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bibliomania_express'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? It's complicated
4.0
I really liked Hana. She's young and trying to reach her goals while being there for her family. She faces a lot of racism in this book, from microaggressions at her internship to straight up physical violence, hate speech, and harrassment by Islamophobes. It was interesting to see how Jalaluddin shows the different reactions of Hana's family members to these events.
On the romance front, this is a secret penpals, enemies-to-lovers, sweet romance. Aydin is dealing with his own pressures and family secrets, and both he and Hana are trying to find their voices and carve out their places in the world. I liked that a lot of their interactions showed how compatible they were even when they were at cross purposes.
I've read one other book by Jalaluddin, and in both I've really liked how important the family relationships are to the story. I do wish there had been a bit more with Hana's sister, and the friend storyline with Lily and Yusuf felt like a background plot that didn't do much.
Overall, I do recommend this romance. It had lots of fun moments and cute moments. Do take care though - there are on-page acts of racism and Hana's experience as the victim of those attacks.
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Self harm, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Suicide attempt
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Pregnancy, Outing, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
daniellekat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Car accident and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
matmatmatty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Summary:
If you want to read about a realistic experience as a Muslim and daughter of immigrants, and that's not your lived experience, you might really enjoy this and get a lot out of it.
Things I liked:
- I loved Rashid and Kawkab Khala - easily best characters.
- I did like the representation - it's good to hear stories about Muslims like this so I do applaud that.
Loved Hana standing up to Marissa and putting her foot down on the show. It's important that we understand that we should not be tokenised and to refuse participation if we think that we are
Other thoughts:
- I don't understand Hana's character. She's 24 but spent a fair amount of time acting like a teenager (being petty and vindictive).
I don't understand how she could phone in a false complaint and then immediately feel bad about it, but then a few days later make a bunch of accounts to spread rumours and on general make Aydin seem bad, and again feel bad about it! Just don't do it! I did enjoy her relationship with her family, especially her father and seeing her with her father showed her mature side but sometimes she acted like she was 10 years younger and I don't get it - The twist/mystery was too obvious imo.
I guessed that Aydin was Stanley P as soon as I met him and I honestly don't know if I was supposed to know or if I was supposed to find out when Hana did but it just seemed so obvious and was kinda annoying that neither of them realised until much later. I also guessed Afsana was Aydin's mum as soon as we met her - Hana literally says she reminds her of him and I was like "oh is that his mum?" It just felt a little too obvious again and felt like I was just waiting for characters to figure out what I had already pieced together. - I am not sure who this story is for - I love the representation but I don't think this is written with brown girls in mind. The messages were a little too on the nose (like I know racism exists and I know what it's like and this just felt too exaggerated for me to enjoy it). I think this is written for white/non-Muslims to read to learn and understand the experience and I do not fit into either of those categories. I also think this read too YA than adult, partly because of Hana's actions.
- Should add, I am not Canadian, I have never been to Canada. I am Muslim and not white, but I don't wear hijab so I do not know what someone like Hana feels and experiences. That bring said, that actual discrimination that Hana experienced was way too over the top.
It went from 0 to 100 on the city centre with the fight and just felt almost cartoonish. Same with what happened at the festival - I've experienced similar shit to things I've organised but it was just way too unrealistic. Overall I think the issue is that it came out of nowhere - she had never spoken about racism before and suddenly this happens and it's an assault. Yes that can happen of course but normally you hear comments first. You have side glances. People following you on the shop etc. Not straight to hate crime. She ran a podcast that was about being brown and never mentioned racist comments on it - they should've started here at least. That being said, i do think that for those not used to having those conversations, it would be very useful to read something like that and is a good thing to address.
Not a bad book but I think not for me.
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Chronic illness and Pregnancy
Minor: Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Suicide attempt
sarahbythebook's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Islamophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide attempt
bookdragonkatie'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide attempt
achay91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Pregnancy
kollieollie'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
4.75
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
kaleys23'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: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
Minor: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
michelle_my_belle'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy