A review by kiperoo
Internment by Samira Ahmed

5.0

I'm going to make a bold statement: this book is the book I wish everyone would read in 2019. Layla is the protagonist we all need today, whether her glimpse into a (hopefully dystopian) future is a window or a mirror. Muslim readers will find a much-needed heroine and non-Muslim readers will hopefully gain some empathy and understanding of where hateful rhetoric could lead and what it feels like to be on the receiving end of this hate. As a writer and reader of historical fiction, I of course know where this kind of rhetoric has led in the past, and Samira Ahmed does an incredible job in calling to mind so many of those same details from history in this chilling imagining of a future where history repeats itself. Please don't allow this to happen! As she says in the Author's Note, "There are sides. Make a choice." Please do, and please share this book with young people everywhere!