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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Such a rich story of a community near where I live, painted in such realistic ways that it felt true. These struggles and hardships faced by the fictional characters of the Golden Crescent are mirrored in society today. Such a nice love story, and what a twist about Aydin’s mother!
It's really quite wonderful when you have high expectations about a book because it contains, from the description, your own special brand of catnip: enemies-to-lovers a la Pride & Prejudice, competing halal restaurants, social justice turmoil, and a radical shotgun toting Aunty with a secret, and it delivers.
I labeled this romance-contemporary, but probably it's more of a women's fiction story. (Contrasted with Sonali Dev's Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors which is also about a desi family with a restaurant but is more traditionally focused on the romance, this is more focused on Hana's coming of age as an adult visible minority in Toronto)
We meet Hana Khan in the middle of a dead-end radio internship about to be forced into a cultural-apologizer role she hates, faced with not-wrong criticisms about her mother's beloved restaurant's outdatedness, and barely scraping by emotionally with the help of an anonymous fan of her anonymous podcast.
A new restaurant is opening in her little Golden Crescent business district and the owner is a rich boy she can't help being simultaneously attracted to (this is a sweet romance that reaches the level of hand-holding, not even a kiss) and angered by. This challenge to her family's livelihood means Hana will have to join the local business association, and also causes her to commit some unsavory acts of her own.
Even non romance fans should read this. It has some heavy handed tropes-- Hana and her cousin are accosted by racist troublemakers at a tourist attraction, and some hate-filled protestors mar the beginning of a local street festival in a way USA citizens can easily imagine. But the choices Hana is forced to make about her career because of well-meaning mainstream Canadian white bosses, the racist protestors, and her cultural affinity for extended family alongside other characters in the Muslim and Arab community (two other side characters with important screen time are a non-desi Arab named Youseff who is one of Hana's best friends and her fellow radio intern Thomas who is a Christian Arab) begin to tap the rich depth of experience of peoples often portrayed as a monolithic whole.
Despite my longing for steam in romance, it would not have been appropriate in this book, and even without it I would follow Jalaluddin into any other story she chooses to tell.
I labeled this romance-contemporary, but probably it's more of a women's fiction story. (Contrasted with Sonali Dev's Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors which is also about a desi family with a restaurant but is more traditionally focused on the romance, this is more focused on Hana's coming of age as an adult visible minority in Toronto)
We meet Hana Khan in the middle of a dead-end radio internship about to be forced into a cultural-apologizer role she hates, faced with not-wrong criticisms about her mother's beloved restaurant's outdatedness, and barely scraping by emotionally with the help of an anonymous fan of her anonymous podcast.
A new restaurant is opening in her little Golden Crescent business district and the owner is a rich boy she can't help being simultaneously attracted to (this is a sweet romance that reaches the level of hand-holding, not even a kiss) and angered by. This challenge to her family's livelihood means Hana will have to join the local business association, and also causes her to commit some unsavory acts of her own.
Even non romance fans should read this. It has some heavy handed tropes-- Hana and her cousin are accosted by racist troublemakers at a tourist attraction, and some hate-filled protestors mar the beginning of a local street festival in a way USA citizens can easily imagine. But the choices Hana is forced to make about her career because of well-meaning mainstream Canadian white bosses, the racist protestors, and her cultural affinity for extended family alongside other characters in the Muslim and Arab community (two other side characters with important screen time are a non-desi Arab named Youseff who is one of Hana's best friends and her fellow radio intern Thomas who is a Christian Arab) begin to tap the rich depth of experience of peoples often portrayed as a monolithic whole.
Despite my longing for steam in romance, it would not have been appropriate in this book, and even without it I would follow Jalaluddin into any other story she chooses to tell.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
(250326)
Well nuanced, very insightful, and reflective. The prose was heartfelt without being overly flowery, simple yet poignant. AND HANA IS FUNNY!
TLDR: quick read and well worth it. very real life, and her life struggles, changes, and adaptions SPEAK TO ME LIKE THIS IS PERFECT TIMING
Every character is so wonderfully and heartwarmingly realized with care, I loved them all-- they reminded me of my family, and my cultural ties with overseas family.
Again--
this book seems to come at such an opportune time for me, even though any book about personal changes and life transitions might resonate the same way, but the unique cultural and familial layers included in this makes Hana's struggles feel ESP CLOSE.
I feel like this might become a diary entry if I keep going, but suffice to say Hana confronting imminent personal and professional change is basically me in my life right now XD.
Hana and Aydin's IRL relationship and virtual anonymous situationship is most entertaining, and even tho he's v disrespectful to her/her family at timesand then I'm like grl why are you still nice to him!!, they do come to an understanding and learn about each other and themselves in a nuanced way.
I really like how author articulates Hana's feelings: when she realizes her mistakes, when she learns about her family's secrets (or wrestles with and confronts her own secrets), and when she admits she's scared, and also when she still finds the will to power through conflict even WHEN she's scared.
It's super helpful to me!! to see that she can do it and how she did it.
#exposuretherapy #rolemodel
NEXT: def gonna look up Author's first book!
Well nuanced, very insightful, and reflective. The prose was heartfelt without being overly flowery, simple yet poignant. AND HANA IS FUNNY!
TLDR: quick read and well worth it. very real life, and her life struggles, changes, and adaptions SPEAK TO ME LIKE THIS IS PERFECT TIMING
Every character is so wonderfully and heartwarmingly realized with care, I loved them all-- they reminded me of my family, and my cultural ties with overseas family.
Again--
this book seems to come at such an opportune time for me, even though any book about personal changes and life transitions might resonate the same way, but the unique cultural and familial layers included in this makes Hana's struggles feel ESP CLOSE.
I feel like this might become a diary entry if I keep going, but suffice to say Hana confronting imminent personal and professional change is basically me in my life right now XD.
Hana and Aydin's IRL relationship and virtual anonymous situationship is most entertaining, and even tho he's v disrespectful to her/her family at times
I really like how author articulates Hana's feelings: when she realizes her mistakes, when she learns about her family's secrets (or wrestles with and confronts her own secrets), and when she admits she's scared, and also when she still finds the will to power through conflict even WHEN she's scared.
It's super helpful to me!! to see that she can do it and how she did it.
#exposuretherapy #rolemodel
NEXT: def gonna look up Author's first book!
- POV: first person, Hana
- SPICE: nope, just tension, let's keep it halal
- LOOSE THREADS: hana's last interaction with lily and yusuf felt unfortunate and a lil befuddling
- BEST BOY: rashid is hilarious and lovable, so quick with the quips
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
probably the first muslim romcom i've read. so sooo cute to read, so wonderful to understand the cultural dynamics and to relate to the identity struggles. sweet and lovely read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Islamophobia
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Car accident, Suicide attempt
Uzma Jalaluddin is the queen of putting culture into a fun and vibrant context that makes it so that anyone could understand and empathize with her characters plight, which is really the plight of the Muslim population, even in heavily diverse communities. I appreciated her characters struggles and found myself considering all of the ways that I could be better. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone. It’s so fun and uplifting while being timely and interesting and sharing a great moral.
Lots to like in this- I liked the podcasting angle, the community aspect, and the main character
challenging
inspiring
tense
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:
No