dari03's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emilyusuallyreading's review against another edition
3.0
What I Liked
Race relations between immigrants and born-citizens, between Muslim people and white people, are very real - and this is why I wanted to read this novel. I was surprised, but not unhappy to find that this was placed in Australia. I did not realize there were some of these same social issues there, but it completely makes sense that there would be.
What I Didn't Like
I honestly never understood the love between Michael & Mina. It never makes sense... it fits awkwardly, like two puzzle pieces shoved together for no reason.
The viewpoints are EXTREME in one way or the other. There are few subtle racist comments, although some are there. The anti-immigration and racist view points are extremely extreme... and this made the book's opposition fall flat for me.
Race relations between immigrants and born-citizens, between Muslim people and white people, are very real - and this is why I wanted to read this novel. I was surprised, but not unhappy to find that this was placed in Australia. I did not realize there were some of these same social issues there, but it completely makes sense that there would be.
What I Didn't Like
I honestly never understood the love between Michael & Mina. It never makes sense... it fits awkwardly, like two puzzle pieces shoved together for no reason.
The viewpoints are EXTREME in one way or the other. There are few subtle racist comments, although some are there. The anti-immigration and racist view points are extremely extreme... and this made the book's opposition fall flat for me.
emilyusuallyreading's review against another edition
3.0
What I Liked
The issues broached here are disturbingly relevant, including the arguments that Michael's parents throw out. I've heard the same hate speech in my own town - and by people that I love! The thought of a forbidden romance between a Muslim girl and a boy who is the child of far-right activists was fascinating and intriguing.
What I Didn't Like
The romance never did make sense to me. Michael said way too many thoughtless things, to the point that it shocked me that Mina could ever feel attraction to him to even let him in enough - and it also confuses me that Michael would feel attraction to her.
Also, the extremism was very extreme. Nuanced negative opinions almost would have made the book even more powerful.
The issues broached here are disturbingly relevant, including the arguments that Michael's parents throw out. I've heard the same hate speech in my own town - and by people that I love! The thought of a forbidden romance between a Muslim girl and a boy who is the child of far-right activists was fascinating and intriguing.
What I Didn't Like
The romance never did make sense to me. Michael said way too many thoughtless things, to the point that it shocked me that Mina could ever feel attraction to him to even let him in enough - and it also confuses me that Michael would feel attraction to her.
Also, the extremism was very extreme. Nuanced negative opinions almost would have made the book even more powerful.
leavingsealevel's review against another edition
4.0
The Internet said to read this instead of that hideous-sounding American Heart book, so I did. It's really good, although YA contemporary isn't really my thing necessarily.
alisarae's review against another edition
This book was pretty cute. The blurb tells the entire story though (conservative upper class white boy falls in love with Afghani immigrant), so there were zero surprises. A good lesson this book shows is that just because a person is kind or nice does not mean they don't have racist beliefs. Teens realizing that they believe something different then their parents, and how that is okay, is at the heart of this story.
The audiobook is pretty good. The story is set in Australia and the actors have Aussie accents.
PS the Australian edition cover is SO MUCH MORE SUITED to the story. Maybe the cover designer wanted to make a more "masculine" cover for the US edition?? But the US cover doesn't give you a feel for the story at all.
The audiobook is pretty good. The story is set in Australia and the actors have Aussie accents.
PS the Australian edition cover is SO MUCH MORE SUITED to the story. Maybe the cover designer wanted to make a more "masculine" cover for the US edition?? But the US cover doesn't give you a feel for the story at all.
emdowd's review against another edition
3.0
Fun audio book - both readers were engaging and added to the double sided story.
Mina was feisty and perfect and Michael's transformation was well handled and believable.
Mina was feisty and perfect and Michael's transformation was well handled and believable.
beccarose94's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nezzaaa's review against another edition
Abandoned half-way.
The main character was pretty unrealistic. She always seems to have the perfect response to everything and makes friends so easily on the first day of school. The romance was terrible and forced, and I felt that all the characters were extremely exaggerated. Also, Mina is portrayed as Muslim but I feel like it wasn't really an aspect of her character. It was only mentioned about twice in the book, which is strange because the whole thing is about Islamophobia/prejudice/racism.
I feel like people who are fans of YA would like it, I think I'm just a bit picky. Overall, really good plot, representation etc. and the writing is great, just the characters are a bit extreme, but I guess that's typical of any YA book.
The main character was pretty unrealistic. She always seems to have the perfect response to everything and makes friends so easily on the first day of school. The romance was terrible and forced, and I felt that all the characters were extremely exaggerated. Also, Mina is portrayed as Muslim but I feel like it wasn't really an aspect of her character. It was only mentioned about twice in the book, which is strange because the whole thing is about Islamophobia/prejudice/racism.
I feel like people who are fans of YA would like it, I think I'm just a bit picky. Overall, really good plot, representation etc. and the writing is great, just the characters are a bit extreme, but I guess that's typical of any YA book.
flamingo11's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
evanthiaaa's review against another edition
3.5
I read it for school and actually enjoyed it The theme was conveyed well in my opinion and I think it had some good lessons. 3.5 ⭐️