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shellysemenovski's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Islamophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent
cmillerwang's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Chronic illness, War, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
internationalreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racism, and Religious bigotry
malak_elsafory's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Love story wise I wished they had more conversations to be honest, it felt rushed and a bit of insta love. What I do like though is that because it’s a Muslim love story; emotional is the only way they can build a relationship (no physical relationship) and so it’s build up is organic. I’m familiar with all the sayings and duas and the feeling of familiarity and warmth I got while reading this book was so unexpected.
I loved the combatting islamophobia plot lines, especially the swimsuit plot line because I have seen it happen numerous times.
Graphic: Chronic illness and Islamophobia
Minor: War
lida_magg's review
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Medical content, Racism, and Religious bigotry
librocubicularist_x's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Islamophobia, Chronic illness, Grief, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Cultural appropriation and War
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
CW: HP references
Graphic: Grief, Chronic illness, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Death of parent and Medical content
Minor: Cultural appropriation, War, and Car accident
ohlovehandles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It's a beautiful love story and I'm glad that we're finally getting to a point where halal romance books could be a mainstream thing that a lot of Muslims could just walk in a bookstore and get. I still would've liked for more care to have gone into the structure and writing.
Overall I think someone who's 13 would enjoy this a bit more and not necessarily be too critical on the writing. The thing is, it's a romance following characters who are 18+ and touching on a lot of dense and dark topics, it should have aimed to be written with the standard of readers within that age range and maturity in mind.
Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Cultural appropriation, and Violence
Minor: Car accident
kingrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fantastic, brilliant, beautiful, effortless YA contemporary romance that is also a drama and somewhat of a coming-of-age.
I’m not even going to go into depth about what the book was about. You just need to know that two very beautiful souls serendipitously meet and they fall in love while going through the hardest things a person can go through.
This book was beautiful from start to finish. It is unapologetically Muslim and I friggin loved every second of it! I love Zayneb’s passion and Adam’s ability to see the beauty in the world. At first I didn’t see the chemistry between them and aside from them both keeping this journal based off an ancient manuscript, I didn’t think they had much in common since they’re SO different. But the book just unfolds in this amazing way, where you fall in love with Zayneb and Adam as individuals then watch them come together and fall in love with them as a couple.
Zayneb is dealing with Islamophobia throughout the book (at school, on a plane, at the pool, etc) and the injustices in the world make her righteously angry. And she tries to “tone down” her anger, but she learns she doesn’t have to hold back, she just learns how to be smarter than the bigots. Then there’s Adam and he is this peaceful soul that I just adored and is more behind-the-scenes in his support. He’s such a family guy and I loved his softer way of caring. They both deal with loss and grief in their own ways that make you want to tear your heart out.
I think this book does a fantastic job depicting a traditional Muslim relationship, grief, anger, prejudice, and dealing with a chronic medical diagnosis. I can’t speak for its accuracy but it seems authentic and raw. I loved that these two opposites started meeting in the middle on their own in a natural way (they weren’t forcing themselves to change to fit with the other). The book had me grinning like a fool, crying like a baby, and it even had me laughing a few times. Just a gorgeous, well written story.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Hate crime, Xenophobia, Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, War, and Murder
calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Islamophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Animal cruelty