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A review by aruajuanita
All-American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney
5.0
Living in 2020 as a Muslim means expecting, and accepting, anti-Muslim racism in a lot of public spaces. Hiding the Muslim identity is not as uncommon, especially when you can fully emerge with society and pass as White or an “oriental beauty”.
In this realistic fiction novel we get to know Alia “Allie” Abraham, a Circassian-Syrian American, who comes from a Muslim family that doesn’t practice their faith. Quite the opposite actually. When her father first came to the US he changed his name legally to the neutral sounding “Abraham” and did not only integrate but actually assimilated into the US-American society.
As anti-Muslim racism is growing and she witnesses racist remarks and discussions among her friends, Allie starts to embrace her faith by reading, studying and finally, practicing it. While she is trying to find a balance between her new friend circle (some sort of MSA), her family, the disappointment of her father, when he learned that she wants to practice her faith, and her boyfriend, she keeps asking herself one question over and over again: “What is a good Muslim?” and will she ever truly be one?
I really appreciated this novel because it never felt forced or inorganic. Her struggles as a young Muslim woman who tries to fit in but also practice her faith, is something very familiar. It makes you question your sense of belonging, your identity, what it means to fall in love, how to build your community and which friends you’re allowed to have.
Even though it can be a little bit too much, but Courtney deconstructs so many stereotypes and myths about Islam and Muslims that it can also be read by someone who doesn’t know anything about this religion - and she is doing all of that through the lense of young Allie!
One of the things that stood out to me from other Muslim YA novels is the aspect of the language (believe me, I am saving this topic for another time). This is one of the rare books that I have read where the protagonist actually puts effort and time to learn Arabic and don’t only associate Arabic with her extended family. This is something you don’t read often in US-American books.
So, yes, do not only enjoy this cute cover but also the cute story!
In this realistic fiction novel we get to know Alia “Allie” Abraham, a Circassian-Syrian American, who comes from a Muslim family that doesn’t practice their faith. Quite the opposite actually. When her father first came to the US he changed his name legally to the neutral sounding “Abraham” and did not only integrate but actually assimilated into the US-American society.
As anti-Muslim racism is growing and she witnesses racist remarks and discussions among her friends, Allie starts to embrace her faith by reading, studying and finally, practicing it. While she is trying to find a balance between her new friend circle (some sort of MSA), her family, the disappointment of her father, when he learned that she wants to practice her faith, and her boyfriend, she keeps asking herself one question over and over again: “What is a good Muslim?” and will she ever truly be one?
I really appreciated this novel because it never felt forced or inorganic. Her struggles as a young Muslim woman who tries to fit in but also practice her faith, is something very familiar. It makes you question your sense of belonging, your identity, what it means to fall in love, how to build your community and which friends you’re allowed to have.
Even though it can be a little bit too much, but Courtney deconstructs so many stereotypes and myths about Islam and Muslims that it can also be read by someone who doesn’t know anything about this religion - and she is doing all of that through the lense of young Allie!
One of the things that stood out to me from other Muslim YA novels is the aspect of the language (believe me, I am saving this topic for another time). This is one of the rare books that I have read where the protagonist actually puts effort and time to learn Arabic and don’t only associate Arabic with her extended family. This is something you don’t read often in US-American books.
So, yes, do not only enjoy this cute cover but also the cute story!