We Didn't Ask for This

by Adi Alsaid

[Sam@WLABB]

Central International Schools annual lock-in was an event people looked forward to, and a place, where memories were made.

One hoped to prove he was the party master.
One hoped to spread his love of improv.
One hoped to prove that a female athlete was just as talented as a male athlete.
One hoped to find connection.
While, one hoped to save the reefs, and it seemed, her hopes would come at the cost of all the others.

There were things I really liked about this story, and things I didn't like so much, though overall, I have a favorable opinion.

What worked for me:

Believe it or not, I liked the third person POV narration. There was something about the narrator, that caught my attention and kept it. The story also unfolded at a good pace, frequently flipping between different locations and different characters.

This book had a very large cast, and they weren't simply bystanders, but rather fully developed characters. They were very diverse, and each came with their own set of talents and issues. Alsaid made me feel their loneliness, grief, family pressure, and sting of parental disappointment. I found myself interested in getting to know them better, and was invested in them finding some sort of peace with their situations.

One of my favorite things, was the wonderful friendship born between these characters, who hailed from different social circles as they bound together to protect "the protester". Though, she sort of torpedoed their plans for the evening, the students still believed in Marisa's cause and her conviction. They rose up to support her, both figuratively and literally. It warmed my heart to see them put aside their wants and needs to come to the aid of Marisa.

The not so much for me:

I do admire those with passion for a cause, and Marisa had that in spades. However, the glorification of her approach was off putting for me. I do appreciate, that Alsaid acknowledged her protest walked a fine line between peaceful protest and a hostage situation, it still was difficult for me to condone her behavior.

Overall: Though I appreciated the focus on activism and the environment, I found myself much more interested in the friendship aspect of the story, and wanted more of that.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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