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i_am_selinam's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Domestic abuse
fareehareads's review against another edition
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.
Thank you to Penguin Random House for an arc of this title.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Islamophobia, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Domestic abuse
yesmarisareads's review against another edition
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Racism
Minor: Domestic abuse and Transphobia
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