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Review: Almost Sunset

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By Wahab Algarmi
New York: HarperAlley, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2025. Comics. 215 pages.

Hassan is trying to juggle school, after school soccer, a social life, and family obligations...all while fasting. This isn't Hassan's first time fasting for Ramadan, he's participated for the last three years, but this year Ramadan falls during the middle of soccer playoffs and he's struggling to keep up. When his midfielder position is in jeopardy of being challenged by his friend, Rosie, and Rosie replaces Hassan in his after school gaming group while he's at masjid, he gets jealous and lashes out. As Ramadan proceeds, Hassan learns how to own up to his mistakes and persevere to gain more control over his life—and his hunger.

Algarmi has written a moving story about Hassan, who is trying his best to be a good person. Hassan cares a lot about his friends, his family, and his religion. Algarmi's often wordless illustrations emotively show how busy Hassan is, while also showing rich details of his community. My favorite part of this story was all the different characters. With the exceptions of a few of Hassan's cousins, all of the characters are portrayed in a sympathetic light. Even if they don't make the best decisions, you can understand where they're coming from. Also, there's a few A+ characters, like Hassan's coach who ends up being instrumental to Hassan's character arc. Overall, this graphic novel praises asking for help and is excellent for anyone who feels like they need to handle everything themselves. 
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