A review by prehistoricpotatoes
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense 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

4.5

My favourite Jalaluddin book. So many good quotes and life lessons. I loved the characterisation of Rashid and Kawkab Khala, and how Hana dealt with the restaurant being threatened in a revengeful way first, then felt remorse, was realistic and relatable. 

notes/quotes:
- "And even the Oort cloud is a tiny part of our much larger galaxy, which in turn is part of a much larger local group of galaxies, and in turn part of a local supercluster, which in turn is part another cluster ... In the end there are one hundred billion galaxies in the known universe, and who knows what beyond. 
I like to think of our tiny-speck-of-dust Earth wrapped inside its snug little Kuiper belt, cocooned somewhere inside the massive Oort cloud, completely undetectable inside a universe so massive there is no comparison. And here we are, living and dying, completely unaware of all that lies beyond. 
Terrifying, but also comforting, especially when things happen that are hard to understand. 
The first chapter of the Quran is called Surah Al-Fatiha, or "The Opening," and Muslims recite it with every prayer. One of the verses translates to 
"Praise be to God, lord of all the worlds." 
Worlds, plural. There's a metaphor in there. 
Some solid advice too. 
The world is vast, but not as vast as you think. 
The worlds are plentiful, but you happen to be stuck on this one, with little chance of escape. 
After some recent events, I'm even more determined to make my time on this globe count, to fight harder for what I want and against anything that may hold me back."

- ""If the people are changing, that means we're still alive. Only living things change, he always said."

- "The result didn't look 
like it belonged on Golden Crescent, I thought, then reconsidered. Our neighbour-hood deserved beautiful spaces too."

- "Storytelling helped us forget for a little while. That's when I realized I wanted to tell stories for the rest of my life.""

-""No, you don't," I replied. "You want to hear me retell the stories you tell yourself about people who look like me.""

- "Rashid's Second Law of Enthusiastic Fresh 
Starts is to build a dam-and then a hydroelectric power station right beside it to make money while your world is changing."


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