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A review by jenpaul13
Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
4.0
Finding what you're passionate about can take time, but advocating for yourself when it conflicts with what others want for you can take courage, as seen in Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Maya Aziz has a dream, and the necessary talent, to attend NYU to study film-making, which is her passion, but it's in stark contrast with her studying medicine or law close to home near Chicago that her protective, Indian parents envision for her, creating an environment of stress for Maya. Adding to this stress is the coincidental timing of some emotional drama with the boy she's had a crush on for forever and meeting a someone more suitable for her parent's vision of her future, turning Maya's life into a movie-worthy rom-com. When a terrorist attack takes place a few hundred miles from Maya's hometown, the unfortunate fact of sharing a last name with the speculated Muslim attacker dredges up some local hatred toward Maya's family with violence perpetrated on her parents' dental practice and threats to their lives. In the wake of this shocking event, Maya comes to realize the importance of following her passion.
As a traditional YA tale of finding oneself and challenging parental expectations, the narrative is well-written with engaging characters but trite with its romance plot that wasn't overly entertaining; with the added narrative thread of prejudice faced by Muslims in a post-9/11 America, the story gains a dimension of reality that counteracts some of its more cutesy elements. But this link felt tenuous as Maya being Muslim isn't thoroughly demonstrated through actions in the novel but instead readers are told that she's Muslim - if we weren't told, it wouldn't have been obvious. Addressing an unfortunately timely (and recurring) topic the of prejudices within our culture and how they can manifest, this story demonstrates the importance of challenging preconceived notions and trying to be better people to create a better world.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Maya Aziz has a dream, and the necessary talent, to attend NYU to study film-making, which is her passion, but it's in stark contrast with her studying medicine or law close to home near Chicago that her protective, Indian parents envision for her, creating an environment of stress for Maya. Adding to this stress is the coincidental timing of some emotional drama with the boy she's had a crush on for forever and meeting a someone more suitable for her parent's vision of her future, turning Maya's life into a movie-worthy rom-com. When a terrorist attack takes place a few hundred miles from Maya's hometown, the unfortunate fact of sharing a last name with the speculated Muslim attacker dredges up some local hatred toward Maya's family with violence perpetrated on her parents' dental practice and threats to their lives. In the wake of this shocking event, Maya comes to realize the importance of following her passion.
As a traditional YA tale of finding oneself and challenging parental expectations, the narrative is well-written with engaging characters but trite with its romance plot that wasn't overly entertaining; with the added narrative thread of prejudice faced by Muslims in a post-9/11 America, the story gains a dimension of reality that counteracts some of its more cutesy elements. But this link felt tenuous as Maya being Muslim isn't thoroughly demonstrated through actions in the novel but instead readers are told that she's Muslim - if we weren't told, it wouldn't have been obvious. Addressing an unfortunately timely (and recurring) topic the of prejudices within our culture and how they can manifest, this story demonstrates the importance of challenging preconceived notions and trying to be better people to create a better world.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.