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booksonthefloor 's review for:
Ayesha at Last
by Uzma Jalaluddin
3.5, but I round up.
This book is super cute and very light. I saw a lot of growth in the main characters, particularly Khalid. Lately, in my own life, I have been trying to find the "gray" in situations and purposefully notice that people's actions are rarely black and white. This is a journey that Khalid also goes on; he learns that there is not one "right" way to be Muslim, as long as you are not hurting other people. He had to wrestle with his mother's pious interpretation of Islam. Her actions are not solely a result of her practicing a more conservative religion; he learns that they also come from a place of fear and pride. This story encapsulated that life is more nuanced than the stereotypes you were raised in (or led to believe from the outside looking in.)
If I were to make one criticism, it's that the "villains" (and there are definitely villains in this story) are kinda flat characters. They are kinda "all bad," with Khalid's boss in particular having really zero redeeming qualities. As a plot point, this works. But in a book about seeing the gray, this character, in particular, is pretty black and white.
This book is super cute and very light. I saw a lot of growth in the main characters, particularly Khalid. Lately, in my own life, I have been trying to find the "gray" in situations and purposefully notice that people's actions are rarely black and white. This is a journey that Khalid also goes on; he learns that there is not one "right" way to be Muslim, as long as you are not hurting other people. He had to wrestle with his mother's pious interpretation of Islam. Her actions are not solely a result of her practicing a more conservative religion; he learns that they also come from a place of fear and pride. This story encapsulated that life is more nuanced than the stereotypes you were raised in (or led to believe from the outside looking in.)
If I were to make one criticism, it's that the "villains" (and there are definitely villains in this story) are kinda flat characters. They are kinda "all bad," with Khalid's boss in particular having really zero redeeming qualities. As a plot point, this works. But in a book about seeing the gray, this character, in particular, is pretty black and white.