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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Who is the mysterious woman who inspired Byron's poem The Giaour, which then inspired Delacroix's The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan paintings? And what is the link to Alexandre Dumas? Fascinated by the Delacroix, Kayyam has written a paper about her belief that there is a missing painting - this paper should have gotten her into an exclusive art school but instead has lead her to an incredibly dejected and lost summer with her parents in their apartment in Paris.
On her way to see the Delacroix at the Petit Palais, she meets Alexandre Dumas (the many greats-grandson of the famous author). They pair up to find some mysterious treasure related to the paintings and Dumas' book The Count of Monte Cristo and somehow Byron's poem. The places they go to are real: any reader could do a tour of Paris based on this book. Is the story of Leila real? Well... there's no evidence of that. However, it is not implausible given women's lives at that time and the way that some female managed to inspire those three works.
Many are comparing this to Byatt's Possession but I see it more as akin to Donnelly's Revolution. The blending of history, mystery, real artifacts and the effects of religion and race on art and society are well done; if only the characters had been just as well-rounded.
eARC provided by publisher.
On her way to see the Delacroix at the Petit Palais, she meets Alexandre Dumas (the many greats-grandson of the famous author). They pair up to find some mysterious treasure related to the paintings and Dumas' book The Count of Monte Cristo and somehow Byron's poem. The places they go to are real: any reader could do a tour of Paris based on this book. Is the story of Leila real? Well... there's no evidence of that. However, it is not implausible given women's lives at that time and the way that some female managed to inspire those three works.
Many are comparing this to Byatt's Possession but I see it more as akin to Donnelly's Revolution. The blending of history, mystery, real artifacts and the effects of religion and race on art and society are well done; if only the characters had been just as well-rounded.
eARC provided by publisher.
Three and a half stars? Ahmed blends fact and fiction here, taking a real-life historical art/literature context and giving it a fictional twist. Most of the story is set in the present day, as Khayyam—half American, half French—spends part of the summer in Paris with her parents. But there's also Leila, whose story (much briefer than Khayyam's) is brought to the forefront to give her both a voice and agency in a way that she doesn't have in Byron's story.
In terms of being realistic...not so much. It's hard for me to take seriously the idea of a seventeen-year-old torpedoing an academic career before it starts (although certainly she'd not be the first one to feel that way!), or of a judge being so harsh on a teenager's competition submission (seems more likely that she just wouldn't get feedback?)...never mind, of course, the question of two teenagers finding so many clues that the art world has missed, and so on. For the most part I don't mind suspending disbelief, though, and (as someone who knows roughly nothing about art history) it was nice to learn something new here, and to see it from a more intersectional perspective.
In terms of being realistic...not so much. It's hard for me to take seriously the idea of a seventeen-year-old torpedoing an academic career before it starts (although certainly she'd not be the first one to feel that way!), or of a judge being so harsh on a teenager's competition submission (seems more likely that she just wouldn't get feedback?)...never mind, of course, the question of two teenagers finding so many clues that the art world has missed, and so on. For the most part I don't mind suspending disbelief, though, and (as someone who knows roughly nothing about art history) it was nice to learn something new here, and to see it from a more intersectional perspective.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
One of my new favorite contemporaries!!! Khayyam and Leila’s stories are woven beautifully with Ahmed’s message that we MUST discover more about history that was never told. We MUST be better at telling the whole truth and not silencing the voices that society has deemed unworthy for centuries.
Hot damn this was good.
I started off really not knowing what to think of it. The book started very slow paced and I couldn't get a grip on the story to keep reading. I didn't really connect with the characters and overal it was just not great. But I kept reading and thank god that I did. First of all I love art and history together. It's some kind of mystery that has to be solved everytime. This book had that and that's what was amazing.
I loved that everything was in Paris, France and that there were little small french things in it. However I do want to give a little note that I do think some more french sayings should be a bit more translated. It wasn't a problem for me because I know french but I feel like it would be for future readers.
The story was absolutely amazing and I really enjoyed specific scenes and thought it made an amazing development for the story. The ending was also amazingly written and I couldn't get enough of the main characters. Would definitely recommend.
Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me this arc I loved it and would definitely buy this when it comes out!
I started off really not knowing what to think of it. The book started very slow paced and I couldn't get a grip on the story to keep reading. I didn't really connect with the characters and overal it was just not great. But I kept reading and thank god that I did. First of all I love art and history together. It's some kind of mystery that has to be solved everytime. This book had that and that's what was amazing.
I loved that everything was in Paris, France and that there were little small french things in it. However I do want to give a little note that I do think some more french sayings should be a bit more translated. It wasn't a problem for me because I know french but I feel like it would be for future readers.
The story was absolutely amazing and I really enjoyed specific scenes and thought it made an amazing development for the story. The ending was also amazingly written and I couldn't get enough of the main characters. Would definitely recommend.
Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me this arc I loved it and would definitely buy this when it comes out!
Yes, I did just copy and paste my summer reading assignment. leave me alone.
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know is a young adult contemporary novel and was written by Samirah Ahmed in 2020. It follows Khayyam, a 17-year-old hoping to get into art school. To do so, she must write an essay on a piece of art history. She travels to Paris and ends up discovering more than she could ever bargain for.
The novel did a decent job on its social commentary, both on how history seems to be picky on who it remembers and how easy it is for a man to steal a woman’s work. Samira Ahmed also has a knack for making her storytelling so interesting. I personally feel as if her novels would be better off without their romantic aspects, which is strange considering she is a romance writer, but nothing can be done about that.
However, I was impressed by the romance in this novel. I didn’t like the romance in Love, Hate, and Other Filters and it was completely unnecessary in Internment but the romance in Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know wasn’t that bad. Reading this made me consider that maybe, Samira’s work is getting better. I would not recommend this to anyone who hates romance. However, those who enjoy political books and books on art may enjoy Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know.
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know is a young adult contemporary novel and was written by Samirah Ahmed in 2020. It follows Khayyam, a 17-year-old hoping to get into art school. To do so, she must write an essay on a piece of art history. She travels to Paris and ends up discovering more than she could ever bargain for.
The novel did a decent job on its social commentary, both on how history seems to be picky on who it remembers and how easy it is for a man to steal a woman’s work. Samira Ahmed also has a knack for making her storytelling so interesting. I personally feel as if her novels would be better off without their romantic aspects, which is strange considering she is a romance writer, but nothing can be done about that.
However, I was impressed by the romance in this novel. I didn’t like the romance in Love, Hate, and Other Filters and it was completely unnecessary in Internment but the romance in Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know wasn’t that bad. Reading this made me consider that maybe, Samira’s work is getting better. I would not recommend this to anyone who hates romance. However, those who enjoy political books and books on art may enjoy Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know.
Joyful tale with twists and turns - ultimately about the erasure of marginalized voices and the courage to be oneself. “In America we bulldoze our past, build the future in the rubble, and pretend that ghosts can’t haunt us...we ignore their voices bc we’re scared of hearing ourselves in their echoes.” Yes: we should not forget the legacy of those before us lest we lose sight of what they already fought for.
At times, I lost patience for the teenage narration, but I generally enjoyed the sleuth-like uncovering of historical details and appreciated Ahmed’s message: too often, it is solely the story of the white men in power that lasts in history books and museums for generations to come.
Who writes the stories of brown-skinned women from the shadows? Who writes of the muses? Whose stories have been missing? And now: how do we empower historically ignored contemporary voices to rise to the surface - and stay there?
At times, I lost patience for the teenage narration, but I generally enjoyed the sleuth-like uncovering of historical details and appreciated Ahmed’s message: too often, it is solely the story of the white men in power that lasts in history books and museums for generations to come.
Who writes the stories of brown-skinned women from the shadows? Who writes of the muses? Whose stories have been missing? And now: how do we empower historically ignored contemporary voices to rise to the surface - and stay there?
This had so much about it that should have lead to it being a great me read, but something about it just didn't click.
I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Khayyam is on her yearly trip to Paris with her parents and is frustrated with life. She was denied a prestigious Art award (and belittled while being turned down) and a guy, who never said he was her boyfriend, is not contacting her. So, while she's out, hoping to prove the Art award committee wrong, she happens to bump into a descendant of Alexandre Dumas-his great, great...grandson. The two of them pair up, finding clues that will lead them on a hunt that delves into the history of Dumas, Lord Byron, and a Muslim young woman, named Leila. Mixed in with the hunt for Khayyam's answers are letters between Byron and Leila, as well as some of Leila's history and how she impacted the men.
I enjoyed the story line, but felt that the overall storytelling was a bit weak. Perhaps it was a little bit too much of the exposition that could have been shown, or the fact that Khayyam, who is very focused on her award, did some stereotypical waffling between two boys. It also reminded me a bit of one of my favorites, Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution, as it also moves between time periods-however, again, not quite as strong.
Khayyam is on her yearly trip to Paris with her parents and is frustrated with life. She was denied a prestigious Art award (and belittled while being turned down) and a guy, who never said he was her boyfriend, is not contacting her. So, while she's out, hoping to prove the Art award committee wrong, she happens to bump into a descendant of Alexandre Dumas-his great, great...grandson. The two of them pair up, finding clues that will lead them on a hunt that delves into the history of Dumas, Lord Byron, and a Muslim young woman, named Leila. Mixed in with the hunt for Khayyam's answers are letters between Byron and Leila, as well as some of Leila's history and how she impacted the men.
I enjoyed the story line, but felt that the overall storytelling was a bit weak. Perhaps it was a little bit too much of the exposition that could have been shown, or the fact that Khayyam, who is very focused on her award, did some stereotypical waffling between two boys. It also reminded me a bit of one of my favorites, Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution, as it also moves between time periods-however, again, not quite as strong.