A review by tsar
Love from A to Z, by S.K. Ali

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

 “Maybe that's what living is—recognizing the marvels and oddities around you.” 

Aside from the classics assigned during my college years, I've never truly ventured to contemporary Muslim fiction, in which I did assume that they are minimum in numbers and old-fashioned in narrative. For those thoughts alone, I am ashamed to have such prejudicial presumption towards the fiction style since the reality of contemporary Muslim tales are as modern as they are aware of the culture revolving around the religion.

Come by the romantic story of two people meeting at the airport as they are boarding the same flight to Doha, in which they are delightedly surprised to expect their interaction to be more frequent as they are familiar with related mutuals. However, the essence of romantic comedy serves as a veil to the eventual discussion that Love from A to Z aims to confer through the correspondence between Adam and Zayneb that is the exploration of their complex Muslim identity.

In her assertion of a love story, Ali elaborates on their Muslim individuality that is seemingly similar at first glance, yet their conspicuous leanings gradually emerge to define how the religious faith integrates with their identity in the matter of idealistic perception. For Zayneb, who has lived her life under extreme scrutiny for the physical signs as a Muslim woman, her unapologetic assertiveness in abating the negative light on her religion is her way to combat the racial yet religious prejudice that she has to endure at school because of her teacher. While Adam does not experience similar discrimination as Zayneb, he projects his Islamic faith as his path to find peace as he inadvertently faces internal difficulties that could threaten his life in the present or future altogether.

The differences in their way of living expectedly clash Zayneb and Adam against one another, particularly in realizing the fact that all the expectations of understanding each other's situation are not met by the reality of their interaction. However, Ali utilizes the collision to create a reflective momentum for Zayneb and Adam to reconstruct their thoughts that gradually adopt each other's ideas to form a better sense of approach in handling their respective struggles.

Despite having such a heavyweight character-driven story, it does not mean that the book is boorish by all means. Ali engages her readers through journal-style writing as if it is realistic documentation from the real parties involved in the story. As a result, her story is as communicative as it is empathetic—she readily illustrates dialogues and situations where readers, notably young adult Muslim readers, to relate with the circumstances of the characters, whether they are the main or the supporting ones.

To conclude, what a wonderfully heartwarming tale of two Muslims engaging with each other that duplicates as a character study of their cultural identity. For some, books like Love from A to Z are oddities in the sea of generally Caucasian-esque focus of young adult novels, but it is a stunning marvel in illustrating diversity in literature. 
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