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A review by starrysea98
Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed
5.0
Let me just say that I am not a crier. Yet the final few pages of this book had me tearing up. In PUBLIC.
Naila is a girl born to immigrant parents from Pakistan. She's in love with Saif, but unfortunately her parents reserve the right to choose her husband for her. This is a really fast paced story; three hundred pages cover about a few months. It's extremely readable and Naila is the kind of character that you really want to cheer on. She's determined and ready to spit destiny in the eye.
I'm a bit disappointed that we don't get a bit of insight to Naila's and Saif's relationship though. Sure, they're in love and everything but some cynical part of my brain kept popping in saying 'high school romances, man.' I would have liked a bit of backstory to their love before she left for Pakistan.
This is a great addition to anyone's shelf because you know what, it's realistic fiction. That means when you're reading it, thinking oh god I would not want to be in this situation, there ARE girls out there stuck in this very situation. The subtle themes of gender inequality and domestic violence are equally jarring. Of course, this book isn't saying all arranged marriages are bad (the author herself got married through an arranged marriage) but what it's really saying that it should be up to choice. It should be a woman's choice if she wants to get married through arrangements by her parents or she wants to get married her way or if she doesn't want to get married at all. And I think that's really important in terms of today's society because there are tons of these forced marriages going on out there, not only in Pakistan but across all different types of nations, cultures and races.
Naila is a girl born to immigrant parents from Pakistan. She's in love with Saif, but unfortunately her parents reserve the right to choose her husband for her. This is a really fast paced story; three hundred pages cover about a few months. It's extremely readable and Naila is the kind of character that you really want to cheer on. She's determined and ready to spit destiny in the eye.
I'm a bit disappointed that we don't get a bit of insight to Naila's and Saif's relationship though. Sure, they're in love and everything but some cynical part of my brain kept popping in saying 'high school romances, man.' I would have liked a bit of backstory to their love before she left for Pakistan.
This is a great addition to anyone's shelf because you know what, it's realistic fiction. That means when you're reading it, thinking oh god I would not want to be in this situation, there ARE girls out there stuck in this very situation. The subtle themes of gender inequality and domestic violence are equally jarring. Of course, this book isn't saying all arranged marriages are bad (the author herself got married through an arranged marriage) but what it's really saying that it should be up to choice. It should be a woman's choice if she wants to get married through arrangements by her parents or she wants to get married her way or if she doesn't want to get married at all. And I think that's really important in terms of today's society because there are tons of these forced marriages going on out there, not only in Pakistan but across all different types of nations, cultures and races.