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fi_johnston's review
5.0
Love to read a book where I can completely fall for both main characters, chat with them in my head about the bengal famine and colonialism, AND finish the book feeling hungry from all the food discussed. Come for the extremely charming romance, stay for everything else.
melbsreads's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
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
3.25
Content warnings: slut shaming, Islamophobia, colonialism, shitty teaching practices, shaming of non-academic career paths??? IDK how else to word that.
This is an odd story, in that it doesn't entirely feel like YA - it's dealing extensively with parental pressure to get married and with arranged marriages specifically - but it also VERY much feels like YA.
So there were a lot of elements of this that I enjoyed - the internal debate of "do I humanise a monster because my history teacher loves him or do I tell the truth?", the way that Danyal just...accepts things about Bisma that others have shamed her for, that he's so determined to pursue a career outside of academics. But there were also elements that just...didn't quite feel like they belonged in the story that was being told.
So ultimately, this was FINE but not what I expected it would be.
This is an odd story, in that it doesn't entirely feel like YA - it's dealing extensively with parental pressure to get married and with arranged marriages specifically - but it also VERY much feels like YA.
So there were a lot of elements of this that I enjoyed - the internal debate of "do I humanise a monster because my history teacher loves him or do I tell the truth?", the way that Danyal just...accepts things about Bisma that others have shamed her for, that he's so determined to pursue a career outside of academics. But there were also elements that just...didn't quite feel like they belonged in the story that was being told.
So ultimately, this was FINE but not what I expected it would be.
lavendermarch's review
5.0
This is quite possibly the best contemporary YA book I've read this year. Part coming of age, part romance, it immediately swept me up into the story of Danyal, the handsome, culinarily talented, earnest protagonist, and didn't let me go. This book will stay with me for a long time, for both the fabulous protagonist and the powerful story.
Danyal's narrative voice felt very clear, poignant, and intensely lovable. In a lot of ways, he's just a young adult trying to find his way in the world, navigating societal, parental, and cultural expectations along with his own hopes and dreams. I was immediately charmed by him, but grew to truly love him by the end of the book. He felt very real, as if he could walk off the page, smile at me, and start cooking up something delicious. (I was very hungry the entire time I read this. Bring snacks, and get ready to order biryani if your culinary skills are - like mine - woefully lacking no matter the cuisine.)
I also adored Bisma, and also enjoyed reading about Danyal's two best friends and their personal journeys. Watching all three of their struggles with sadness, despair, anger, and other emotions made it all the sweeter when they began to move in more positive, healthy directions by the end. I was particularly happy for Bisma.
I think that the title captures the spirit of the book quite well, although I have to say: I expected the book to be a light rom-com with coming of age elements. Instead, it was a coming of age story with romantic elements which often touched on darker topics and emotions (although this was excellently balanced thanks to Danyal's amusing, charming narration and the overall smooth, easy to read writing.)
Overall, I'm incredibly glad that I picked this book from my stack of library reads for the summer. It was powerful, charming, and felt like both a punch to the gut and a warm hug. I adored Danyal, the protagonist, and felt proud and honored to watch him grow and change the world around him. I will absolutely be on the lookout for other books by Masood. 5 stars.
Danyal's narrative voice felt very clear, poignant, and intensely lovable. In a lot of ways, he's just a young adult trying to find his way in the world, navigating societal, parental, and cultural expectations along with his own hopes and dreams. I was immediately charmed by him, but grew to truly love him by the end of the book. He felt very real, as if he could walk off the page, smile at me, and start cooking up something delicious. (I was very hungry the entire time I read this. Bring snacks, and get ready to order biryani if your culinary skills are - like mine - woefully lacking no matter the cuisine.)
I also adored Bisma, and also enjoyed reading about Danyal's two best friends and their personal journeys. Watching all three of their struggles with sadness, despair, anger, and other emotions made it all the sweeter when they began to move in more positive, healthy directions by the end. I was particularly happy for Bisma.
I think that the title captures the spirit of the book quite well, although I have to say: I expected the book to be a light rom-com with coming of age elements. Instead, it was a coming of age story with romantic elements which often touched on darker topics and emotions (although this was excellently balanced thanks to Danyal's amusing, charming narration and the overall smooth, easy to read writing.)
Overall, I'm incredibly glad that I picked this book from my stack of library reads for the summer. It was powerful, charming, and felt like both a punch to the gut and a warm hug. I adored Danyal, the protagonist, and felt proud and honored to watch him grow and change the world around him. I will absolutely be on the lookout for other books by Masood. 5 stars.
arayofreading's review
3.0
*3 Stars*
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this e-arc for review!
I have had such a hard time rating this. I noticed many flaws while reading but I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy it. I think it came down to I loved many of the ideas that the author was going for but wasn't completely sold on the execution.
A big portion of this novel deals with Danyal learning about the dark side of Winston Churchill's history (namely the Bengal Famine) and deciding whether he should paint Churchill in a positive light and appease his history teacher, or discuss the truth and risk his grade and thus upset his family. I thought this was a really interesting conflict and I loved how it related to what was going on in Danyal's personal life.
The romance in this book is so sweet, albeit it does a back seat to the other conflicts going on. I didn't mind this, and I liked how slow and subtle it developed. Bisma and Danyal were so supportive of each other and brought out the best in the other. I also liked how Danyal's long-time crush, Kaval, who is very pretty and comes from a rich family, fit into the story. I love when books deconstruct the fantasies and idealizations that come with infatuation, and I thought the story had a really good message about how compromises can only go so far until a relationship becomes toxic.
I also surprisingly liked the messiness of Danyal's friend group and the struggle that comes with trying to maintain friendships when people have grown and changed. It was very realistic but not discouraging, which I appreciated.
The flaws I have with the book mainly stem from the writing style, which I thought was pretty hit or miss. It was funny a lot of times and there were definitely scenes where I found myself smiling. However, sometimes things that were supposed to be jovial just came across as weirdly cruel, and some of the explanations for Islamic/cultural practices were trying to be funny but just didn't land for me. Perhaps this is a me problem but the dialogue also often lacked notes on intonation which made what could have been fun encounters monotonous or awkward.
I was annoyed at some of the seemingly random philosophical moments we would get from side characters that we barely knew, like the head chef of the restaurant Danyal works at. Even some moments between the main characters felt out of place, and those took me out of the story.
For the most part I liked Danyal's characterization but sometimes I think the author went a little heavy-handed with trying to show how not smart he was. I was under the impression that he was just not book smart but could excel at things he was passionate about like cooking, but he wouldn't know common words or phrases like "progress" or "break a leg" which felt a little inconsistent. (I also didn't like how many times people called him stupid in one way or another, it felt so unnecessarily cruel at times).
I was a little annoyed with the characterization of Sohrab, Danyal's friend, because it fell into this stereotype of practicing Muslims not being able to have fun and judging others. For example, at one point he questions why anyone would read for fun instead reading to learn and educate, but I mean,
you can choose to read religious texts in your free time but still understand why some people don't? The story does actually give him a little more depth later on into understanding why he acts the way he does, but it was still a little upsetting to see this stereotype.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this e-arc for review!
I have had such a hard time rating this. I noticed many flaws while reading but I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy it. I think it came down to I loved many of the ideas that the author was going for but wasn't completely sold on the execution.
A big portion of this novel deals with Danyal learning about the dark side of Winston Churchill's history (namely the Bengal Famine) and deciding whether he should paint Churchill in a positive light and appease his history teacher, or discuss the truth and risk his grade and thus upset his family. I thought this was a really interesting conflict and I loved how it related to what was going on in Danyal's personal life.
The romance in this book is so sweet, albeit it does a back seat to the other conflicts going on. I didn't mind this, and I liked how slow and subtle it developed. Bisma and Danyal were so supportive of each other and brought out the best in the other. I also liked how Danyal's long-time crush, Kaval, who is very pretty and comes from a rich family, fit into the story. I love when books deconstruct the fantasies and idealizations that come with infatuation, and I thought the story had a really good message about how compromises can only go so far until a relationship becomes toxic.
I also surprisingly liked the messiness of Danyal's friend group and the struggle that comes with trying to maintain friendships when people have grown and changed. It was very realistic but not discouraging, which I appreciated.
The flaws I have with the book mainly stem from the writing style, which I thought was pretty hit or miss. It was funny a lot of times and there were definitely scenes where I found myself smiling. However, sometimes things that were supposed to be jovial just came across as weirdly cruel, and some of the explanations for Islamic/cultural practices were trying to be funny but just didn't land for me. Perhaps this is a me problem but the dialogue also often lacked notes on intonation which made what could have been fun encounters monotonous or awkward.
I was annoyed at some of the seemingly random philosophical moments we would get from side characters that we barely knew, like the head chef of the restaurant Danyal works at. Even some moments between the main characters felt out of place, and those took me out of the story.
For the most part I liked Danyal's characterization but sometimes I think the author went a little heavy-handed with trying to show how not smart he was. I was under the impression that he was just not book smart but could excel at things he was passionate about like cooking, but he wouldn't know common words or phrases like "progress" or "break a leg" which felt a little inconsistent. (I also didn't like how many times people called him stupid in one way or another, it felt so unnecessarily cruel at times).
I was a little annoyed with the characterization of Sohrab, Danyal's friend, because it fell into this stereotype of practicing Muslims not being able to have fun and judging others. For example, at one point he questions why anyone would read for fun instead reading to learn and educate, but I mean,
you can choose to read religious texts in your free time but still understand why some people don't? The story does actually give him a little more depth later on into understanding why he acts the way he does, but it was still a little upsetting to see this stereotype.
allison_sirovy's review
5.0
Read this book. Just. Read. It. (Yep, I read it in a day. Phenomenal.) #youngadult #8thgradeandup
korol_rezni_tv's review against another edition
4.0
En fait, j’ai plutôt mis 4,5/5! Premier « vrai » contemporain avec une diversité religieuse et ethnique pour moi, je suis très satisfaite de ma lecture.
N’étant pas mon genre de prédilection, il est clair que je m’ennuie davantage qu’en fantasy, mais cette note est celle que j’estime méritée pour ce roman, non celle qui suit mes goûts personnels.
J’ai été un peu déstabilisée au départ par toutes les différences culturelles, de langue, etc mais j’ai fini par me faire au rythme du contemporain.
Je n’avais, dans les 100 premières pages, pas l’impression de connaître vraiment Danyal, que ce que je voyait était très superficiel. Puis en lien avec le développement de sa relation avec Bisma, j’ai découvert Danyal en même temps que lui même.
La romnce est si cute, douce et sincère, les personnages se découvrent vraiment, tombent amoureux réellement l’un de l’autre, sans tout ramener au sexe ou aux défauts de l’autre. Leur communication est parfaite, pas d’excès, des dialogues vrais et profonds.
Je suis bluffée par la complexité des recherches faites par l’auteur, et le fait que tous rejoignent une ligne directrice pour donner un fond bien tissé et intéressant.
N’étant pas mon genre de prédilection, il est clair que je m’ennuie davantage qu’en fantasy, mais cette note est celle que j’estime méritée pour ce roman, non celle qui suit mes goûts personnels.
J’ai été un peu déstabilisée au départ par toutes les différences culturelles, de langue, etc mais j’ai fini par me faire au rythme du contemporain.
Je n’avais, dans les 100 premières pages, pas l’impression de connaître vraiment Danyal, que ce que je voyait était très superficiel. Puis en lien avec le développement de sa relation avec Bisma, j’ai découvert Danyal en même temps que lui même.
La romnce est si cute, douce et sincère, les personnages se découvrent vraiment, tombent amoureux réellement l’un de l’autre, sans tout ramener au sexe ou aux défauts de l’autre. Leur communication est parfaite, pas d’excès, des dialogues vrais et profonds.
Je suis bluffée par la complexité des recherches faites par l’auteur, et le fait que tous rejoignent une ligne directrice pour donner un fond bien tissé et intéressant.
tatyanavogt's review
5.0
(Please note: Writing this review several Months after reading)
I remember this one so well, LOVED it! Its funny cause I did not have high hopes in the beginning, it is a YA romance featuring an indian kid who is just known for his good looks but doesn't do well in like anything else so his parents are desperate to find him a wife since he is bottom of the barrel but he has it bad for his best friends sister so he isn't interested but he humors his parents anyway and is surprised when one of the matches is not what he would expect for the bottom of the barrel guy like him, turns out she has some sort of scandal. He ends up becoming her friend and lets her know of the girl he desperately wants to be with etc etc etc.
It sounds like a mess but it was SOOOOOOOO good! Exceeded my expectations and was such a good time, even though I was a little annoyed at some things (mostly him) and it did feel young which isn't what I'm looking for, I would super recommend it! Got really invested and was happy with the direction it went.
I remember this one so well, LOVED it! Its funny cause I did not have high hopes in the beginning, it is a YA romance featuring an indian kid who is just known for his good looks but doesn't do well in like anything else so his parents are desperate to find him a wife since he is bottom of the barrel but he has it bad for his best friends sister so he isn't interested but he humors his parents anyway and is surprised when one of the matches is not what he would expect for the bottom of the barrel guy like him, turns out she has some sort of scandal. He ends up becoming her friend and lets her know of the girl he desperately wants to be with etc etc etc.
It sounds like a mess but it was SOOOOOOOO good! Exceeded my expectations and was such a good time, even though I was a little annoyed at some things (mostly him) and it did feel young which isn't what I'm looking for, I would super recommend it! Got really invested and was happy with the direction it went.
bibliosteph's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
finitha's review
5.0
The first thing that caught my eye is the accolades heaped on the book by the senior editor. I must confess that I read it with a smirk (ever the pessimist!) that is immediately wiped off and replaced by a smile once the story began. By the time it was nearing the end, I was full on laughing mode. Well, looks like some people can actually make lemonade out of all the lemons life throws at them.
This story is one of the instances which shows us that there is more than one way of looking at a situation. Danyal's life had all ingredients for a disaster -- a dominant father who has no faith in him, foolish first love, bullying classmates -- ah, the list goes on. Added to this is the fact that he is not exactly bright, academically that is. Does that hinder him? Nope, that brilliant smile is forever plastered on his face, however hard everything turns out to be.
In a way, he reminds me of many manga characters; especially Naruto, and also Asta in 'Black Clover'. His optimism and the witty take on things is highly infectious and that brings him the help he needed every single time. The way he brings together his two extremist friends takes us into the nuances of modern Muslim lifestyle which makes it more than just a love story. This is the story of a laid back Muslim boy who strives hard to balance the desi traditions with modern ideas and above all, to give voice to the truths that we conveniently forget.
If you, like me, love an easy to read, fast-paced story that makes you laugh and think, then this is for you. With a bunch of unforgettable characters and hugely enjoyable dialogues, this wouldn't fail to make an impression. Highly recommended!
This story is one of the instances which shows us that there is more than one way of looking at a situation. Danyal's life had all ingredients for a disaster -- a dominant father who has no faith in him, foolish first love, bullying classmates -- ah, the list goes on. Added to this is the fact that he is not exactly bright, academically that is. Does that hinder him? Nope, that brilliant smile is forever plastered on his face, however hard everything turns out to be.
In a way, he reminds me of many manga characters; especially Naruto, and also Asta in 'Black Clover'. His optimism and the witty take on things is highly infectious and that brings him the help he needed every single time. The way he brings together his two extremist friends takes us into the nuances of modern Muslim lifestyle which makes it more than just a love story. This is the story of a laid back Muslim boy who strives hard to balance the desi traditions with modern ideas and above all, to give voice to the truths that we conveniently forget.
If you, like me, love an easy to read, fast-paced story that makes you laugh and think, then this is for you. With a bunch of unforgettable characters and hugely enjoyable dialogues, this wouldn't fail to make an impression. Highly recommended!