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sassybasil07's review against another edition
4.0
My new life motto: Carpe Diem
I love how relatable and honest this book is.
This book shows Indian mentality so well but also shows how it's also changing among the younger generation. We always have people wanting us to do the typical things they think are suited for us but in the end it's our desicion and our future. I am glad maya realised this as the book progressed. We can't always make desicions suited for everyone, that makes everyone happy but as long as we make ourselves happy and suited for this then we will truly find happiness.
Also the honesty behind this book. That we label people for the mistakes of others. That we judge people according to the group they are, if someone amoungest that group is bad then we believe they are all bad. We fail to see this isn't right. We fail to see everyone's individuality and how no one is the same. We are all different so we shouldn't blame or cause harm to others for the mistake of others.
Overall this book may be cliche and not appeal to many people. I loved the overall hidden message behind it which Samia Ahmed has bought out. This book was beautifully written, and has now become one of the top contemporary books I have read.
I love how relatable and honest this book is.
This book shows Indian mentality so well but also shows how it's also changing among the younger generation. We always have people wanting us to do the typical things they think are suited for us but in the end it's our desicion and our future. I am glad maya realised this as the book progressed. We can't always make desicions suited for everyone, that makes everyone happy but as long as we make ourselves happy and suited for this then we will truly find happiness.
Also the honesty behind this book. That we label people for the mistakes of others. That we judge people according to the group they are, if someone amoungest that group is bad then we believe they are all bad. We fail to see this isn't right. We fail to see everyone's individuality and how no one is the same. We are all different so we shouldn't blame or cause harm to others for the mistake of others.
Overall this book may be cliche and not appeal to many people. I loved the overall hidden message behind it which Samia Ahmed has bought out. This book was beautifully written, and has now become one of the top contemporary books I have read.
haileyannereads's review against another edition
3.0
This was a powerful book. It's a POV I've not read before. The plot is very timely, and getting the perspective of some who is Muslim is really important.
After learning of a terrorist attack, Maya's first wishes are for everyone to be okay and the bomber to not be a Muslim. That right there punched me in the gut.
The story is told beautifully, and the perspective is powerful.
After learning of a terrorist attack, Maya's first wishes are for everyone to be okay and the bomber to not be a Muslim. That right there punched me in the gut.
The story is told beautifully, and the perspective is powerful.
adenise47's review against another edition
5.0
This was a good book. I liked the insight on another race and religion. I would definitely recommend this book!
sjess94's review against another edition
2.0
From the synopsis, I thought this book would offer a unique and insightful story on terrorism from a Muslim-American's perspective. Turns out, it's just your run-of-the-mill preteen romance novel featuring one dimensional characters and a poorly executed plot. The author's take on Indian-Americans was very black and white. The Indian-American characters in this novel were either completely westernized or totally rigid in their traditional beliefs and if you were a "traditional" Indian-American you were essentially an antagonist. Pretty disappointed overall.
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
A must-read addition to the wave of YA lit covering the hardest topics in the US today, with a fierce female protagonist who is dealing with issues both universal to all high school seniors and those unique to American Muslims. Ahmed has managed to weave a story that combines intense confrontation of Islamophobia with sugar-sweet stereotypical teen romance, and somehow these manage to work together.
Highly recommended for high school libraries and classrooms.
Thanks to Soho Teen for the ARC of this title - all opinions are my own.
Highly recommended for high school libraries and classrooms.
Thanks to Soho Teen for the ARC of this title - all opinions are my own.
whimsicallymeghan's review against another edition
4.0
Maya has a passion for film and making movies, but her parents have other plans for her. They expect her to get a good job, like becoming a lawyer, and to marry someone they deem worthy, which goes against everything she wants. Struggling to be the good daughter she wants to be for them, but also trying to be the person she wants to be for herself, Maya has a lot of choices she needs to make. Just when she has it all figured out, everything comes crashing down when tragedy strikes and she must rebuild from the bottom once more. This novel had a good amount of soft fluffy plot to counterbalance the heavy topics that are dealt in this. It almost felt like two novels in one because the first half focused on the fluff, whereas the second half was very heavy on topics of terrorism. They did come together, it just felt like the second half came out of left field. The reader understands that the interludes at the start of each chapter were the lead up to the second half, but they didn’t really understand that until after it happened. The reader didn’t get the relevance those one page glimpses because they didn’t know who it was in reference to or to what. It only became clear after and even after we found out their purpose, the reader didn’t care for them. It was like the author was giving us a background and justifying why this character did the horrible things that they did and they didn’t need justifying. As for the rest of the plot, the reader enjoyed it; it was a culture that is different from this reader’s so it was great to read and learn from; although they have read other reviews that say this isn’t the best Muslim rep out there, they still like the representation this showed of an Indian-immigrated, American family because no two families or experiences are alike. As for the romance plots, as much as they were fluffy, the reader didn’t feel anything between the characters. The reader liked how passionate and strong Maya was, but her love interests were boring. The reader liked Kareem over Phil, because there felt like a connection there, even if it wasn’t always romantic, they had good banter and were there for each other. As much as the author tried to make Phil interesting with his secret EMT aspirations and not wanting to be a jock, he was just bland. Maya’s parents were intense, but the reader gets where they’re coming from as parents. But the reader really like Hina, Maya’s aunt, she beat to the sound of her own drum and as the author showed us, was an inspiration for Maya, and readers, showing us life has more than one path. In the end, this was well written with a great cast of characters and a good plot.
scmungai16's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
notesonbookmarks's review against another edition
4.0
This felt like a bit of From Twinkle with Love (Menon), a bit of The Hate U Give (Thomas) and a little bit of sappy teenage romance. And I'm here for it.
currentlypurring's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
mariethelibrarian's review
4.0
I can totally see and understand why this is a much need book! The market always needs more diversity! I liked this. It also made me feel awful at parts with what Maya goes through, and it saddens me that so many experience this daily.