A review by abbie_
The Beauty of Your Face: One Woman's Life in a Nation at Odds with Its Ideals by Sahar Mustafah

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I bought a copy of The Beauty of Your Face after watching @sofia_reading host an extremely interesting interview with the author, Sahar Mustafah, on her IG page! The interview is still up on Sofia's IGTV, and I highly recommend you go watch it, and you'll probably end up buying yourself a copy too!
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Mustafah takes on a lot with this book, but she handles it all with a deftness that's impressive. The book opens up with a devastating scene in an all-girls Muslim school in Chicago, when an alt-right terrorist attacks the school. From there we travel back in time to grow up with the principal of the school Afaf, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. Afaf does not have an easy time growing up. She faces racism and xenophobia at school, her sister disappears without a trace, her mother Muntaha struggles with serious mental health issues. But as a young teen, Afaf finds some hope and solace in Islam.
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As Sofia said in her review, this book takes the narrative of young women being 'rescued' from their religion and culture in the west and throws it out the window. Afaf's relationship with religion throughout the novel is so moving and hopeful; I was so happy she was able to find some peace through her faith, and it's the kind of story we need at a time when Islamophobia is rampant.
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All the characters in The Beauty of Your Face are wonderfully complex, real, flawed, and you come to feel like you really know them. Mustafah also writes from the POV of the shooter on occasion, which is difficult to read but adds another dimension to the book. I did prefer the sections with Afaf's past (the majority of the book!) as I just love layered family stories!
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I really urge you to go and watch Sofia's interview with the author - it was so illuminating and really deepened my appreciation of the book when I read it!!
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