Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices

Enjoyed these diverse short stories focused around Eid celebrations and traditions! Learned a lot about different Muslim traditions all over the world for Eid, and also discovered some new authors to check out! Great light book, easy to pick up, read a story, and then come back for another later!

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calamitywindpetal's review

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emotional informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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readingthroughinfinity's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is a lovely, affirming collection of short stories about different Muslim characters celebrating Eid. Each story focuses on a new character, but they all encompass themes of friendship, family, love, and togetherness. There are messages of hope, self-acceptance, and growth woven into the collection and I really enjoyed reading it on audio.

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spinesinaline's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This was really sweet and I learned a lot! I think it'd make a great collection for young readers and so glad I read it in season

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow!! This was my first five star read of 2022 and it deserved each and every star. This anthology promises hope and joy and it DELIVERS. There was incredible diversity of both experiences and identities represented, which I loved. My personal favourites were Perfect by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and Just Like Chest Armour by Candice Montgomery. I also really enjoyed the graphic novel contribution called Seraj Captures the Moon by G. Willow Wilson and Sara Alfageeh - I think it would make an amazing full-length graphic novel.

As a side-note, I listened to the audiobook which was read by Siiri Scott and Neil Shah. This was really well done; I especially liked Scott’s narration.

Ugh, I didn’t want this to end and now I’m sad that it has.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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informative lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Once Upon an Eid is a wonderful collection of short stories and, being completely honest, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I’m not always a short story person and in themed collections like this there tends to be a lot of redundancy That’s not true of Once Upon an Eid and there was not a single short story I felt was repetitive or poorly written. I enjoyed them all.

Although Once Upon an Eid is a book intended for middle grade readers, it’s a good primer for folks who don’t know much about Islamic culture or are interested in understanding Eid and even Ramadan a little better. While many of the stories include a little conversation about the Prophet Mohammad, the book is not overly religious or off-putting, as can occasionally happen with books focusing on religious holidays. Instead, Once Upon an Eid celebrates the many similarities and differences between varying Eid traditions, and present the holiday in such a way that it’s easy for outsiders to understand and learn. I really liked it. And I learned things!

Each piece is well-written. All the characters stand on their own. There isn’t any interconnectivity in the stories as sometimes happens in themed anthologies, but in this case I liked that. I think the way each story was written allowed a greater cross-section of the overall community and I appreciated the diversity of celebration and understanding shown in the book.

Once Upon an Eid is an easy recommend. It’s cute, down-to-earth, sneakily educational, and well-rounded. Each story is a quick read and enjoyable on its own. As a whole, this collection is a stellar example of an excellent short story collection, and it shares the voices of many different Muslims from many different backgrounds. Loved it.

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memorable's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is beautiful inside and out! The graphic design of the anthology is so, so stunning! I love how diverse the stories are and how they take place in different countries to display the diversity that are the Islam and Muslims! Such an important book that should be part of every middle school classroom!

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