Mariam Sharma Hits the Road

by Sheba Karim

A hilarious, heartfelt adventure story about three Pakistani-American friends on a road trip to New Orleans, involving wild nights, painful truths and the powerful love they have for one another.

• ISBN10: 0062445731
• ISBN13: 9780062445735
• Publish Date: 5 June 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

I don't quite know what to say or how to rate this one. I hooked me right away and kept me going, even with some bumps and frustrations along the way. Unique setup & character drama, never seen before in YA, esp. road trips. But some problematic shit, with Umar being stereotypical, making fatphobic comments, and there's no really GOOD muslim characters. I did like the conversation around Ghaz's billboard picture though and thought the discussion around Muslim beliefs and the queer community was well done. It's a lot like the conservative Christian one, but doesn't have a liberal counterpart shown, which sucks. But they are like a found family, which is always a great thing to see.

I liked the trio's relationship but was let down on Mariam staying straight. I seriously thought there'd be more since this came up in my searches for QUILTBAG books, but nope! It's only Umar and background characters passing by.

Part of me wishes the trip itself was shorter and we got to know what happened after. Part of me feels like this should be a shorter prequel and the full book about what happens when they get back home. Part of me gets it though, all about the journey. And a teeny tiny part of me is still trying to parse it all and articulate my thoughts and feelings.

It's not bad, but it's hard to really cheer for and honestly, if this was white people, it'd be trash. But the Pakistani, Muslim, and Hindi aspects were well done, entertaining, and worth it.

My favorite character is Mariam's mom. An atheist mother that's a great single parent? Amazing. I can't think of another one in YA, TBH. Ghaz was a little too on the nose for all her insights and like a manic pixie dream girl. Mariam was lukewarm, but maybe that was me wanting a gay plot with her. Umar was an adorable struggle of a stereotype. They all fucked up and got their hang ups, but they check each other when needed and always have each others back.




Notes While Listening:
>>First line: "Your brother has just the right amount of chest hair." - Umar
>>Ewww boogers.
>>OMG always read contracts, so easy to say, easier to not do.
>>haha "I mean, how many people go to Times Square?"
>>HA Karma MF Straight Dudes.
>>Hmmmm
>>Awww Mariam has good relationship w/ Mom
>>Damn chicken shit Umar.
>>Ouch, the ghosting.
>>Go Mariam!!
>>Awww Noni memories.
>>Auntie Leprechaun lol
>>Omg the banquet, the meeting.
>>Ghaz! OMFG! Not cool!
>>Poor Umar.
>>Umar into cubs & bears
>>"Gay boys are my jam!" - Ghaz. Her ex came out.
>>"How to escape from Every Situation" sounds like a book I need.
>>Ewwww white guy w/ dreads
>>He has a drag name? Nice.
>>Right on Ghaz.
>>Cross dressing party? Eh, those don't always turn out well...straight people...
>>Ugh, "starvation nation" shut the fuck up Umar.
>>DUH. LOL.
>>Oh shit the black racism
>>Ewww "half anything is hot". Don't fetichize people with this shit.
>>I love her mom.
>>Good point Ghaz.
>>Shut up Mars.
>>Wow that BS defense of the prophet & slavery. How Christian of them, lol.
>>That's surprising.
>>Son of a bith.
>>You got a lot of explaining to do.
>>FAIRY?!? Ugh.
>>MF lying bastard scoundrel
>>Well, she's better than expected.
>>Ghaz is uncanny w/ the psychology stuff. Sometimes feels like a cop out, telling instead of showing, maybe? I dunno.
>>That's a tough convo most single moms know well. Good job.
>>That's adorable, sweet, and therapeutic.
>>Awwwwww
>>"Someone go tell bridezilla about stat rape" - She's 16.
>>"White boys raised on meat, corn, and athletics"
>>Well, that's gross. I don't think it's slut shaming. It's about being THAT drunk and gross. I don't know but defending those three on the dancefloor here feels too white feminist for me. It's totally realistic, normal, and frankly, so unharmful here, I would be up in arms about it.
>>Fuck piano bars & honky tonks
>>"Tequila Cowboy" Nice bar name.
>>Ghaz's mission is to be a Muslim ambassador.
>>The name was too much, Ghaz.
>>"In the South, it was hard to not view everything from history including the sun"
>>"alarmingly thick in the middle" Oh fuck you.
>>I getchu Ghaz. 3
>>"There were moments where her beauty gave me pause" Sounds gay. Is it finally going to be gay?
>>Hahahaha Ghaz has you pinned.
>>"You're too hot to get fact" Fuck you. UGH.
>>"Now you look like a dyke" Fuck you again. Double UGH.
>>Ugh, no queer on the "queer" panel, love the sinner hate the sin, comparing it to pedophilia BULLSHIT.
>>Oh the feels about America going to shit. YESSSSSS. So depressing and true.
>>Oh, you have no idea...
>>gods, Mariam knows nothing bout nothing. How long have they really been friends for?!
>>Good for you, Ghazalla.
>>Awwww, Mariam & Umar
>>Yay, therapy!!
>>Title says it all. They go on a road trip. That's it. They're not even on the way home when it ends.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

I assumed I would love this one, based on the fact that I will never, ever turn down reading a road trip book. Especially when best friends come together to help one of their other friends, so this one sold me from the synopsis. Unfortunately, it didn't end up being as epic as I'd hoped. But alas, there were some definite high points, so let's start with those!

The Good:

• It deals with a ton of really important real-life issues, especially in our current climate. The characters face some pretty severe hate in certain parts of the country. These scenes were painful to read, but obviously incredibly important, too. Especially some of the more subtle instances. For example, they meet a woman who seems nice and understanding, but has a terribly racist bumper sticker. And of course, she thinks she's totally justified in her thoughts (which she isn't of course, but no one is going to convince her). The characters have to navigate these awful situations that frankly, no one should have to deal with.



• The closeness of the characters was really awesome. They had very solid friendships, and this was evident by the fact that they'd drop everything for a pal in need. I also really liked Mariam's relationship with her mother, as it was one of the healthier parent relationships that was shown in the book.

The Not-So-Good:

• The Muslim hate. Okay- I am not a member of this community, and I don't want to step on toes of course. This is all from my (outsider) perspective, but I feel like it is still worth mentioning. The characters are quite disparaging in regards to more conservative and more religious Muslims. And that seems... really not great. Like it was hard for me to read at times, because I was so wildly uncomfortable with all the hateful remarks about members of the Muslim community. I mean, don't get me wrong, of course there are members of any community who do the things the characters spoke about, but that is true of all human beings. To make these jabs about Muslim people seems incredibly irresponsible- especially because they're never addressed or corrected in any way. Again- outside my lane, but very uncomfortable with the disdain toward any group.
  
  ANYWAY, my friend Rashika complied an awesome list of books by Muslim-identifying authors that you should check out!



• The other random hate in general. I mean- obviously none of us is perfect, and I won't pretend to have never been a little judgey in my life. The thing is, it crossed a line for me. I felt like they just wanted to snark on everyone, and that made me sad. And again, there is no growth, no point where everyone is like "wait, no one is perfect, maybe we should spend less time judging all the people's actions and focus on the internal!" or something. It's just... what they did.



• I honestly just didn't feel a ton for the characters. Like, they were okay I guess, but they really weren't very fleshed out. They seemed a little.. blah, for lack of a better word. I never felt like I really knew Mariam, which was a bummer, considering she's the MC.



• I don't even fully understand what the point of the book was overall? I mean, a road trip, some discovery about family stuff, and about self (I guess) but I just never felt particularly riveted by the actual plot of the book. 

Bottom Line: Great in theory, less so in execution. I could have overlooked some of the other flaws, but the straight up vitriol directed toward Muslims pushed me over the edge into Nope Territory.

[Joséphine]

Mariam Sharma Hits the Road is a fun read, over the top, yet hard hitting on several issues, including Islamophobia, familial rejection and homophobia. It’s about finding oneself and shaping one’s own identity. I definitely recommend giving this one a go. If you’re still unsure, you can read more of my thoughts on my blog here.