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taliabasma's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
I would give this a three as a contemporary romance but a five as a YA contemporary fiction with a hijabi main character that doesn’t hate being Muslim so it averages to a 4 star but the MC makes me want to make it a 3.75 lmao that’s just a lot of good things in this book and a lot of sucky but important topics had too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Death, Body shaming, and Rape
katselvocki's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I wish characters other than Janna hadn’t been so flat, but even still, I loved this and can’t wait to read Misfit in Love when it’s released.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Bullying, and Death
aruerra's review against another edition
3.0
Saints and Misfits is a book with heavy topics. Content warnings include sexual assault, death of a loved one, one aromisic comment. I liked this book just fine. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It has a very straightforward narrative, like reading someone's diary. The writing style could be boring at times but would pick up at some parts by either dropping a revelation or having a really emotional scene.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Death
astereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
5.0
I knew from the start that I'd be in another painful experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Death
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia and Sexual assault
anika222's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
For the first 50 pages, I thought I might not finish this book, but I was pleasantly surprised to get drawn in and want to see where the story was going. I think there's a lot going for this book, not the least of which is the Muslim protagonist who is trying to figure out how all aspects of her life intersect with her faith. I appreciated that we got simple explanations of various Muslim traditions so that I as a non-Muslim could understand the context, and the explanations were woven well into the narrative. The storyline was interesting and I truly couldn't really tell where it was going most of the time, which kept meet interested and wanting to know more.
A few drawbacks for me were I didn't love the writing style, especially at the beginning. It lacks emotion and we don't get to see how Janna understands and processes her world. It reads almost like a play - with stage direction and dialogue - but missing that emotional inner dialogue. I also struggled with so many characters who had very little to do with the storyline, and basically no character development for anyone besides Janna. The plot also seemed to meander quite a bit and it felt like many plot elements were introduced but never really developed. I think the author may have felt like the book needed to be a lot of things and would have done better to streamline the theme and focus the plot (or make it a book series.)
A few drawbacks for me were I didn't love the writing style, especially at the beginning. It lacks emotion and we don't get to see how Janna understands and processes her world. It reads almost like a play - with stage direction and dialogue - but missing that emotional inner dialogue. I also struggled with so many characters who had very little to do with the storyline, and basically no character development for anyone besides Janna. The plot also seemed to meander quite a bit and it felt like many plot elements were introduced but never really developed. I think the author may have felt like the book needed to be a lot of things and would have done better to streamline the theme and focus the plot (or make it a book series.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Death
Minor: Fatphobia and Body shaming
starshynebrite's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Let’s start out this review with a little celebration of the fact that there’s finally some good representation of the variety of Muslims in America. I’ve only ever read two other YA novels centered around hijabis and though they were also relatable, they were Australian and the experiences they faced weren’t as relevant as in this book. A lot of people lump Muslim women into one big category without realizing that there are so many different cultures and levels of faith. The author did a really great job representing the cultural as well the religious aspect of the Muslim community in America. I honestly felt like I was in that town and in that mosque with the few non-Muslims that would come to support them. It felt so familiar I felt almost as if I was in the book.
The main character, Janna, is a typical teenage American Muslim. She wears a hijab, has her typical teenage quirks and crushes, as well as the struggle I feel all teenage Muslims go through when they’re trying to find the balance between their faith and the need to be socially accepted as normal. Basically, the novel is about Janna’s struggle with a crush on a non-Muslim male (uh-oh, we’ve all been there, sister) and another male who isn’t quite who he seems.
What I really liked about this book was the diversity of the Muslim characters. There were non-hijabis, hijabis, and even niqabis. They were all at different levels of faith and none of them were judged by it. There was one character who did judge the other Muslim women based on their outward appearance, and sadly those kinds of people exist as well. I think it was just really great to see that even in a religious community there are different kinds of people—good and bad. Most people just lump the whole religion into one clump, but this showed that the religion didn’t completely define people.
I think the struggle that Janna went through about her “monster” was also something to which a lot of people could relate. Because of our reputations, it is often seen that instead of speaking up, we tend to stay quiet. The reasoning behind her behavior wasn’t something uncommon or crazy, because many people—including me in that situation—might have done the same.
The references to Islam and the Qur’an were very well done and it never felt like the facts were just being thrown in there to show that the characters were religious. It was always for a purpose and it was nice seeing the familiar phrases without having to think about translations or definitions. There was one particular scene that really hit me: A man was asking someone to translate what he had memorized in the Qur’an and was unable to tell him because he had only memorized the Arabic. The man had responded to this reason by basically saying “Then what’s the point?” and I know for sure it got me thinking about any of the Qur’an I have memorized… the whole point of the Qur’an is to use it as guidance. And if I don’t know the meaning of what I’m saying, what really is the point? These little things really got me thinking.
Other than the religious and cultural stuff, I really liked the character interactions. The conversations never really felt forced and everything had a purpose. I loved the brother-sister relationship with Muhammad and Janna and I especially loved Mr. Ram with her as well. The little side stories with the other characters were really amazing because they didn’t pull away from the message of the main plot.
The main character, Janna, is a typical teenage American Muslim. She wears a hijab, has her typical teenage quirks and crushes, as well as the struggle I feel all teenage Muslims go through when they’re trying to find the balance between their faith and the need to be socially accepted as normal. Basically, the novel is about Janna’s struggle with a crush on a non-Muslim male (uh-oh, we’ve all been there, sister) and another male who isn’t quite who he seems.
What I really liked about this book was the diversity of the Muslim characters. There were non-hijabis, hijabis, and even niqabis. They were all at different levels of faith and none of them were judged by it. There was one character who did judge the other Muslim women based on their outward appearance, and sadly those kinds of people exist as well. I think it was just really great to see that even in a religious community there are different kinds of people—good and bad. Most people just lump the whole religion into one clump, but this showed that the religion didn’t completely define people.
I think the struggle that Janna went through about her “monster” was also something to which a lot of people could relate. Because of our reputations, it is often seen that instead of speaking up, we tend to stay quiet. The reasoning behind her behavior wasn’t something uncommon or crazy, because many people—including me in that situation—might have done the same.
The references to Islam and the Qur’an were very well done and it never felt like the facts were just being thrown in there to show that the characters were religious. It was always for a purpose and it was nice seeing the familiar phrases without having to think about translations or definitions. There was one particular scene that really hit me: A man was asking someone to translate what he had memorized in the Qur’an and was unable to tell him because he had only memorized the Arabic. The man had responded to this reason by basically saying “Then what’s the point?” and I know for sure it got me thinking about any of the Qur’an I have memorized… the whole point of the Qur’an is to use it as guidance. And if I don’t know the meaning of what I’m saying, what really is the point? These little things really got me thinking.
Other than the religious and cultural stuff, I really liked the character interactions. The conversations never really felt forced and everything had a purpose. I loved the brother-sister relationship with Muhammad and Janna and I especially loved Mr. Ram with her as well. The little side stories with the other characters were really amazing because they didn’t pull away from the message of the main plot.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
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