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nataliecoyne's review
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
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? No
3.25
Solid 3.25 stars. That being said (and before I get into why), I think this would be a great book for teens to read (you know, the typical target audience for YA). From the fact that it focuses on the Black Muslim experience (which is very underrepresented) to the power of young people using their voices for good (and the power of friendship and all), it has great lessons.
But, I'm not a teen. I'm 27, and so this book just didn't hit the spot for me. That's fine, like I said the typical target audience for YA is teenagers. I'm an adult who knowingly picked up a YA book, but the reason I did was because there are a lot of YA books I do like and the plot seemed interesting (plus, again, the representation of such an underrepresented community). Unfortunately, the overarching plot didn't seem really that strong, and that it was more mini-plots and some slices of life of the three teenage main characters.
What made that worse is that, while I found Sabriya's story to be very compelling and Zakat's to be somewhat compelling, I couldn't really get into Farah's story. Yes, again, I appreciate her strong sense of justice and using her voice, but the things with her dad, siblings, boyfriend, computer science, etc., well, it just lost me. That's also why I only find Zakat's story somewhat compelling, as the stuff about deciding on colleges, whether she will stay in-state or go out-of-state, just lost me. These are probably very relatable for teenagers, but it just made this not the book for me.
An actual critique I have, though, is that this book was a bit outdated for the fact it was only published in 2022. I do love reading acknowledgments so I see the author mentioned starting this book in 2017, and that's probably why, but I think it should've undergone another round of editing to make sure it still stood up to when it was published. The references to Trump's Muslim ban, and the fact there were questions about if the characters ever used Zoom before (and one of the characters hadn't), made it seem outdated. Post-2020 (and, again, this book was published in 2022), Americans who have never used Zoom are the overwhelming minority.
That's all I really have to say. I recommend it for teenagers. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend this for those of us who are adults, even those of us who do enjoy a lot of YA.
As a final observation, I did begin to wonder about three-quarters of the way through if Sabriya was somewhat of a self-insert for the author. This isn't a critique per se, Sabriya's story was the most compelling to me (as I previously mentioned), but the fact both are from DC and the character's name (Sabriya) resembles the author's last name (Sabreen) made me very curious about this.
But, I'm not a teen. I'm 27, and so this book just didn't hit the spot for me. That's fine, like I said the typical target audience for YA is teenagers. I'm an adult who knowingly picked up a YA book, but the reason I did was because there are a lot of YA books I do like and the plot seemed interesting (plus, again, the representation of such an underrepresented community). Unfortunately, the overarching plot didn't seem really that strong, and that it was more mini-plots and some slices of life of the three teenage main characters.
What made that worse is that, while I found Sabriya's story to be very compelling and Zakat's to be somewhat compelling, I couldn't really get into Farah's story. Yes, again, I appreciate her strong sense of justice and using her voice, but the things with her dad, siblings, boyfriend, computer science, etc., well, it just lost me. That's also why I only find Zakat's story somewhat compelling, as the stuff about deciding on colleges, whether she will stay in-state or go out-of-state, just lost me. These are probably very relatable for teenagers, but it just made this not the book for me.
An actual critique I have, though, is that this book was a bit outdated for the fact it was only published in 2022. I do love reading acknowledgments so I see the author mentioned starting this book in 2017, and that's probably why, but I think it should've undergone another round of editing to make sure it still stood up to when it was published. The references to Trump's Muslim ban, and the fact there were questions about if the characters ever used Zoom before (and one of the characters hadn't), made it seem outdated. Post-2020 (and, again, this book was published in 2022), Americans who have never used Zoom are the overwhelming minority.
That's all I really have to say. I recommend it for teenagers. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend this for those of us who are adults, even those of us who do enjoy a lot of YA.
As a final observation, I did begin to wonder about three-quarters of the way through if Sabriya was somewhat of a self-insert for the author. This isn't a critique per se, Sabriya's story was the most compelling to me (as I previously mentioned), but the fact both are from DC and the character's name (Sabriya) resembles the author's last name (Sabreen) made me very curious about this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Violence, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Racial slurs, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Stalking
Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia
bookedandbusy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
This was an absolutely incredible book about standing up for what you believe in and having the courage to be yourself, it’s about stomping out hate with love and raising your voice about what really matters. Such an incredible story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Violence, and Islamophobia
Minor: Police brutality