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fareehareads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There are a combination of reasons why this book didn't particularly work for me, but it might just be your next favorite read so take all that I say with a grain of salt!
I've been on a contemporary YA romance kick recently (its a prerequisite that it must be gay) and this one jumped out when I saw there would be queer Muslim rep written by a non Muslim author. But first the premise, this is a story following a bisexual latino teen named Enrique who is trying desperately to get over his feelings for the Muslim boy in his life by quite literally entangling himself with other boys to get over a Palestinian boy named Saleem. It fails miserably or (without spoiling too much) wonderfully.
Saleem is literally the the first time I've encountered this type of representation. As a queer Muslim familiar with people's harsh expectations and general opinions of queer Muslims (from straight and queer people alike) I picked it up. Unfortunately, Saleem is really not the main focus of this book since he's off the page and mostly just idealized in Enrique's mind, but throughout this book I realized that I was starved for something in the perspective of a Saleem (will be picking up some other books for further reading)
But back to Enrique's story. A lot of it was hard to read since I am not the target audience and so the cringe I felt was akin to the therapist's horror when Quique told her about his encounter with his high school teacher and she was initially horrified. That initial feeling? Yeah it was with me whenever he did something spectacularly dumb. or when there was just a lot of descriptions of how much he saw every single person he interacted with in terms of their desirability or his attraction to them (my ace brain could not comprehend this at all). But I kept reading because there was a creeping sadness and fear that I've noticed at the center of a lot of young adult queer stories. Kids like this deserve to see themselves on a page. If it feels like a mirror to read something like this, then this author achieved a great thing by publishing this for the world to read. I really believe in the power of a queer story, no matter the writing, no matter the mess, these stories take hold and stick with people for a long time.
The third act of the book is what fell flat for me honestly. I had hoped there would be a moment for Saleem to be the one to drag Enrique out of his fantasy world of infatuation & desire and into the real world of fumbling words and bold unwavering trust (their lines to each other at the end were very sweet). It would have made his character more well rounded if he had a few more scenes or if he disrupted Enrique when he least expected it. But I digress. As far as the representation goes, I think his character was pretty well written with a few notes that are nitpicky and not serious oversights. I can't speak to how a queer Palestinian person would feel reading this of course, I can only speak to the Muslim aspect, but for me it worked. I wanted him to be more, but I'm happy with where it ended.
It would have been 4 stars if the reading experience was more positive for me, so I'll leave it at 3.5. I really do recommend it though! There's something in these queer books for everyone in my opinion and I have no regrets taking this ride.
I've been on a contemporary YA romance kick recently (its a prerequisite that it must be gay) and this one jumped out when I saw there would be queer Muslim rep written by a non Muslim author. But first the premise, this is a story following a bisexual latino teen named Enrique who is trying desperately to get over his feelings for the Muslim boy in his life by quite literally entangling himself with other boys to get over a Palestinian boy named Saleem. It fails miserably or (without spoiling too much) wonderfully.
Saleem is literally the the first time I've encountered this type of representation. As a queer Muslim familiar with people's harsh expectations and general opinions of queer Muslims (from straight and queer people alike) I picked it up. Unfortunately, Saleem is really not the main focus of this book since he's off the page and mostly just idealized in Enrique's mind, but throughout this book I realized that I was starved for something in the perspective of a Saleem (will be picking up some other books for further reading)
But back to Enrique's story. A lot of it was hard to read since I am not the target audience and so the cringe I felt was akin to the therapist's horror when
The third act of the book is what fell flat for me honestly. I had hoped there would be a moment for Saleem to be the one to drag Enrique out of his fantasy world of infatuation & desire and into the real world of fumbling words and bold unwavering trust (their lines to each other at the end were very sweet). It would have made his character more well rounded if he had a few more scenes or if he disrupted Enrique when he least expected it. But I digress. As far as the representation goes, I think his character was pretty well written with a few notes that are nitpicky and not serious oversights. I can't speak to how a queer Palestinian person would feel reading this of course, I can only speak to the Muslim aspect, but for me it worked. I wanted him to be more, but I'm happy with where it ended.
It would have been 4 stars if the reading experience was more positive for me, so I'll leave it at 3.5. I really do recommend it though! There's something in these queer books for everyone in my opinion and I have no regrets taking this ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Biphobia and Toxic friendship
lim's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Biphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Outing
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
Sexualizing underage characters, biphobic stereotypes, Christian supremacist undertones, pro traditional marriage message.patricktreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book was everything. It gave me “They Both Die” vibes without both of them dying. That intensity was there and the pain was definitely felt, but also the joy. I also loved that we had the middle eastern representation. You don’t get to see that a lot in LGBTQ+ stories.
It should definitely have content warnings in it though because some of the topics can get very dark.
It should definitely have content warnings in it though because some of the topics can get very dark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Racism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
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