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meat_muffin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I loved this book so much - absolutely a sleeper hit I didn’t see coming, and whewwwww buddy did it reel me in once it got going.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cultural appropriation
vanessamariebooks's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I read this for my Diversity is Lit bookclub, but this just wasn't for me. I can see why others like it, but I was just really bored throughout it. My full thoughts here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Af2pR2L0SWw?si=0AV_X3T9midIX20W
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cultural appropriation, and War
ellaticonstellation's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Oddity: Mr. Fencer
Hey! I love this story. The love, the hate, the bravery. It's unfortunate that bullying happens in any shape or form, it saddens me that people have to experience cruel remarks because they believe on certain things. It's difficult to stand up and fight. It takes guts and support. Cheers to everyone who is fighting for their rights. You guys are the best.✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
onegalonelife27's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
I do have to warn that there are some HP references-mainly to the houses and using them for personality traits, like the Meyers Briggs deal. It's sprinkled throughout the book, so just be advised.
By fate, happen-stance, two young teenagers come across upon the same art-the Marvels of Creations and the Oddities of Existence and decide to create their own journals to record marvels and oddities in their lives. Adam focusing on the marvel and Zayneb focusing on the oddities-and in the same vein-they meet once at airport, the next while she’s on vacation in his hometown.
I really love the opposite attract going on between these two Adams like to keep the peace-keep a quiet life going while keeping his diagnosis from his dad. Zayneb is all fury, fighting the wrongs of the world which does loudly and gets her in trouble.
And what I love about this trope is have characters learn from one another, Adams learns to speak up for himself despite the changes it may brings. Zayneb learns not to give up her fury but focus it not just using anger but other emotions to help her cause. There’s a poignant moment when Zayneb tells her Mom about what’s happened to her, but focusing on her sorrow rather than her anger which is so moving and touching.
So I recommend this for anyone that feels like they need to keep the peace or feel unheard in their fights for justice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Islamophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and War
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Islamophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and War
dalmavatai's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Ah, this book. The first half worked for me just fine, but it kind of lost me in the second half. I thought there was just way too much telling and not enough showing, which meant we didn't really get to know any of the side characters and their relationships with the main characters. It also meant that I often felt disconnected from what was happening as well as from our main characters' emotions.
Basically, I enjoyed Adam's storyline because his struggle with MS was something I've never read about and his internal conflict about telling his father definitely made me feel for him. I even teared up at the end of one chapter when he recounted the french fries story about his mom, which was honestly so beautiful and touching.
Unfortunately I had a harder time connecting with Zeyneb because her main struggle was with this Islamophobic teacher at school, and I just didn't feel there was enough internal conflict or complexity involved for me to feel invested. Basically she and her friends are trying to hold this teacher accountable for his Islamophobic comments, but nothing interesting really happens, like there's no deeper conversation about why someone might be Islamophobic, or exploring the structural and systemic dimensions, etc. There were so many things I would've enjoyed reading about if the author had explored it. That said, Zeyneb's story is a very important one and I'm sure it reflects so many people's lived experience which is awesome and very needed, especially because Muslims are a marginalized and deeply stigmatized community in 'Western' countries.
The romance was very slow-burn, we don't get much dialogue between these two and we don't really understand why they're even falling for each other. For this reason, I didn't even get to enjoy Adam's chapters in the second half of the book.
Overall, I thought the concept and the emotional and social dimensions explored were super interesting, but there was so much telling without showing that made me disconnect from the characters, and I felt that there was no growth/direction in Zeyneb's storyline.
Basically, I enjoyed Adam's storyline because his struggle with MS was something I've never read about and his internal conflict about telling his father definitely made me feel for him. I even teared up at the end of one chapter when he recounted the french fries story about his mom, which was honestly so beautiful and touching.
Unfortunately I had a harder time connecting with Zeyneb because her main struggle was with this Islamophobic teacher at school, and I just didn't feel there was enough internal conflict or complexity involved for me to feel invested. Basically she and her friends are trying to hold this teacher accountable for his Islamophobic comments, but nothing interesting really happens, like there's no deeper conversation about why someone might be Islamophobic, or exploring the structural and systemic dimensions, etc. There were so many things I would've enjoyed reading about if the author had explored it. That said, Zeyneb's story is a very important one and I'm sure it reflects so many people's lived experience which is awesome and very needed, especially because Muslims are a marginalized and deeply stigmatized community in 'Western' countries.
The romance was very slow-burn, we don't get much dialogue between these two and we don't really understand why they're even falling for each other. For this reason, I didn't even get to enjoy Adam's chapters in the second half of the book.
Overall, I thought the concept and the emotional and social dimensions explored were super interesting, but there was so much telling without showing that made me disconnect from the characters, and I felt that there was no growth/direction in Zeyneb's storyline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Islamophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Racism, Medical content, Cultural appropriation, and War
annalisaely's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
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
I absolutely loved this book! It is so sweet and happy sappy while still addressing racism, Islamophobia, appropriation, and more. The relationship between these two was so sweet and as I said in an earlier post I really enjoyed reading about how the main characters experienced and practiced their faith and seeing how much I had in common with them. It also inspired me to buy my own burqini, which should be arriving any day now, despite public pools not being something I anticipate using until vaccines are widely available (I did look into it and found that the creator is happy for non-Muslims to use them). I've had bad anxiety about people being able to see my body for years and it has kept me from swimming, something I enjoy a great deal. It made me feel so free to realise there was a solution.
Other reasons to read this book include really sweet familial relationships and a male love interest who likes to make crafts!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Islamophobia, and Grief
Minor: Death, Racism, Sexism, and Mass/school shootings