A review by louandlife
Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
3.0
This book... this book was such a mixed bag for me. I struggled to get into the first 100 pages. Every time that I put it down, I wanted it to be the last time that I put it down. It just wasn't sitting well with me. I finished this book because it was short, not really because I was particularly enjoying it. The blurb of this book makes you think that it's going to be a hard hitting book that's all about Islamophobia, and prejudices, but really it felt like a forbidden romance with racist elements. I was expecting this book to have the impact of [b:The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190]... instead I got a romance...
The Plot:
The blurb of the book makes you think that near the beginning there's going to be a terrorist attack, and Maya has to deal with the fall out. The terrorist attack doesn't happen until slightly over half way through... I kept on waiting for something to happen, and I had to be 50% complete for the main plot to actually come into play... The book needed to be longer. The length of this book was it's weakest point. Because it is so short, you hardly develop a relationship with the characters, and they were barely developed. The emotions I felt whilst reading this book would have been amplified had the book be longer and the plot be more fleshed out. The romance was a disappointment, and felt insta-lovey. The ending sucked too. It was too realistic for me.
If it wasn't for the Indian representation, I would have given this book a 2.5/5 rating. I was disappointed by this book.
The Characters:
My favourite character was Maya's only friend Violet. I loved how she wasn't slut shamed, how Maya never judged her, but respected her. I loved how strong Violet was depicted to be, and how she uses her femininity as a weapon to navigate the world. I loved how she supported Maya, and how she had her back.
Maya. I related to Maya quite a bit culturally. But I didn't really connect with her personality. I also questioned her sanity when she basically ran away. I loved Maya's aunt though.
Phil was so underdeveloped that his characterisation is literally a jock who wants to be a emergency paramedic. This could be because Maya hardly really knows him, but it could be because hardly any time was focused on his character.
Overall, I think this book was overhyped because of it's diversity/representation and topic matter. It's a cute story, but it wasn't as hard hitting as I thought it would be. I was expecting to feel a range of emotions when I read this book, instead I just felt anger when the world was against Maya. I wish this book didn't disappoint me as it did.
Spoiler
Which I felt cheated by the time that I finished this book, because the main couple don't even end up together. It's realistic because a high school romance would never work out, but I don't want a realistic love story. I want a magical one.The Plot:
The blurb of the book makes you think that near the beginning there's going to be a terrorist attack, and Maya has to deal with the fall out. The terrorist attack doesn't happen until slightly over half way through... I kept on waiting for something to happen, and I had to be 50% complete for the main plot to actually come into play... The book needed to be longer. The length of this book was it's weakest point. Because it is so short, you hardly develop a relationship with the characters, and they were barely developed. The emotions I felt whilst reading this book would have been amplified had the book be longer and the plot be more fleshed out. The romance was a disappointment, and felt insta-lovey. The ending sucked too. It was too realistic for me.
If it wasn't for the Indian representation, I would have given this book a 2.5/5 rating. I was disappointed by this book.
The Characters:
My favourite character was Maya's only friend Violet. I loved how she wasn't slut shamed, how Maya never judged her, but respected her. I loved how strong Violet was depicted to be, and how she uses her femininity as a weapon to navigate the world. I loved how she supported Maya, and how she had her back.
Maya. I related to Maya quite a bit culturally. But I didn't really connect with her personality. I also questioned her sanity when she basically ran away. I loved Maya's aunt though.
Phil was so underdeveloped that his characterisation is literally a jock who wants to be a emergency paramedic. This could be because Maya hardly really knows him, but it could be because hardly any time was focused on his character.
Overall, I think this book was overhyped because of it's diversity/representation and topic matter. It's a cute story, but it wasn't as hard hitting as I thought it would be. I was expecting to feel a range of emotions when I read this book, instead I just felt anger when the world was against Maya. I wish this book didn't disappoint me as it did.