina Butt delivers everything a great middle grade book should: a main character you can't help but root for, the agony of disappointment, friendship drama, and, of course, laughs.”

Editorial Reviews

Offer[s] a poignant glimpse into what growing up really means. Middle-grade students will recognize Alina’s struggles and relationship challenges, but her story will also invite them to think a bit more deeply about the world around them. Just right for middle grade readers who want something a bit more sophisticated but still within their reach.”

School Library Journal (SLJ)

Alina’s insightful, humorous, and candid voice lends this steadily paced book a conversational quality. Alina’s reframing of the idea of luck feels authentic and nuanced and is aided substantially by Sophie’s insights about her father’s disability. A funny and frank tale of self-discovery.”

Kirkus Reviews

2025-02-01
Set in the early 2000s, this novel sees a young Pakistani British immigrant learning the art of gratitude.

For once, Alina Butt isn’t nervous about starting school. This year, she’s part of a tight group of friends whom she’s confident will support her through seventh grade—that is, until they fail to save her a seat, instead opting to sit next to a red-haired girl named Sophie. Turns out, Alina’s friends spent the summer hanging out with Sophie while Alina’s strict parents made her stay home. When passport issues prevent her from going on a class trip to Paris, her parents plan a family vacation to Pakistan as a consolation prize. Still, Alina remains convinced that she’s “the unluckiest girl in the world”—a feeling compounded by the realization that the family will have to leave England in one year due to visa problems. But while in Pakistan, she begins to appreciate what she has. Alina’s insightful, humorous, and candid voice lends this steadily paced book a conversational quality. Alina’s reframing of the idea of luck feels authentic and nuanced and is aided substantially by Sophie’s insights about her father’s disability. Alina’s moments of gratitude feel heavy-handed, however, and the first third of the book, focusing on preparation for the Paris trip, is somewhat disconnected from the rest. Still, this is a fast-paced, compelling read. Sophie presents white; the previous book established that Alina’s friend group is diverse.

A funny and frank tale of self-discovery.(Fiction. 8-13)

Kirkus Reviews