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rainbow_colored_glasses's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
~ This audiobook was provided by NetGalley in exchange of an honest review ~
You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen is a YA book that deals with heavy topics such as islamophobia, racism, anxiety and cyber hate. It's about finding people like you, somewhere where you can see yourself in, a community. Three black muslim seniors in high school and the last year before everything changes. But things changes faster than they expected.
❇ Three point of views with different narrators each;
❇ This book deals with really especific but extremely realistic and relatable situations such as:
- Being the (one of the) only black girl(s) in a certain place and be mistaken for them
-Having your family invalidate what you want to work (art, history, etc) and wanting you to do a 'more realistic' kind of job
❇ the thing where people have a racist/homophobic phase and then years later change but not knowing how people where hurt because of them and wanting to just brush it off!!!!!!;
❇ the side romance in the right dose; annoying-guy-I-know to friends to lovers and of course slow burn!!!! AND one of the protagonists already are in a relationship so there's this kind of second chance romance too??;
❇Not to mention, the love not only in a romantical way, familial love and friendship are a central point of this book;
❇ different familly backgrounds;
❇ development of the main characters AND the side characters;
❇ ONE. ONLY. thing I didn't like: strangely enough there weren't as many scenes with the three of them as I'd like.
❇ Quotes:
"Sadness fades fast because I'm no longer capable of being truly shocked. The only. residue? left behind is anger, quietly shimmering because if it boils and spills out of me, I'm afraid of what would happen."
"You truly assumed that the world would heal and stay healed while spinning constantly. A spinning driven parts by half-truths and rumors that gets *rikken*(idk what is the real word) as facts"
"Reading is the definition of adventure in my mind, who knows what worlds those readers are going to get sucked into? And who knows who they'll be after they turn the final page? Reading is its own form of magic"
"I know what is like to feel unseen and unheard, to read books or watch shows and not see yourself represented or to see yourself misrepresented in them."
"Everyone deserves to see themselves represented as the protagonist"
"You don't have to prove anyone right and you don't have to prove anyone wrong, you only have to be you for you."
"It was good to hear you laugh" My traitor's heart flutters.
"I have to keep speaking so that when other young muslins womem come after me and they speak, their voices don't only echo in isolation, but their voices and their words move mountains, create waterfalls, mend hearts and makes this world closer to what it can be"
"I'm not perfect but I'm growing and right now that's enough"
You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen is a YA book that deals with heavy topics such as islamophobia, racism, anxiety and cyber hate. It's about finding people like you, somewhere where you can see yourself in, a community. Three black muslim seniors in high school and the last year before everything changes. But things changes faster than they expected.
❇ Three point of views with different narrators each;
❇ This book deals with really especific but extremely realistic and relatable situations such as:
- Being the (one of the) only black girl(s) in a certain place and be mistaken for them
-Having your family invalidate what you want to work (art, history, etc) and wanting you to do a 'more realistic' kind of job
❇ the thing where people have a racist/homophobic phase and then years later change but not knowing how people where hurt because of them and wanting to just brush it off!!!!!!;
❇ the side romance in the right dose; annoying-guy-I-know to friends to lovers and of course slow burn!!!! AND one of the protagonists already are in a relationship so there's this kind of second chance romance too??;
❇Not to mention, the love not only in a romantical way, familial love and friendship are a central point of this book;
❇ different familly backgrounds;
❇ development of the main characters AND the side characters;
❇ ONE. ONLY. thing I didn't like: strangely enough there weren't as many scenes with the three of them as I'd like.
❇ Quotes:
"Sadness fades fast because I'm no longer capable of being truly shocked. The only. residue? left behind is anger, quietly shimmering because if it boils and spills out of me, I'm afraid of what would happen."
"You truly assumed that the world would heal and stay healed while spinning constantly. A spinning driven parts by half-truths and rumors that gets *rikken*(idk what is the real word) as facts"
"Reading is the definition of adventure in my mind, who knows what worlds those readers are going to get sucked into? And who knows who they'll be after they turn the final page? Reading is its own form of magic"
"I know what is like to feel unseen and unheard, to read books or watch shows and not see yourself represented or to see yourself misrepresented in them."
"Everyone deserves to see themselves represented as the protagonist"
"You don't have to prove anyone right and you don't have to prove anyone wrong, you only have to be you for you."
"It was good to hear you laugh" My traitor's heart flutters.
"I have to keep speaking so that when other young muslins womem come after me and they speak, their voices don't only echo in isolation, but their voices and their words move mountains, create waterfalls, mend hearts and makes this world closer to what it can be"
"I'm not perfect but I'm growing and right now that's enough"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
sparetimereader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.5
Sabriya, Farrah, and Zakat are very different. Sabriya is training to be a professional ballerinas, Zakat is an artist hoping to get into a good college, and Farrah love computer science and programming. The one thing they all have in common, they are all Young Female Black Muslims.
When a terrorist attack hits Washington DC, and the Muslim faith is attacked, Sabriya does the only thing she knows what to do. She writes about it. Starting a public blog was not her original intention, but once she gains the help of Zakat and Farrah the blog “You Truly Assumed” or YTA begins to blow up.
YTA is gaining immense attention, and not all of it is good. As the girls struggle through the hateful comments constantly ringing through their blog, they must decide how far they are willing to go to make their voices heard.
“You truly assumed that the world would heal and stay healthy while spinning constantly. A spinning driven in part by accepted half-truths and rumors that get taken as facts.”
I feel like the three girls were very well written, we are given enough about their backstory, and current situation to really understand them. I love that these girls were able to find each other even spread across the whole country and give each other support and solidarity through a very difficult time.
This book discusses very important topics and is written so beautifully. I think this is a great one to get into the hands of our youth, with so many important lessons to be learned.
This one published February 8, 2022 so be sure to check it out now! Thank you so much @netgalley and @inkyardpress for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Islamophobia, and Cultural appropriation
liormaleficent's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Islamophobia
azrah786's review against another edition
3.0
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: islamophobia, racism
First and foremost I want to point out that my rating very much comes down to my personal reading experience so don’t let it detract from the fact that this is still a very inspiring and empowering book.
You Truly Assumed follows three Black Muslim teenagers of differing backgrounds, living in different parts of New York who come together through an online blog page to speak out against Islamophobia in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. It also has a much more personal focus for each of the protagonists with them tackling their own issues with family, friendships, and the future.
I enjoyed following them on their individual stories and the exploration of racism and microaggressions will without a doubt resonate with a lot of people.
However, it is a book not without its debut hiccups.
The main one being that even though the 3 girls had their own primary storylines their voices didn’t really stand out from each other enough. The way they each interacted with other characters and went about expressing themselves, quite often overstating their feelings through inner monologues, became indistinguishable at times. A lot of the dialogue between characters felt very scripted too.
I also feel as though we didn’t really get to see the relationship between the three girls develop, it all just seems to happen off page which made it felt unrealistic. In fact the blog which brought them together didn’t have enough of a focus on it, we got a few generic snippets and then the protagonists just individually talking about how much they loved being involved with it. It would have been great if we could have had more interactions between them discussing the blog to just see more of their friendship forming.
Overall, this is a book with great concepts and a lot of heart that sadly didn’t entirely hit the mark for me. Though for its representation and overarching message I would still recommend giving it a read.
Final Rating – 3/5 Stars
CW: islamophobia, racism
First and foremost I want to point out that my rating very much comes down to my personal reading experience so don’t let it detract from the fact that this is still a very inspiring and empowering book.
You Truly Assumed follows three Black Muslim teenagers of differing backgrounds, living in different parts of New York who come together through an online blog page to speak out against Islamophobia in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. It also has a much more personal focus for each of the protagonists with them tackling their own issues with family, friendships, and the future.
I enjoyed following them on their individual stories and the exploration of racism and microaggressions will without a doubt resonate with a lot of people.
However, it is a book not without its debut hiccups.
The main one being that even though the 3 girls had their own primary storylines their voices didn’t really stand out from each other enough. The way they each interacted with other characters and went about expressing themselves, quite often overstating their feelings through inner monologues, became indistinguishable at times. A lot of the dialogue between characters felt very scripted too.
I also feel as though we didn’t really get to see the relationship between the three girls develop, it all just seems to happen off page which made it felt unrealistic. In fact the blog which brought them together didn’t have enough of a focus on it, we got a few generic snippets and then the protagonists just individually talking about how much they loved being involved with it. It would have been great if we could have had more interactions between them discussing the blog to just see more of their friendship forming.
Overall, this is a book with great concepts and a lot of heart that sadly didn’t entirely hit the mark for me. Though for its representation and overarching message I would still recommend giving it a read.
Final Rating – 3/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Islamophobia
Moderate: Hate crime
bookdragon217's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? N/A
4.5
"It's scary that names can speak for someone before they're given the chance to open their mouth. Names can decide between who lives and dies. Between who can live in peace and who has to live in fear. Between those who can tell their own story and those whose stories are assumed before they can pick up the pen."
You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen is a debut novel that blew me away. The story is told from the POV's of Sabriya, Zakat & Farah, 3 Black Muslim girls who become online friends after a terrorist attacks sparks anti-Islamic hate in their communities. Each one has unique challenges. I really loved the strong writing & development of each perspective which allowed us to become fully invested in each girl and provided a safe space to explore the incidents of Islamophobia, racism and the erasure of Black Muslims. This one left me with so much to reflect on. The key themes that stayed with me were:
▪︎assumptions & associations made about names
▪︎ rampant Islamophobia in this country
▪︎ how the intersection of blackness with Islam is erased
▪︎ how Muslims are stereotyped & face daily micoragressions
▪︎ how interfaith families can model tolerance & acceptance
▪︎ how the role of allies must always be an active one
▪︎ how being racist is not a "phase"
▪︎ how vicious social media hate is towards Black women, especially Muslim ones
▪︎ how important safe spaces are
▪︎ rampant Islamophobia in this country
▪︎ how the intersection of blackness with Islam is erased
▪︎ how Muslims are stereotyped & face daily micoragressions
▪︎ how interfaith families can model tolerance & acceptance
▪︎ how the role of allies must always be an active one
▪︎ how being racist is not a "phase"
▪︎ how vicious social media hate is towards Black women, especially Muslim ones
▪︎ how important safe spaces are
Thanks to @inkyardpress for the gifted copy. I cannot wait to read more from Sabreen. Do yourselves a favor and pick up a copy of this book because this story is compelling and needs to get all the love it deserves. Black Muslim girls need to be able to tell their own stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism
melaniereadsbooks's review
challenging
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? No
4.5
Thank you to Netgalley and Recorded Books for an ALC of this one.
In the wake of a terrorist attack in DC, a rise in Islamophobia brings three Black Muslim teen girls together through the blog they start.
This was so good and the audiobook was--wow. With three distinct narrators, all of the POV characters really stood out to me. They were each so well-developed and original even though the book was highlighting many of their commonalities. The characters were definitely the best part for me.
I also loved that this had three separate storylines for each of the girls, but at the same time everything was connected through snippets of the blog and their facetime discussions with each other. I think this was done really well and it was also a unique way to write a book.
I also think this is dealing with really important issues and that a lot of people could benefit from reading--and will hopefully also enjoy themselves, because it is a truly spectacular book.
In the wake of a terrorist attack in DC, a rise in Islamophobia brings three Black Muslim teen girls together through the blog they start.
This was so good and the audiobook was--wow. With three distinct narrators, all of the POV characters really stood out to me. They were each so well-developed and original even though the book was highlighting many of their commonalities. The characters were definitely the best part for me.
I also loved that this had three separate storylines for each of the girls, but at the same time everything was connected through snippets of the blog and their facetime discussions with each other. I think this was done really well and it was also a unique way to write a book.
I also think this is dealing with really important issues and that a lot of people could benefit from reading--and will hopefully also enjoy themselves, because it is a truly spectacular book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, and Hate crime
starshynebrite's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Initial Thoughts: I know I'm not the target audience for this book so that won't affect my overall experience. I did gain a lot of insight about the Black Muslim experience for sure. I did have a little bit of a hard time recalling the three different POVs and it sometimes felt a little choppy, especially because with 3 different POVs it meant having 3 separate plotlines that also had one overall plotline. However, the general story was really well done and I would definitely recommend this.
Thank you to Inkyard for the copy. My review is unbiased and honest.
I can’t speak to the experiences in this book as a non Black Muslim, so I won’t be talking about that. I can say, however, that it was really insightful seeing these three unique Black Muslim experiences in this story.
I think the book did a really great job of creating this impactful and emotional story while also having some really great friendships and family relationships.
I loved the way the blog brought these three girls from all over the states together, even amidst some tragedy and struggles. It was great to see this friendship blossom!
There were a lot of quotes that really hit hard and a lot of instances where I could feel the emotion and passion. I would definitely recommend this for a story of power of a small action to start big change.
I do think that there were a lot of times throughout the book where I had a bit of a difficult time remembering which character was supposed to be doing what. While the three girls had distinct storylines, I felt like I wasn’t catching the changes in voice style, so I had to keep going back to remember who was supposed to be talking.
While I also did find the three separate stories really interesting, I felt like because of that, the larger story was put to the side and the story felt a bit choppy because it felt like too much was trying to happen. And because of the separate storylines, it felt like I didn’t get as much of an inside look into the friendship between the three girls as much as I’d have liked. The problem was that I wanted more and it felt like it was all being compressed into too short of a book to properly fill all the gaps.
Of course, I really did love the individual storylines. I loved how they each grew into their own. I especially loved Farah’s story as it was more family orientated and really heartwarming to see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Islamophobia
Moderate: Hate crime
online hate and doxxing was also briefly explored