Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - This Is Why They Hate Us

Ugh this book was so good i’m so upset that it’s over!! This book hit me in ways others didn’t. Enrique‘s descriptions of his mental health and his insecurities surrounding himself in comparison to other queer people around him is so relatable it hurts. The discussion around biphobia was especially personal to me as well, and was done perfectly.
All the side characters were so incredibly well written!! I had an emotional attachment to everyone in this book and I honestly did not know how this book would end, which I loved!
Overall this is an amazing and touching novel that dives into issues surrounding queer communities, racism, religious bigotry, and so many more topics that need to be more discussed in our society.

Content Warnings

dagaezoomer19's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful 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

3.5

Content Warnings

litoreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

blakeandbooks's review

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted 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

This book felt so genuine to me from conversations/arguments between friends, mental health struggles as a teenager, and the MMC exploring his sexuality (he identifies as bisexual). I saw one of the people I follow on Instagram recommend this book to me, and I’m so glad they posted about it! I know some people aren’t interested in young adult fiction, but it is seriously some of the most genuine literature I read! It can be so difficult not to feel comfortable in who you are and have a crush on your best friend.

Fabiola is Afro-Latina, Quique’s best friend, and she is also bisexual! Some of their dialogue had me cackling! I love seeing great banter between friends. AND I also love seeing realistic arguments/disagreements between friends in books and how they made up. Friendships are not black and white! They’re complicated and messy and beautiful, and Aceves did such an incredible job at showing so much nuance in these characters and their relationships with one another.

Figuring out who you are in the world, especially as a teenager can be so overwhelming. Hell, it’s even difficult now for me sometimes at 26. Quique’s experiences felt so real and easy to relate to. Over the summer, he’s trying to get over his best friend, Saleem, who is visiting his family for 3 weeks, so Quique is hoping he can find ways to spend time with some of the boys he has crushes on to find out whether or not they feel a bit of the same. I personally thought the sex scenes were tasteful, and it wasn’t smut, but it was just realistic representations that teenagers do in fact have sex.

Saleem and Quique’s relationship from the get go is full of tension! I love how they can understand each other by just looking at one another, and I love how realistic it is to be so terrified that your best friend won’t feel the same as you do that you just don’t say anything at all… until you do !!

I loved Qique’s relationship with his parents, especially his mom. One of the quotes that made me cry was, “‘I wish I could say something comforting and wise,’ my mom begins, ‘but I can’t think of anything. This is gonna hurt, kid. It’s gonna continue to hurt. For a while.’ I’m about to make a sarcastic response about the dour nature of her words, but she continues. ‘But one day it won’t. And it won’t be because someone else has taken his place, and it won’t be because you’ve forgotten him. It’ll be because heartbreak, like any other injury will heal when you give it time.’”

The mental health representation in this book made me feel so seen 😭 As someone who has chronic depression, it is such a breath of fresh air to see other characters, and be able to read their inner thoughts about how they feel and their exploration into their own thoughts, mental health, and growth. When he asks to return to therapy, I was SO happy to see this. We need these type of books out in the world! Where everyone, no matter your age range, understands that it’s okay not to be okay, and sometimes we have to ask for help and seek guidance through therapy. The discussion around medication was so appreciated. I take antidepressants for my depression and obsessive compulsive thoughts, and it has made all the difference in my life. Luciana prefaces that medication is “not a miracle solution,” and work still needs to be put in!

There are so many great quotes in this book! Highly recommend.

Content Warnings

immaculate's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

3.75

sooooooo so cute

Content Warnings

wheeliebridge's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

A fantastic book with a beautiful, funny, and heartfelt story following a bisexual teen trying to figure out life in our fucked up world.

Content Warnings

jaelovesbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I loved 90% of this book and I adored the main character. He was well written and interesting. His experiences were relatable. The 10% I took issue with concerned me deeply.

It was his relationship with a teacher. Kids need queer adults in their lives and the MC definitely needed some advice from a mature queer person. BUT it wasn’t okay for the teacher to hit on him on an app (the MC lied about his age; teacher didn’t know) and then still invite him into his home alone once he found out that the his date was actually an underage student. The MC proceeds to hit on and flirt with the teacher; no, the teacher doesn’t reciprocate but he doesn’t put proper boundaries in place. I was frustrated because I really liked the teacher initially, but I don’t think it was appropriate how this interaction went in the book. If the teacher wanted to give advice, they should’ve gone to a public, neutral place. They absolutely should not have been alone in the teacher’s home. Also, this happened twice, and the teacher has to ask the MC to please note tell anyone. Absolutely sketchy. Different boundaries should have been modeled imo.

Content Warnings

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. Most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book.

I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not.

Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

My friend Jillian recommended this and I’m so glad she did! I thought this was a beautiful explorative coming-of-age, romance & slice-of-life piece of teen fiction. 17-year-old Enrique “Qique” is exploring his bisexuality during summer break, and I am here for his messy, confusing, quick-paced ho era (affectionate!!!!)

His relationship with his parents is so sweet, and I adored the dynamic he had with his Afro-Latina best friend Fabiola, who is also bisexual! Fabiola is chasing after thick-thighed Molly, while Qique has a few contenders!

Manny — Latino tough guy exterior but sends major sexual tension Qique’ away
Tyler — white guy who shows off his package via basketball shorts & is the talk of the town; also a huge stoner & other characters call him a “wanksta”
Ziggy — buttoned-up Black student body president from school who he feels *vibes* around but everyone comments “I didn’t think he liked boys”
Saleem — his devastatingly gorgeous, short Palestinian king, his unrequited love, pining so passionately for, long time crush and best friend
Lauren — meets her at a county fair or amusement park in a group setting

What I enjoyed most about a lot of Qique’s interactions with all of his potential love interests us that he didn’t have to continually “come out” to his love interests. For the most part, they didn’t talk about their sexualities, which felt authentic to how things unravel when you’re a teenager. I also was so proud of Qique for recognizing what kinds of dynamics worked for him, how hanging out with certain people made him feel, & what he truly wanted & was searching for in these experiences.

I think Aceves did a fantastic job of layering the sex scenes in this book with commentary and introspection as to what was coming up for Qique each time. Nothing is explicit; this isn’t smût, but books like this are important for teens to investigate their own sexuality, because let’s be real. Teens are fucking. Let’s not pretend we were born yesterday. It’s important to name these feelings as they’re experiencing them, and to read about characters figuring it out as they possibly fumble through it!

Lastly, the mental health representation was immaculate — to pretend adolescence is a fever dream of solely joyful times is to deny the human experience lol. I felt for Qique so badly! I am so glad there was talk therapy in this book, and how Qique recognized that maybe he still needed these types of guided conversations. The way medication is introduced and not demonized was wonderful too.

All around, this was an excellent book and I highly recommend it to all ages, but damn, I wish I had a book like this when I was fucking at 17.

Quotations that stood out to me:

Let’s do the things that will lead to us becoming the people we want to be.”

My best friend is kind of a big deal when it comes to social media. She posts everything from political opinions to astrology memes to thirst traps to comments on her celebrity crushes’ thirst traps to analysis of her favorite shows to thoughts on the Afro-Latina experience, and has gained an almost cult following along the way. One time she posted a video of us together with the caption Me and the baby daddy, and I started getting vaguely threatening DMs from hot girls with septum piercings.

It would be so much easier not to feel anything for anyone at all. The problem is I feel so much.

“Because boys are the worst. If I could choose not to be attracted to them, I would.”

I grip my phone so hard I wonder if I might actually crush it. I did it. I’m amazing. A true queer icon.

It’s funny how everything’s a double entendre when you’re living a double life.

I’m done with people. People are exhausting. Sure, they can be fun sometimes; they can “open you up to new experiences” or whatever. But the anxiety leading up to spending time with them and the emotional drain afterward make them not worth it.

I want a person to demonstrate that it’s possible to love me, no matter what. And those three words are so important: no matter what. I want someone to love me unconditionally. I want to be certain that nothing I could ever do would make them stop.

(And yes, the official name of a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope. I found that out a year ago after fact-checking a Simpsons episode that claimed a flock of crows is called a murder. The show writers were right, and I’m glad to say there are plenty of strange collective animal names. A squad of flamingos is called a flamboyance! How wonderfully gay! A clique of frogs is called an army! Who are they fighting? I don’t know, but I support them!)

I don’t know. And I shouldn’t care. Because this is exhausting. I’m tired of being envious of people. It’s a never-ending list.

They are living, not just surviving. And I hate them for it. And I hate myself for hating them for it.

It always happens in the summer. People are supposed to get sad in the winter, but for me it’s always the summer. There’s too much time. Too much time to think. Too much time to feel. I

Here’s the thing about therapists: I always know what they’re gonna say. I know how I should be, how I should feel, what’s “healthy behavior.” But there’s a reason I don’t always go in that direction. When you’re poor and overworked you don’t go to the grocery store after your shift ends to shop and then go home to slave over the stove, even if that’s the healthier, more cost-efficient option. When you’re poor and overworked you go to McDonald’s, and even though you already feel guilty for ordering a large Big Mac meal, you throw in a strawberry shake because there’s a chance that fucking ...more

So often I blame myself for being lazy and dramatic, and while I’m sure I can’t blame everything on my mental illness(es), I just don’t want to be making it all up.

I’d rather not die after finding out how much there is to live for.

There’s a tension between us now, unmistakable and unwelcome.

You internalize an idea about yourself and it starts affecting how you act and you end up with a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I’m constantly doubting my attractions, my actual feelings. I’m gaslighting myself. Because the message I’ve gotten about guys who like guys and girls is that we’re faking, that we couldn’t possibly be attracted to girls if we’re attracted to boys. Bi girls get the same thing, but for them it means they’re perceived as straight and for us it means we’re perceived as gay.

Is this what those guys on the app meant when they put “not into drama” in their bios? They don’t want someone who will call them out on their bullshit? Who demands to be treated like a human being?

I hate that prejudice is a factor when it comes to my love life. I hate that it makes it seem like I see women as a second choice or a backup plan or a consolation prize when I could very well meet a girl one day who makes me redefine love. I want to be free. I don’t want to consider what people will think of me when it comes to what I want. But that’s not life. At least, not for me, not at this point in time. I hope eventually I find the courage to follow my heart when I need to, wherever it takes me.

Thinking about the fact that so many people have used religion as a way of making people like me and Saleem hate ourselves is crushing. But then I think about my parents (who still love me) and how no one group is a monolith, that no matter what your religion is, you can still choose to love others.

I don’t deserve to feel shame, to feel lonely, to be treated like a sex object, to be ignored, to be someone’s experiment. I definitely don’t deserve any of that. And I’m glad I know that now. It’s a feeling I hope doesn’t leave me for the rest of my life.

It’s not ideal, not anywhere close to that, but we make it an enchanted life. We bisexuals are, after all, mythical creatures.

I feel the weight of it, and it hurts. But I stop blocking the fear. And with it comes everything else. Joy and sadness and exhilaration.

Content Warnings

More...