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A review by kieraisreading
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
5.0
5 stars.
This book shattered my heart, and then picked up the pieces and put it back together
Summary from Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder to do. She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer.
But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective.
Rukhsana realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing everyone and everything in her life
Wow. The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali was amazing. I flew through this book.
Things I didn't love
Some parts of the book were a bit unrealistic
Things I loved
The diverse characters. This book follows a Muslim lesbian teen.
The characters were great and they were all very well developed.
The writing was so beautiful.
While this read was definitely a bit heavier on substance than a regular contemporaries usually are it wasn't long or boring.
I liked how it was short and sweet.This book deals with some really serious issues that are present to today's teens and I thought that all of these issues were shown well in the book.
I liked how you got to see a glimpse into Bengali culture and learn about their food and their customs.
The dialogue and the interaction between the characters was well written.
The book was very well paced and relatively easy to follow.
"You must never let anyone take your happiness from you. You are young and strong and you must fight."
"Do you know why I have kept this veil all these years?" she said.
"Because our wore it at your wedding."
She shook her head. "No ammu. I kept it as a reminder to never let anyone force me into a life I didn't want."
Age Recommendation
Ages 14 up
Very little swearing (if any)
Romance, but just kissing
Only a few explicit scenes involving sex, but not super detailed.
Overall
I really enjoyed The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali it was a great book. While some parts were a bit unrealistic I loved how the story was written. This is definitely one of my favorites of 2019.
5 stars.
This book shattered my heart, and then picked up the pieces and put it back together
Summary from Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder to do. She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer.
But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective.
Rukhsana realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing everyone and everything in her life
Wow. The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali was amazing. I flew through this book.
Things I didn't love
Some parts of the book were a bit unrealistic
Things I loved
The diverse characters. This book follows a Muslim lesbian teen.
The characters were great and they were all very well developed.
The writing was so beautiful.
While this read was definitely a bit heavier on substance than a regular contemporaries usually are it wasn't long or boring.
I liked how it was short and sweet.This book deals with some really serious issues that are present to today's teens and I thought that all of these issues were shown well in the book.
I liked how you got to see a glimpse into Bengali culture and learn about their food and their customs.
The dialogue and the interaction between the characters was well written.
The book was very well paced and relatively easy to follow.
"You must never let anyone take your happiness from you. You are young and strong and you must fight."
"Do you know why I have kept this veil all these years?" she said.
"Because our wore it at your wedding."
She shook her head. "No ammu. I kept it as a reminder to never let anyone force me into a life I didn't want."
Age Recommendation
Ages 14 up
Very little swearing (if any)
Romance, but just kissing
Only a few explicit scenes involving sex, but not super detailed.
Overall
I really enjoyed The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali it was a great book. While some parts were a bit unrealistic I loved how the story was written. This is definitely one of my favorites of 2019.
5 stars.