jen20
Written on Jun 11, 2021
A Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
“The bighearted, wildly charming, painfully real love story I’ve been waiting for.” —Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
From William C. Morris Award Finalist S.K. Ali comes a “heartfelt and powerful” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) romance that’s The Sun Is Also a Star meets Anna and the French Kiss, following two Muslim teens who meet during a spring break trip.
A marvel: something you find amazing. Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom used to make together.
An oddity: whatever gives you pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims are.
But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.
When she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.
Fueled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.
Then her path crosses with Adam’s.
Since he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things. Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.
Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.
Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.
Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…
Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.
Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.
- ISBN10 1534442723
- ISBN13 9781534442726
- Publish Date 16 May 2019 (first published 30 April 2019)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 19 March 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Simon & Schuster
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 352
- Language English
Reviews
layawaydragon
Written on Dec 14, 2019
I wasn't a fan of the third party note in the beginning stating it was a narrative recreated with their permission. Daring and different but kinda killed the suspension of disbelief for me and negated the point. At least, until The Incident. Then I went, 'Ahhhhhh'. Pretty clever. And realistic. I think I still prefer when author's have both entries but I'm impressed.
I love how it handles rage at injustice. And headdresses and Coachella and fake niceness and ignorance and burnout.
Adam's MS was handled so well with his family. I soooo get not wanting to tell and trying to handle everything solo. I love his little sister! And how different friends helped and handled it differently. There's no one right way for everybody in every situation.
Perfect YA contemporary romance fans like Menon, and Bertalli. I love where the genre is trending in this regard!
And please read the author's note afterwards! The best books have the best author's note and this is no exception.
boghunden
Written on Jul 7, 2019
While it's a contemporary romance, it doesn't focus too much on romance. It's more about the right to be yourself. It deals with islamophobia a lot which I liked. And also, I'm so incredibly happy that this book is now available to all those who haven't identified with characters before.
"The other thing is that Ayaan doesn't wear hijab. She's Muslim, and Fencer knows it from her full name - Ayaan Ahmed - but he's not sure what kind.
Like, he doesn't know if she cares about her identity or if she practices her faith. Or if she simply has a Muslim name."
This book tells it how it is and I loved that.
"Excuse me, but did you ever think what it does to our hearts? To be continously told that how we choose to be is wrong? Like, why can't I just swim here in peace? Why do the clothes I have on my body hurt your husband's heart?"
shannonmiz
Written on Apr 20, 2019
Gosh, this was a fun and sweet book! I've said it before, but it bears repeating that I am so picky when it comes to contemporary, and even more so when it comes to romance. But this book hit most of the right notes for me. Let us talk about the things I enjoyed!
- •Zayneb was strong-willed and smart and funny, but flawed too. In short, she felt like a very genuine character. Adam was at times self-deprecating, but fiercely loyal and loving. He too felt genuine. Both main characters felt well-crafted and thoroughly developed, which in turn made me care a great deal about what happened to them. I was rooting for them both, no matter how the romance turned out.
- •Now I need to go to Doha. Like before this book, did I know that I had to plan a trip to Qatar someday? No I did not. Now, I do. It was a phenomenal backdrop for the story, but also it led me down a really great Google rabbit hole in which I discovered that it was absolutely as lovely as my mind had pictured from the book (so extra props to the author for nailing that, too!), and so here we are.
- •Both MCs were Muslim! I have to say, I have not encountered this before in a book, which is unfortunate. But now I have, so yay! Honestly, I also have to say that I learned a great deal about Muslim beliefs and customs, too. Just little, endearing things that seem so very special and I am glad to have learned about. There's other representation too, from Adam's illness, to the characters' respective backgrounds.
- •Speaking of, the messages against intolerance and hate were outstanding. Zayneb especially encounters so much disdain from both strangers and people she must deal with in everyday life (including, horrifyingly enough, a teacher). And the thing is, it's portrayed very realistically, which will make you even madder, because no one should have to deal with this. No. One. And Zayneb not taking anyone's nonsense? That is the best.
- •Yes, before you start to get stabby, I thought the romance was very sweet. The characters work so, so well together. They're both very passionate about the things they care about, but they're unalike enough to work too.
- •Family and friendship are both huge. And okay so Adam and his sister's relationship is probably my fave, but I loved that family was a huge focus for both characters. And while this is a romance, the friendships are quite strong! No one is like, abandoning their friends because they found someone who gives them the feels, you know? If anything, the friendships strengthen during the book, which is incredibly refreshing.
The only thing that I had some trouble with was how quickly things progressed between Adam and Zayneb. I mean, it had to, considering the story setup, but yeah. I had to suspend some disbelief there, but it was cute enough that I was able to. (Also, by quickly, I don't mean physically. I just mean... well read the book and you'll see ;) )
Bottom Line: This is such a charming story, while still being a really important story. If you are at all a fan of contemporary romances, this is one you won't want to miss!
Sam@WLABB
Written on Apr 19, 2019
I automatically wanted to read this book, because Ali had won my heart with her debut, Saints and Misfits, but she had me all in with the opening sentence:
This is a love story. You've been warned.
I am here to say, Ali more than delivered on that promise.
From their meet-cute to their serendipitous re-meetings, I loved the dynamic between Zayneb and Adam, and I found myself very invested in Zayneb, Adam, and Zayneb+Adam. I also liked the way Ali wove their worlds together so tightly. They almost seemed destined from the way all the pieces snapped into place, and I enjoyed that a sort of fate surrounded their union.
Zayneb was described as angry, but I saw past that reactionary anger to the passion underneath. She believed in justice for all, and I liked that there were people on her side to guide her and help her harness her passion in order to bring about change.
I so adored Adam, and when he revealed his diagnosis, my heart ached and crumbled for him. Part of that pain is personal, because I have been watching MS rob my uncle of his motor skills for years, but also, because Adam saw this disease take his mother too soon, and how it devastating it must be for a young person to have to come to terms with the same diagnosis. My solace came in the form of Adam's wonderful family and friends, who were amazing and supportive and bursting with love for him.
One thing I love about Ali's books is how much of herself she shares with us. It was easy to see how personal many parts of this book were, and that was why the negative things experienced by Zayneb were so infuriating and heartbreaking. But, it's not just what she shares, but how she shares it that make it all so meaningful for me.
I like that books like this exist. It's important to have positive and honest representation out there. I live and grew up in diverse areas, but there are still a lot of very homogenous places in this world. The media tends to highlight the negatives, and never present the full picture of any group of people. Thus, books like this are necessary to combat those negative stereotypes and educate people.
I smiled and cried my way through this book, but I think I cheered during the epilogue. Everyone knows the way to my heart is through a great epilogue, and this one was perfection for me. I'm getting all verklempt thinking about it now. Ali just gave me what I needed in order to let Zayneb and Adam ride off into the sunset, and I am grateful for that.
Overall: A beautiful story of love, family, friendship, and justice for all.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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