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00sarah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Islamophobia
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, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and War
cato_mertens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Islamophobia
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, Racism, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Alcohol
ashes2003'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Cultural appropriation
terryegreen'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
4.0
Graphic: Islamophobia
Moderate: Chronic illness and Death of parent
dominicangirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Islamophobia
sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
going back to zayneb and adam's story i think its superwholesome from the start to the end. i mean they have a really heartwarming meet cute as they realize they're both muslims and they both have the same journal of oddities and marvels (istg if this happened to me i would be dead lmao) and then they're just waiting until the next time they see each other again just cause they have a nice impression of each other PLS, AND
anyways, if zayneb is a bold badass female main character, adam is totally the opposite. he's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. his back story with his mom, his chronical illness and his refusal to ask for help just makes the reader's urge to love and protect him even bigger lmao. and all of that made me tear up too but yeah, wasn't that obvious?
to sum up, this is one of the cutest love stories i've ever read and adam has become one of my favorite book boyfriends. it's a perfect book if you want to dig into a different culture, to educate yourself about the impact of islamophobia but specially to read a very very very cute love story
Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
thepurplepixel'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? No
5.0
Moderate: Islamophobia
Minor: Cursing, Violence, and War
All of the cursing and islamophobia is within the context of illustrating the protagonist’s experience and her combatting that. All violence and war is portrayed in a negative light, and as something the protagonist wants to see rid from the world.rucodes18's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Islamophobia