A review by steel_city_peach
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Disheartening 

This book turned out to be heavier than I expected. The sad part is that it was so realistic. The way Bengali girls are encouraged to shrink themselves to be deemed as good marriage material is heartbreaking. The element of classism and colorism in this story was another hard pill to swallow. The story highlighted the suffocating homophobia in their culture. It all made me want to rescue Rukhsana and the other women in her family. She was such a tenacious main character. She refused to let her family’s beliefs and traditions extinguish her light. That was the highlight of the story for me.