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kevinmccarrick's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
suzharold's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Fun and interesting, though it bogs down a bit near the end as the author has the characters say out loud everything they're learned and the theme of the book. But the friendship dynamic is good and I enjoyed learning a bit more about Muslim community.
joana_stormblessed's review against another edition
4.0
really enjoyed this audiobook. it was a lot of fun but I hoped for the ending to not be so "abrupt"
claudiaslibrarycard's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lynn_perry's review against another edition
4.0
This is a lovely story about 3 friends who become more like family. They go on a summer road trip and explore the connections of family both close and estranged from New York down to New Orleans. They discuss identity, sexuality, community, and religion.
indecisivesailorscout's review against another edition
3.0
Even though it's a pretty basic slice of life story, it felt a lot more down to Earth and realistic than most contemporaries on this vein. The humor was spot on, and the characters all felt unique and true to themselves. There wasn't really an ending, or any type of closure to really any kind of goal, but weirdly, it actually worked. I probably finished it in about 4 hours and enjoyed it immensely despite it just being a road trip novel and not anything more than that. Would recommend!
maryehavens's review against another edition
4.0
Another Blind Date winner!
I loved the self-discovery and acceptance each character had during the road trip. It was also telling that all three of them were very aware of their "Brownness" when they went anywhere, particularly the South. I wish that would change....I'm assuming that Karim set this book in present times which made it even harder to swallow that the racism Mariam, Ghaz, and Umar faced are still all over the place. I didn't feel that when we traveled in the Deep South recently but, I'm White. That may seem like a DUH but you don't know what you don't know. Working on it.
The pace of this book was very fast, hence the two day speed through :)
I was appalled by Mariam's father - what a tool! Ghazala's mother as well. Maybe it's cultural, as Karim insinuated over and over again, but it seems like treating your kids like crap is not healthy for the culture. Of course, Mariam's mom and Umar's parents were not like that, but it's hard to think of the good when the bad is so awful.
I really enjoyed learning about Muslim culture and religion. I did not care for all the casual sexual references, especially throwaway remarks about pornography (just my prude rising).
Loved Mariam, Ghazala, and Umar and if there is a sequel, I'll read it. :)
I loved the self-discovery and acceptance each character had during the road trip. It was also telling that all three of them were very aware of their "Brownness" when they went anywhere, particularly the South. I wish that would change....I'm assuming that Karim set this book in present times which made it even harder to swallow that the racism Mariam, Ghaz, and Umar faced are still all over the place. I didn't feel that when we traveled in the Deep South recently but, I'm White. That may seem like a DUH but you don't know what you don't know. Working on it.
The pace of this book was very fast, hence the two day speed through :)
I was appalled by Mariam's father - what a tool! Ghazala's mother as well. Maybe it's cultural, as Karim insinuated over and over again, but it seems like treating your kids like crap is not healthy for the culture. Of course, Mariam's mom and Umar's parents were not like that, but it's hard to think of the good when the bad is so awful.
I really enjoyed learning about Muslim culture and religion. I did not care for all the casual sexual references, especially throwaway remarks about pornography (just my prude rising).
Loved Mariam, Ghazala, and Umar and if there is a sequel, I'll read it. :)
annamuthalaly's review against another edition
4.0
This book has a soft spot in my heart. We shouldn’t excuse bad books just because they’re representation, but this is quite literally one of maybe five books I can think of about brown American teenagerdom, and I love it for that. I loved this book in high school, and I love it now.
vickytickytavi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
3.25
it felt like it ended abruptly?? with 20 pages left in the book i was left wondering what would happen and then basically nothing did and there were still loose ends??