Fifteen-year-old Fawad has big dreams about being the world's first Pakistani to be drafted into the NBA. A first-generation Pakistani coming-of-age story for fans of David Yoon and Ben Philippe.

Fifteen-year-old Fawad Chaudhry loves two things: basketball and his mother's potato and ground beef stuffed parathas. Both are round and both help him forget about things like his father, who died two years ago, his mother’s desire to arrange a marriage to his first cousin, Nusrat, back home in Pakistan, and the tiny apartment in Regent Park he shares with his mom and sister. Not to mention his estranged best friend Yousuf, who's coping with the shooting death of his older brother.

But Fawad has plans: like, asking out Ashley, even though she lives on the other, wealthier side of the tracks, and saving his friend Arif from being beaten into a pulp for being the school flirt, and making the school basketball team and dreaming of being the world’s first Pakistani to be drafted into the NBA. All he has to do now is convince his mother to let him try out for the basketball team. And let him date girls from his school. Not to mention somehow get Omar, the neighborhood bully, to leave him alone . . .

H.N. Khan's profile page

• Short-listed, Snow Willow Award
• Nominated, White Pine Award
• Short-listed, The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence - Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book
• Short-listed, Amy Mathers Teen Book Award
• Short-listed, Toronto Book Award

H.N. KHAN is a first-time author. Born in Pakistan, he immigrated to Canada at age seven and grew up in Regent Park, a low-income community housing project. After graduating with a business degree he decided to drop out of law school to pursue a career in Toronto's start-up scene. Since then, he's helped build and market software that's used by millions around the world. He is a recent graduate from Humber's School for Writers' correspondence program.

One of CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2022)

". . . Wrong Side of the Court is finely crafted and well paced, it's hard to believe it's [Khan's] literary debut. . . . The writing is crisp and visual, and the story is so well fleshed out." —STARRED REVIEW, Quill & Quire
"An interesting and heartfelt portrait of a teen yearning to beat the odds." —Kirkus Reviews
"I loved the vivid portrayal of Regent park, the nuanced depiction of intergenerational tension, and the rich representation of diversity. And the complex portrayal of male friendships! These young men trash talk and nurture each other as they try to survive their environment with their dreams — and their lives — intact." —Toronto Public Library