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poppyjessica's review against another edition
4.0
'Mark My Words' by Muhammad Khan is a pacey read about forthright teenager Dua, the writing effectively shining a light on social inequality. At the beginning, two local schools in Enley, a privileged grammar school MInerva and the more racially diverse Bodley, located in the more run down end of town, are merged together. The result is a portrayal of a microcosm of society with tension between the haves and have nots, and prejudice lacing every interaction.
Dua is an aspiring journalist and, when she is rejected from the elite Minerva paper, decides to found her own publication to give a voice to the voiceless teenagers of Bodley school. With a bit of journalistic investigation, she begins to uncover a drug conspiracy in the town, corruption rotting at its core. Despite being quite a predictable trajectory in the story, the plotline was certainly gripping. Even when Dua made questionable decisions, it was difficult not to root for her success - she is a talented journalist, confident and an advocate for justice and it is great to see her grow as a result of her experiences.
Overall, this will be a great read for teenagers and adults alike. A gritty but satisfying story of prejudice, addiction, corruption and justice. 4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Dua is an aspiring journalist and, when she is rejected from the elite Minerva paper, decides to found her own publication to give a voice to the voiceless teenagers of Bodley school. With a bit of journalistic investigation, she begins to uncover a drug conspiracy in the town, corruption rotting at its core. Despite being quite a predictable trajectory in the story, the plotline was certainly gripping. Even when Dua made questionable decisions, it was difficult not to root for her success - she is a talented journalist, confident and an advocate for justice and it is great to see her grow as a result of her experiences.
Overall, this will be a great read for teenagers and adults alike. A gritty but satisfying story of prejudice, addiction, corruption and justice. 4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
cakeandbooks1970's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
whatbritreads's review against another edition
3.0
*Thank you Pan Macmillan for a copy of this book in exchange for review!*
This book started off so strongly, and I honestly thought it was going to be a four or five star book for me. It’s well written, it has a great cast of interesting characters, and it tackles some important themes - I just wish the story stayed realistic throughout. The ending got a little bit far-fetched for me and it was hard to stay focused and engrossed in this world when I just couldn’t stop thinking ‘how are these characters doing all this at 15?!’ - it was confusing.
This was a very honest portrayal of coming of age, while trying to deal with a million and one problems and ultimately do the right thing. We had some great banter between the main character and her best friend. Their friendship was so wholesome and the portrayal of it felt very realistic, I loved reading about them. There were elements of discussing problems at home and parental mental health struggles, but it felt a bit surface level for me and I would’ve loved a stronger focus on this aspect.
As well as mental health we had a lot on cultural expectations, prejudice, classism, bullying, racism and islamophobia. There was a lot to unpack in this book but it was all handled with care and I think these added a lot of dimension to the characters and their stories. It tackled some really important themes.
While I enjoyed the writing for the most part, it was heavy on cringe pop culture references and slang terms. I had a love-hate relationship with it. While at times it was believable for a group of young British teens, sometimes it was a bit too on the nose to the point I got slight secondhand embarrassment. Not completely off-putting, but enough to make me notice it. It did make me laugh out loud a couple of times though as the humour was generally quite good honestly.
While the story started off in one place, it felt like it ended in a completely different one which ultimately led my rating and enjoyment for this book to go down. The storyline just got a bit extreme and it felt more like something dramatic you’d watch on a netflix series, rather than read in a book. It took the narrative away from realistic in my opinion, and ruined my immersion. I also didn’t like the small aspect of two female characters arguing and falling out over a boy, I dislike that kind of love triangle so strongly and the petty revenge thing isn’t really something I enjoy.
Overall though, a worthwhile read. I enjoyed this book a lot and would definitely read more from this author.
This book started off so strongly, and I honestly thought it was going to be a four or five star book for me. It’s well written, it has a great cast of interesting characters, and it tackles some important themes - I just wish the story stayed realistic throughout. The ending got a little bit far-fetched for me and it was hard to stay focused and engrossed in this world when I just couldn’t stop thinking ‘how are these characters doing all this at 15?!’ - it was confusing.
This was a very honest portrayal of coming of age, while trying to deal with a million and one problems and ultimately do the right thing. We had some great banter between the main character and her best friend. Their friendship was so wholesome and the portrayal of it felt very realistic, I loved reading about them. There were elements of discussing problems at home and parental mental health struggles, but it felt a bit surface level for me and I would’ve loved a stronger focus on this aspect.
As well as mental health we had a lot on cultural expectations, prejudice, classism, bullying, racism and islamophobia. There was a lot to unpack in this book but it was all handled with care and I think these added a lot of dimension to the characters and their stories. It tackled some really important themes.
While I enjoyed the writing for the most part, it was heavy on cringe pop culture references and slang terms. I had a love-hate relationship with it. While at times it was believable for a group of young British teens, sometimes it was a bit too on the nose to the point I got slight secondhand embarrassment. Not completely off-putting, but enough to make me notice it. It did make me laugh out loud a couple of times though as the humour was generally quite good honestly.
While the story started off in one place, it felt like it ended in a completely different one which ultimately led my rating and enjoyment for this book to go down. The storyline just got a bit extreme and it felt more like something dramatic you’d watch on a netflix series, rather than read in a book. It took the narrative away from realistic in my opinion, and ruined my immersion. I also didn’t like the small aspect of two female characters arguing and falling out over a boy, I dislike that kind of love triangle so strongly and the petty revenge thing isn’t really something I enjoy.
Overall though, a worthwhile read. I enjoyed this book a lot and would definitely read more from this author.
hannah_xx's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Islamophobia, Mental illness, and Drug use
laurxndxx's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
An emotive, heartwarming and inspiring book about a young Muslim girl trying to achieve her dreams of being a journalist, whilst dealing with her family and friends' struggles. It started off a bit slow-paced but picked up halfway through and I couldn't put it down. Would have rated it more, but I think it was aimed more at younger readers.
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