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A review by arayofreading
The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah
4.0
**4 Stars**
CW: Islamophobia, xenophobia
This book follows two teenagers from vastly different backgrounds: Mina is a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan, and Michael is the son of the leaders of a growing anti-immigrant group in Australia. When Mina moves to Michael's school, he's instantly attracted to her, but he also grapples with the ideologies that he's grown up with that antagonize people like her. Mina, on the other hand, is trying to come to terms with her past trauma and navigate her sense of belonging as a refugee.
Let's start with Michael. His family's values are the epitome of "I'm not racist, but I just want people of color to assimilate," and honestly it was uncomfortable to read about since it reflected a lot of what we see online and in real life (that's a testament to the author's portrayal thought!). Despite me being on the opposite "side" of his family, it was easy to understand where Michael came from. When you're young, you tend to idolize your parents and think they can do no wrong. Michael's parents are also extremely well-spoken and convey their ideas clearly, and so Michael had no reason to believe they were wrong. That is, until he meets Mina. I loved Mina; she is strong, independent, and hardworking. She stands up for her friends and doesn't let people get away for being assholes. And I LOVED her relationship with Michael, because she never lets him off easy. In the beginning, Michael just kind of views her as an "exception" to his (or rather his parents') beliefs, and she doesn't take that. She forces him to confront his privilege and really understand her side of the story, and God I loved it. If you're not a fan of YA romances you might be turned off by this, but if you are, this was SO CUTE.
I was so close to giving this 5 stars, but the ending fell a little flat. Everything that happened was realistic and made sense, it just happened too quickly in my opinion. Particularly, Michael's story was wrapped up too quickly and, considering some of the things that happened, I felt that there needed to be more time spent dealing with the consequences and how it affected his life afterwards. Moreover, the writing for the most part was straightforward and simple, which is not inherently bad, but sometimes the novel veered on telling rather than showing.
Overall, if you want a contemporary that deals with tough topics but also has an extremely cute romance, this is one for you!
CW: Islamophobia, xenophobia
This book follows two teenagers from vastly different backgrounds: Mina is a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan, and Michael is the son of the leaders of a growing anti-immigrant group in Australia. When Mina moves to Michael's school, he's instantly attracted to her, but he also grapples with the ideologies that he's grown up with that antagonize people like her. Mina, on the other hand, is trying to come to terms with her past trauma and navigate her sense of belonging as a refugee.
Let's start with Michael. His family's values are the epitome of "I'm not racist, but I just want people of color to assimilate," and honestly it was uncomfortable to read about since it reflected a lot of what we see online and in real life (that's a testament to the author's portrayal thought!). Despite me being on the opposite "side" of his family, it was easy to understand where Michael came from. When you're young, you tend to idolize your parents and think they can do no wrong. Michael's parents are also extremely well-spoken and convey their ideas clearly, and so Michael had no reason to believe they were wrong. That is, until he meets Mina. I loved Mina; she is strong, independent, and hardworking. She stands up for her friends and doesn't let people get away for being assholes. And I LOVED her relationship with Michael, because she never lets him off easy. In the beginning, Michael just kind of views her as an "exception" to his (or rather his parents') beliefs, and she doesn't take that. She forces him to confront his privilege and really understand her side of the story, and God I loved it. If you're not a fan of YA romances you might be turned off by this, but if you are, this was SO CUTE.
I was so close to giving this 5 stars, but the ending fell a little flat. Everything that happened was realistic and made sense, it just happened too quickly in my opinion. Particularly, Michael's story was wrapped up too quickly and, considering some of the things that happened, I felt that there needed to be more time spent dealing with the consequences and how it affected his life afterwards. Moreover, the writing for the most part was straightforward and simple, which is not inherently bad, but sometimes the novel veered on telling rather than showing.
Overall, if you want a contemporary that deals with tough topics but also has an extremely cute romance, this is one for you!