A review by valandthegianttbr
The Beauty of Your Face: A Novel by Sahar Mustafah

emotional reflective tense slow-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

3.5

this was a  compelling plot, following the life of a Palestinian american principal at an Islamic school for girls who comes face-to-face with an Islamophobic school shooter

while the scenes of the shooting are harrowing & tense, horrifyingly showing the shooter’s descent into online spaces riddled with anti-Muslim sentiment & his horrifying mindset leading up to the shooting, they are not the main focus of the book. instead, most of the book focuses on Afaf & how her life has unfolded from her fraught childhood to finding solace in Islam to her role as principal of the school

i felt like this book had an important story to tell about the role of faith in people’s lives, rising anti-Muslim sentiment in america, & generational trauma. however, it felt incredibly heavy-handed & i wanted more nuanced critical insights — especially regarding the generational trauma. this thread felt super surface-level, as the author mentions but never deeply explores the connections between Afaf’s parents’ Palestinian heritage/history & their family conflicts

overall a unique & interesting story that i just wish had been told with a little more craft, nuance, & depth!