Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Huda F Are You?

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy

30 reviews

tangleroot_eli's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

A quick, fun read. Huda's parents are A Lot, but if Huda can get through living it, we can get through reading it.

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clarabooksit's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-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

4.5

Equal parts hilarious and poignant. I loved Fahmy’s wry humor, the way she used it to highlight stigma, racism and religious bigotry in the U.S., and the universal awkwardness of being a teen trying to figure out who you are. Read this one.

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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funny hopeful informative lighthearted fast-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

5.0

Oh this was so lovely. I was worried in the author's note, that it would be a sob identity story/more for a white audience, but actually it was really authentic and real and so funny, I was laughing on the commute to uni so much!

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ashylibrarian's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring fast-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

4.25

A strong graphic memoir that shares relatable stories of a girl trying to navigate school while trying to find out who she is.

In the past, Huda has been able to identify as the girl who wears a hijab, but after moving to a town with a large Muslim population, Huda realizes that her hijab is not what defines her anymore. Through raw descriptions, Huda shares what it was like for her to try and find what "group" she fit into best, feeling the pressures of family and peers the whole time.

One of the things I appreciate most about this graphic novel is that it covers many important, tough topics in a way that is understandable to young adult readers. This is a story I will absolutely be recommending.

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cassellwrites's review against another edition

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funny reflective fast-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

5.0

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nikspandya's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-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

5.0

What an amazing read!! I am absolutely charmed by Huda Fahmy and her knack for combining real life hard truths with superb comedic timing. Go get this rn!!!

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oddduck's review against another edition

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funny reflective fast-paced

5.0

This book was fantastic! Huda Fahmy did a great job balancing the humor with more serious emotions and situations. She also pulled off one of my favorite tricks, which is where a line or scene is recontexualized at a later point in the story.

The opening scene, where Mom confronts Huda about her grade and then Huda freeze-frames and takes us back to how she got here, is quite humorous. We think, oh it's no big deal, everyone gets a bad grade every now and then. Mom's just being a little overdramatic, even if Huda has always consistently gotten good grades. But then we go through all the events leading up to that moment, and we're shown, actually, Huda's struggling because her teacher is being extremely bigoted to her. And suddenly we feel completely different.

It was extremely well done, and served as the tipping point for the rest of the story. Smart, efficient storytelling my beloved.

The characters are also super fun. Since one of the central themes is identity, it was vital that the supporting characters have defining characteristics and a sense of identity. This really helped highlight Huda's struggles with finding her own identity. Speaking of, boy did Huda remind me of myself at that age. I was not dealing with any sort of religion or race based bigotry, but the rest of it? The struggle of being "the smart one" and getting a grade lower than an A for the first time? Bad teachers that don't get you? Trying to figure out how to make friends and where you fit in? Dealing with your parents' expectations for you? Just high school in general? Oooh yeah. This was that.

[Note on the "drug use" cw: there is no on-screen drug use. There are references to a character likely smoking pot (with no confirmation) and there are a couple moments where a character is assumed to be doing drugs with zero evidence to back up the claim, other than out-of-character behavior. These accusations are played off as humorous.]

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