Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Hijab Butch Blues

If you're considering picking this up, try out the audio. Narrated by the author, I think he conveys this epistolary novel well.

I'm a little confused on why all of the 1-2 star reviews think all scumbag dads deserve redemption arcs, because they don't. They can try to redeem themselves at the end of their lives, but it never works and that is what the author showed here.

This could've been five stars for me if there would've been a few chapters from Isaac's POV reading the letters from his father. Even just one at the very end.

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lowkeymarie's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

Thanks to The Dial Press for the free copy of this book.

- HIJAB BUTCH BLUES is a landmark work of queer memoir. Lamya H. weaves her own experiences as a queer person of color in with stories from the Quran, reframing the ancient stories into new contexts.
- It’s rare to see the story of a queer person who holds onto their faith after coming out, and it’s quite a breath of fresh air to follow Lamya as she builds her life and her faith into a shape that works for her.
- Honestly, nothing I say here can do this book justice. It’s a must read for anyone interested and invested in queer lives.

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fareehareads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

This is the first queer Muslim memoir I've ever read and I'll admit, I was apprehensive going in. I wasn't sure if I was going to relate & then I wondered why I felt the need to be seen in the pages of someone else's stories. All thoughts aside, I dug into the book and finished it in 2 days. I now need everyone around me to read this book. A younger me probably needed a story like this and the idea that young queer Muslims will find this is a comfort. This book clearly spells out something I did not give myself the permission to do on my own by relating the lives of the prophets and the women in the Quran to our own. We are often taught to live as the pious did and attempt to be better each day to please Allah. This book took that and laid out point by point how she tried to do that in her own life. These stories we are told to memorize, but never analyze much further than a close reading were taken apart and put together again to fit into Lamya's story and it was both brilliant and shocking. I didnt know I could still be shocked like this by a book, but here I am, gobsmacked. The comparisons in this book are done artfully. The exploration of a young South Asian navigating Arab superiority in an Arab country & the truths of white supremacy in America was brutal, the systemic racism barring her from peace in a world trained to look at her immigrant status as a definitive way to "other" her was powerful. Her decades long struggle to find community within queer and Muslim spaces was really relatable. I've never met this person but I see her so well and her life echoes so many of my experiences that I found myself praying for this stranger more than once (she'll probably remain in my duas for a long time) I appreciate so much that this book was about her journey with Islam as much as it was about her queer journey. I hope a lot of young queer people whose faith journey is just as important to them as their exploration of identity up this book & hear her story. I'm certainly glad I did.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for an arc of this title.

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mixedreader's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

4.0

In Hijab Butch Blues, Lamya M shares the way she finds her story in the stories of the Quran, queering them in a way that connects to her own identity and life experience. Although I do not share a connection with religious background, I found the structure of this memoir compelling and approachable to read, giving me insight to a queer life experience I see almost no representation of in other lit or media. Lamya’s honesty about navigating self-perception and desire was refreshing—getting over the crushes on straight girls that would mean immediate rejection and no real impact on her life, to opening up about the self acceptance that came with a healing, real queer love.

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yesmarisareads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

5.0

What an honor it is that Lamya H shared their story with us in this beautiful and vulnerable memoir. She is a gifted storyteller, bringing to life numerous friends, family members, and bad dates alongside figures from the Quran. Lamya's journey navigating their faith and queerness resonated strongly with me, particularly her complex relationship with her family and community. Their writing style is both sharp and warm, witty and earnest. Hijab Butch Blues was a delight to read and I already want more!

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