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A review by starshynebrite
Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Let’s start out this review with a little celebration of the fact that there’s finally some good representation of the variety of Muslims in America. I’ve only ever read two other YA novels centered around hijabis and though they were also relatable, they were Australian and the experiences they faced weren’t as relevant as in this book. A lot of people lump Muslim women into one big category without realizing that there are so many different cultures and levels of faith. The author did a really great job representing the cultural as well the religious aspect of the Muslim community in America. I honestly felt like I was in that town and in that mosque with the few non-Muslims that would come to support them. It felt so familiar I felt almost as if I was in the book.
The main character, Janna, is a typical teenage American Muslim. She wears a hijab, has her typical teenage quirks and crushes, as well as the struggle I feel all teenage Muslims go through when they’re trying to find the balance between their faith and the need to be socially accepted as normal. Basically, the novel is about Janna’s struggle with a crush on a non-Muslim male (uh-oh, we’ve all been there, sister) and another male who isn’t quite who he seems.
What I really liked about this book was the diversity of the Muslim characters. There were non-hijabis, hijabis, and even niqabis. They were all at different levels of faith and none of them were judged by it. There was one character who did judge the other Muslim women based on their outward appearance, and sadly those kinds of people exist as well. I think it was just really great to see that even in a religious community there are different kinds of people—good and bad. Most people just lump the whole religion into one clump, but this showed that the religion didn’t completely define people.
I think the struggle that Janna went through about her “monster” was also something to which a lot of people could relate. Because of our reputations, it is often seen that instead of speaking up, we tend to stay quiet. The reasoning behind her behavior wasn’t something uncommon or crazy, because many people—including me in that situation—might have done the same.
The references to Islam and the Qur’an were very well done and it never felt like the facts were just being thrown in there to show that the characters were religious. It was always for a purpose and it was nice seeing the familiar phrases without having to think about translations or definitions. There was one particular scene that really hit me: A man was asking someone to translate what he had memorized in the Qur’an and was unable to tell him because he had only memorized the Arabic. The man had responded to this reason by basically saying “Then what’s the point?” and I know for sure it got me thinking about any of the Qur’an I have memorized… the whole point of the Qur’an is to use it as guidance. And if I don’t know the meaning of what I’m saying, what really is the point? These little things really got me thinking.
Other than the religious and cultural stuff, I really liked the character interactions. The conversations never really felt forced and everything had a purpose. I loved the brother-sister relationship with Muhammad and Janna and I especially loved Mr. Ram with her as well. The little side stories with the other characters were really amazing because they didn’t pull away from the message of the main plot.
The main character, Janna, is a typical teenage American Muslim. She wears a hijab, has her typical teenage quirks and crushes, as well as the struggle I feel all teenage Muslims go through when they’re trying to find the balance between their faith and the need to be socially accepted as normal. Basically, the novel is about Janna’s struggle with a crush on a non-Muslim male (uh-oh, we’ve all been there, sister) and another male who isn’t quite who he seems.
What I really liked about this book was the diversity of the Muslim characters. There were non-hijabis, hijabis, and even niqabis. They were all at different levels of faith and none of them were judged by it. There was one character who did judge the other Muslim women based on their outward appearance, and sadly those kinds of people exist as well. I think it was just really great to see that even in a religious community there are different kinds of people—good and bad. Most people just lump the whole religion into one clump, but this showed that the religion didn’t completely define people.
I think the struggle that Janna went through about her “monster” was also something to which a lot of people could relate. Because of our reputations, it is often seen that instead of speaking up, we tend to stay quiet. The reasoning behind her behavior wasn’t something uncommon or crazy, because many people—including me in that situation—might have done the same.
The references to Islam and the Qur’an were very well done and it never felt like the facts were just being thrown in there to show that the characters were religious. It was always for a purpose and it was nice seeing the familiar phrases without having to think about translations or definitions. There was one particular scene that really hit me: A man was asking someone to translate what he had memorized in the Qur’an and was unable to tell him because he had only memorized the Arabic. The man had responded to this reason by basically saying “Then what’s the point?” and I know for sure it got me thinking about any of the Qur’an I have memorized… the whole point of the Qur’an is to use it as guidance. And if I don’t know the meaning of what I’m saying, what really is the point? These little things really got me thinking.
Other than the religious and cultural stuff, I really liked the character interactions. The conversations never really felt forced and everything had a purpose. I loved the brother-sister relationship with Muhammad and Janna and I especially loved Mr. Ram with her as well. The little side stories with the other characters were really amazing because they didn’t pull away from the message of the main plot.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault