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shellysemenovski's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Islamophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent
cmillerwang's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book is on the verge of 5 stars for me. The characters are beautifully written, widely diverse, realistic teenagers. With the format of a sweet rom-com, this book could easily be a stepping stone for young-adult readers to delve into learning about Islamophobia and standing up for their beliefs in safe, productive ways, while also getting to read a cute book about falling love, friendship, school, family, and some of the hardships of the real world. I remember being an impassioned teenager and young adult who was angry like Zayneb, angry and wanted to see the world change and be a better place immediately. This is a must read, and I hope to get to read more of Z and A's story again!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, War, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racism, and Religious bigotry
lida_magg's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Medical content, Racism, and Religious bigotry
librocubicularist_x's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
This book does a great job of demonstrating what modern-day Muslims go through daily. I loved how there was always a positive for every negative, a great reminder of how we shouldn't dwell on everything that goes wrong in our life. The characters' dynamics together were really refreshing to me, it was nice seeing loving and caring families. An accurate representation of the characteristics Muslims aim to exhibit
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Chronic illness, Grief, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Cultural appropriation and War
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Hey, I finally read this! Really enjoyed it, what a cute love story.
CW: HP references
CW: HP references
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Chronic illness, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Death of parent and Medical content
Minor: Cultural appropriation, War, and Car accident
kingrosereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
“This is a love story. You’ve been warned.”
Fantastic, brilliant, beautiful, effortless YA contemporary romance that is also a drama and somewhat of a coming-of-age.
I’m not even going to go into depth about what the book was about. You just need to know that two very beautiful souls serendipitously meet and they fall in love while going through the hardest things a person can go through.
This book was beautiful from start to finish. It is unapologetically Muslim and I friggin loved every second of it! I love Zayneb’s passion and Adam’s ability to see the beauty in the world. At first I didn’t see the chemistry between them and aside from them both keeping this journal based off an ancient manuscript, I didn’t think they had much in common since they’re SO different. But the book just unfolds in this amazing way, where you fall in love with Zayneb and Adam as individuals then watch them come together and fall in love with them as a couple.
Zayneb is dealing with Islamophobia throughout the book (at school, on a plane, at the pool, etc) and the injustices in the world make her righteously angry. And she tries to “tone down” her anger, but she learns she doesn’t have to hold back, she just learns how to be smarter than the bigots. Then there’s Adam and he is this peaceful soul that I just adored and is more behind-the-scenes in his support. He’s such a family guy and I loved his softer way of caring. They both deal with loss and grief in their own ways that make you want to tear your heart out.
I think this book does a fantastic job depicting a traditional Muslim relationship, grief, anger, prejudice, and dealing with a chronic medical diagnosis. I can’t speak for its accuracy but it seems authentic and raw. I loved that these two opposites started meeting in the middle on their own in a natural way (they weren’t forcing themselves to change to fit with the other). The book had me grinning like a fool, crying like a baby, and it even had me laughing a few times. Just a gorgeous, well written story.
Fantastic, brilliant, beautiful, effortless YA contemporary romance that is also a drama and somewhat of a coming-of-age.
I’m not even going to go into depth about what the book was about. You just need to know that two very beautiful souls serendipitously meet and they fall in love while going through the hardest things a person can go through.
This book was beautiful from start to finish. It is unapologetically Muslim and I friggin loved every second of it! I love Zayneb’s passion and Adam’s ability to see the beauty in the world. At first I didn’t see the chemistry between them and aside from them both keeping this journal based off an ancient manuscript, I didn’t think they had much in common since they’re SO different. But the book just unfolds in this amazing way, where you fall in love with Zayneb and Adam as individuals then watch them come together and fall in love with them as a couple.
Zayneb is dealing with Islamophobia throughout the book (at school, on a plane, at the pool, etc) and the injustices in the world make her righteously angry. And she tries to “tone down” her anger, but she learns she doesn’t have to hold back, she just learns how to be smarter than the bigots. Then there’s Adam and he is this peaceful soul that I just adored and is more behind-the-scenes in his support. He’s such a family guy and I loved his softer way of caring. They both deal with loss and grief in their own ways that make you want to tear your heart out.
I think this book does a fantastic job depicting a traditional Muslim relationship, grief, anger, prejudice, and dealing with a chronic medical diagnosis. I can’t speak for its accuracy but it seems authentic and raw. I loved that these two opposites started meeting in the middle on their own in a natural way (they weren’t forcing themselves to change to fit with the other). The book had me grinning like a fool, crying like a baby, and it even had me laughing a few times. Just a gorgeous, well written story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Hate crime, Xenophobia, Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, War, and Murder
calamitywindpetal's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Islamophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Animal cruelty
terryegreen's review
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia
Moderate: Chronic illness and Death of parent
sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i wanted to read a book with muslim mc's during ramadan and i think this was my best choice. the story stars with zayneb experiencing islamophobia at school, which is where most muslims experience it too because of teachers, classmates or just random people judging you or talking shit behind ur back (sometimes even in front of u, like wtf) even though i relate more with zayneb's mom, who is a people pleaser who doesn't wanna be to loud, i also feel zayneb's anger. it's not okay for people to treat us like that and im glad that we have a bold main character who won't shut up at this.
going back to zayneb and adam's story i think its superwholesome from the start to the end. i mean they have a really heartwarming meet cute as they realize they're both muslims and they both have the same journal of oddities and marvels (istg if this happened to me i would be dead lmao) and then they're just waiting until the next time they see each other again just cause they have a nice impression of each other PLS, ANDWHEN THEY WRITE EACH OTHER'S NAMES AS MARVELS IN THEIR DIARIES, MY GOOOD IM MELTING FROM LOVE <333
anyways, if zayneb is a bold badass female main character, adam is totally the opposite. he's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. his back story with his mom, his chronical illness and his refusal to ask for help just makes the reader's urge to love and protect him even bigger lmao. and all of that made me tear up too but yeah, wasn't that obvious?
to sum up, this is one of the cutest love stories i've ever read and adam has become one of my favorite book boyfriends. it's a perfect book if you want to dig into a different culture, to educate yourself about the impact of islamophobia but specially to read a very very very cute love story
going back to zayneb and adam's story i think its superwholesome from the start to the end. i mean they have a really heartwarming meet cute as they realize they're both muslims and they both have the same journal of oddities and marvels (istg if this happened to me i would be dead lmao) and then they're just waiting until the next time they see each other again just cause they have a nice impression of each other PLS, AND
anyways, if zayneb is a bold badass female main character, adam is totally the opposite. he's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. his back story with his mom, his chronical illness and his refusal to ask for help just makes the reader's urge to love and protect him even bigger lmao. and all of that made me tear up too but yeah, wasn't that obvious?
to sum up, this is one of the cutest love stories i've ever read and adam has become one of my favorite book boyfriends. it's a perfect book if you want to dig into a different culture, to educate yourself about the impact of islamophobia but specially to read a very very very cute love story
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Islamophobia