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marimbagirl22's review
2.0
I wasn't a fan of the girl just throwing out everything she believed, and how her parents taught her just to be with a guy. Granted it's a story that happens often but I wish there was more internal dialogue about the challenge of the decision, or even an external one. Showing that this can be discussed I think is important for the young ones. Maybe it's just me speaking from experience....
soapgrace's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the political plot of this book (or maybe I just really miss Red White and Royal Blue. We'll never know), but every other aspect felt so one dimensional. It was easy to read quickly, but the whole time I just felt meh about it.
alaakhamis's review against another edition
I didn't know the story involved a lot of Jewish content and that threw me off and just didn't want to pick it up to finish it
aniyaaax's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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
5.0
klara003's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
thehawk72's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating 2.5
For whatever reason I found this book to be kind of problematic. It was an enjoyable read for what it was I guess if you don’t read too much into it, but it was more political than I was interested in reading.
For whatever reason I found this book to be kind of problematic. It was an enjoyable read for what it was I guess if you don’t read too much into it, but it was more political than I was interested in reading.
sandranir's review
4.0
A sweet young adult romance with the serious themes of American local elections, democracy, race, cultural and religious differences. It is both entertaining and insightful. I really recommend it.
isabelbrieler's review
You know what, I tried, and I honestly might have been able to force myself to get all the way through this, (I didn't viscerally hate it but I was really not enjoying myself) but it's due back at the library and I cannot bring myself to want to renew it. So. DNF it is.
johnnybo_reads's review against another edition
1.0
in vague description, it fell flat, boring, and was longer than it needed to be.
Maya: pakistani american muslim who initially goes canvasing for Rossum for a car
Jamie: jewish american
Jamie is a clutz with a white savior complex, Maya slightly selfish and likes people who save her. the writing felt 1 dimensional along with the characters. we don’t really see much about the characters personalities or interests, mainly just their religion. Maya pushed away her parents and her muslim identity for a boy, which is a trope i hate. Having a girl choose a white boy over her religion makes it seem that religious belief is an afterthought.
the majority of the novel takes place during Ramadan, and Maya’s muslim identity is referenced as least 5 times on one page. The fact Maya is supposedly pakistani isn’t talked about more than the one little time that she told Jamie about this. Jamie being jewish kinda felt like an afterthought to use for the romance part of the book? Towards the end Jamie’s sister, Sophie, comes out to Jamie as queer. This also felt as an afterthought to just throw in at the end. In all it felt like the authors were trying to represent too many identities at once and needed to pick something.
additionally, the romance felt extremely rushed. 70% of the novel focused on Maya & Jamie’s political canvassing journey, but the last ~150 pages randomly started pushing the romantic aspect that was pushed in the synopsis of the book, leaving it feeling rushed to be put into a perfect little bow. It was also way too long and easily could’ve been 100 pages less, a lot of the writing felt like filler
Maya: pakistani american muslim who initially goes canvasing for Rossum for a car
Jamie: jewish american
Jamie is a clutz with a white savior complex, Maya slightly selfish and likes people who save her. the writing felt 1 dimensional along with the characters. we don’t really see much about the characters personalities or interests, mainly just their religion. Maya pushed away her parents and her muslim identity for a boy, which is a trope i hate. Having a girl choose a white boy over her religion makes it seem that religious belief is an afterthought.
the majority of the novel takes place during Ramadan, and Maya’s muslim identity is referenced as least 5 times on one page. The fact Maya is supposedly pakistani isn’t talked about more than the one little time that she told Jamie about this. Jamie being jewish kinda felt like an afterthought to use for the romance part of the book? Towards the end Jamie’s sister, Sophie, comes out to Jamie as queer. This also felt as an afterthought to just throw in at the end. In all it felt like the authors were trying to represent too many identities at once and needed to pick something.
additionally, the romance felt extremely rushed. 70% of the novel focused on Maya & Jamie’s political canvassing journey, but the last ~150 pages randomly started pushing the romantic aspect that was pushed in the synopsis of the book, leaving it feeling rushed to be put into a perfect little bow. It was also way too long and easily could’ve been 100 pages less, a lot of the writing felt like filler
sas408'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0