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A review by thepetitepunk
Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
4.0
I didn't read the summary of Love, Hate, & Other Filters before starting it. This was definitely one of those books where I saw the cover, thought it was cute, and just assumed it was some cheesy romance.
However, Love, Hate, & Other Filters tackles a plethora of serious topics, from teen relationships, the college process, religious and cultural disagreements among generations, and Islamophobia. This story follows Maya, a Muslim high school senior whose dream is to make her love for filmography into a career. Although her family came from India, Maya was born and raised in America, which causes some familial controversy regarding expectations for college and relationships. Even though Maya's parents plan for her to study something practical at the close-to-home University of Chicago and maintain a relationship with a respectful, Muslim Indian boy, Maya dreams of attending New York University to study film, while also falling for a white boy named Phil.
The thing I loved about Love, Hate, & Other Filters was the careful balance of events. There were some more general"teenage issues", like discovering first loves and relationships and having issues with being able to attend one's dream college, which was realistically blended with larger, more oppressive issues, like Islamophobia, hate crimes, verbal aggression, microaggressions, etc. I think it was a very carefully executed mix of describing what it is like to grow up as a teenager who is both American and Muslim.
The only thing that kind of bothered me was Maya's relationships. She ends up kind of going out with two guys at once, one who she believes is still in a relationship. When Maya is interacting with these boys individually, I thought their relationships were sweet, but I didn't want to overlook the fact that some of Maya's and Phil's actions were a bit questionable given the other people they were still connected to.
Overall, I would highly recommend Love, Hate, & Other Filters. (Bonus points for it being an #ownvoices novel!) It's cute, frustrating, heartbreaking, and inspiring all at once.
However, Love, Hate, & Other Filters tackles a plethora of serious topics, from teen relationships, the college process, religious and cultural disagreements among generations, and Islamophobia. This story follows Maya, a Muslim high school senior whose dream is to make her love for filmography into a career. Although her family came from India, Maya was born and raised in America, which causes some familial controversy regarding expectations for college and relationships. Even though Maya's parents plan for her to study something practical at the close-to-home University of Chicago and maintain a relationship with a respectful, Muslim Indian boy, Maya dreams of attending New York University to study film, while also falling for a white boy named Phil.
The thing I loved about Love, Hate, & Other Filters was the careful balance of events. There were some more general"teenage issues", like discovering first loves and relationships and having issues with being able to attend one's dream college, which was realistically blended with larger, more oppressive issues, like Islamophobia, hate crimes, verbal aggression, microaggressions, etc. I think it was a very carefully executed mix of describing what it is like to grow up as a teenager who is both American and Muslim.
The only thing that kind of bothered me was Maya's relationships. She ends up kind of going out with two guys at once, one who she believes is still in a relationship. When Maya is interacting with these boys individually, I thought their relationships were sweet, but I didn't want to overlook the fact that some of Maya's and Phil's actions were a bit questionable given the other people they were still connected to.
Overall, I would highly recommend Love, Hate, & Other Filters. (Bonus points for it being an #ownvoices novel!) It's cute, frustrating, heartbreaking, and inspiring all at once.