Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - Yes No Maybe So

DISCLAIMER: Before I start the review, I will say that while reading, I gobbled up the book quite quickly and always wondered what’s next. However, after reflecting on the book I realized it’s flaws.

That’s right I rated a book with LGBTQ characters, POC characters, and Muslim and Jewish characters 3.5 stars. Why? Because that’s the problem. No I’m not homophobic, racist, islamophobe, or anti Semitic. The problem is the book was trying too hard to be “trendy”. I get that the authors wanted to be representative of all people but it seemed to forced. We need more gay characters? Ooo, she should come out. I also felt like they targeted republicans way too much. In fact it demonized them. Oh, they’re on the other side? I can’t be friends with them. Also the characters could easily be defined in one word. Jamie? Awkward. Maya? Muslim (literally her whole personality is she’s Muslim). Nolan and Felipe? Gay. This in turn created a very dry plot. The end was the most frustrating because it seemed to squeeze most of the plot in the last 100 pages. I feel like the concept of this book was pretty good but the way it was executed was subpar. However, I did rate this a 3.5 and not a 1 so I’ll list some positives.

***Positives***
•Woke teens
•Explained what it’s like to be Muslim
•Showed what it’s like to be a minority in America and especially the South

All in all, the book was... meh. That’s all it is. I would recommend this book for 12 years olds and up (pretty clean but language was pretty significant, no racial slurs though). Maybe if you are looking for something to speed through quickly to meet your reading goal or something but realistically, I don’t see how someone would LOVE this book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~SPOILERS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Was the romance really necessary? This book would have developed just fine if Jamie and Maya stayed as friends and Maya didn’t have to give up parts of her faith just to make out with Jamie. I did feel like Rossum losing was a great point of the book. Even if you give it your all, you might not have the most desirable outcome. It would have been nicer if the whole Sara and Maya situation would have been more of a focus. They were friends in the beginning for a chapter or two, then ghosted each other for a sentence in every other chapter, had a huge fight towards the end, and in like the last chapter, she happens to show up at Scavino’s all the way from Athens to Atlanta to vote and save their friendship. Didn’t really make sense and could have played a bigger and more meaningful part to the story.

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stephmung's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-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

3.5

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gem114's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a PERFECT Valentine's read. Light and heartwarming, but still with an important message!

Jamie and Maya rekindle their childhood friendship the summer before their senior year of high school while canvassing for a state senate special election. Neither of them starts the summer wanting to knock on doors and talk to strangers, but as they grow to understand the stakes of local politics, they develop a passion for the cause, a comfort with campaigning, and possibly more. ;)

I could really relate to Jamie and Maya's passion for campaigning, actually DOING something to help make the world a better place. I hope and pray this book inspires more young people to learn about and get involved in local politics.

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caroline_norrish's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

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pucksandpaperbacks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Hands down a great young adult book and #ownvoices story. I've read Becky's other collaboration, What If It's Us and it wasn't my favorite. However, this is the best collaborative work I've read by Becky and cannot wait to pick up Aisha Saeed's work.

Jamie and Maya feel very much like teens in 2017. The subtle pop culture references to Fortnite, & Mario Bros games. The metaphor of Bowser vs the Koopa Troopas was brilliant.

They went above and beyond to even include clicking a message on iMessage and giving it a thumbs up. This is a novel that will show teens who are not eligible to vote because of their age that they can do something and make a change just like Jamie and Maya did. Stan culture references, I think went too far as Maya and her friend, Sarah mentioned they "stanned" Elmo... Could've been done in a different, more relevant way.

There's a nice balance of politics, family drama, and friendship issues as well as a slow burn romance aka a "slowmance".

I also really enjoyed how the book wrapped up

it wasn't a happy ending which is what made it so realistic.

. The book comes full circle at the end and the characters really grow.

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booksonmars's review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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