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A review by photogcourt
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
4.0
So many thoughts about this book, which I actually listened to on audio and was very happy with that choice. The narrator was amazing, and did spot on accents and pronunciations which really added to the cultural element of this book in a way my own mind would not have. Really recommend going that route.
At times I was a bit annoyed with, and over, the youthful tone of this book in some areas - but I kept reminding myself that this is what I get for picking a teen novel. However, the overall themes are not "teen," they are quite large and Sabina Khan tackled very heavy themes: LGBT, racial and religious minorities, anti-LGBT in Muslim and Bangladeshi communities, inter-racial marriage/relationships, arranged marriage, rape/assault, violence against women and LGBT individuals, the intersections between family culture and growing up in America culture...there was just so much, and for this I definitely give five stars, but averaging to four with my general feelings about some of the other aspects.
I took away a lot from this book, despite it being fiction I know that it isn't fictionalized. The issues in this book are real-life issues, and reading this as a fictional tale did a lot to get into the mind of a person vs. just reading facts and stats. A main takeaway I had was Rukhsana's relationships with her white American friends. I was often frustrated by their unwillingness to fully listen to Rukhsana and the problems that she faced at home because of her parent's cultural and religious ideals/beliefs. It really hit home the disconnect between Americans and others, in the way that Americans seem to not listen and just believe that anyone can do whatever they want. They disregarded Rukhsana's intersections on many occasions and would get mad at her or not listen when she tried to explain what was happening in her life, why she couldn't come out to her parents, etc. etc. I felt like it made me sad to realize this is a real experience for a lot of our minority kids probably, and I think more discussion and consciousness raising needs to be done in this area.
I am interested to see what Khan will work on next, I believe her work is important in teen spaces and I hope a lot of middle-grade and high school age people are able to read this and get those important themes.
At times I was a bit annoyed with, and over, the youthful tone of this book in some areas - but I kept reminding myself that this is what I get for picking a teen novel. However, the overall themes are not "teen," they are quite large and Sabina Khan tackled very heavy themes: LGBT, racial and religious minorities, anti-LGBT in Muslim and Bangladeshi communities, inter-racial marriage/relationships, arranged marriage, rape/assault, violence against women and LGBT individuals, the intersections between family culture and growing up in America culture...there was just so much, and for this I definitely give five stars, but averaging to four with my general feelings about some of the other aspects.
I took away a lot from this book, despite it being fiction I know that it isn't fictionalized. The issues in this book are real-life issues, and reading this as a fictional tale did a lot to get into the mind of a person vs. just reading facts and stats. A main takeaway I had was Rukhsana's relationships with her white American friends. I was often frustrated by their unwillingness to fully listen to Rukhsana and the problems that she faced at home because of her parent's cultural and religious ideals/beliefs. It really hit home the disconnect between Americans and others, in the way that Americans seem to not listen and just believe that anyone can do whatever they want. They disregarded Rukhsana's intersections on many occasions and would get mad at her or not listen when she tried to explain what was happening in her life, why she couldn't come out to her parents, etc. etc. I felt like it made me sad to realize this is a real experience for a lot of our minority kids probably, and I think more discussion and consciousness raising needs to be done in this area.
I am interested to see what Khan will work on next, I believe her work is important in teen spaces and I hope a lot of middle-grade and high school age people are able to read this and get those important themes.