Love, Hate & Other Filters

by Samira Ahmed

[nannah]

Oh boy, I think maybe contemporary romance is just not my thing. Everyone seems to love this book, but I didn’t enjoy it very much -- and mostly because the romance really just got on my nerves.

Content warnings:
- Islamophobia (in book)
- casual cissexism (“woman's body”)
- child abuse

Representation:
- the main character and her family are Indian-American Muslims
- one of her love interests is also Desi and Muslim

17yo Maya Aziz’s parents expect her to be a “good Indian daughter”, going to a college close to home to become a doctor or lawyer and marrying a muslim man. But Maya feels stifled and dreams of going to New York for film school -- not to mention there’s her whopping crush on the white (presumably Christian) jock at school that her parents would never approve of. Things get from tough to impossible when a suicide bomber kills hundreds of people in a nearby town, and a Muslim man is the suspect.

I really, really didn’t like the first half of the book. Many times I was tempted to give up, especially with all the cliches (swimming lessons so she could wear a bikini, the overly strict and overbearing parents, her falling for/liking the white boy [especially as a way to rebel], and the super wild best friend) and the overly sugary romance. The second is definitely just a matter of personal taste. All the same, the excessive blushing and giggling made it incredibly tiresome.

The romance(s) is placed front and center, with Maya’s wanting to go to film school and the terrorist attack being shoved back. This, I’m told, is what the romance genres are about (thank you, friend)! So I think I was expecting something different, is all.

The author's note, however, was gorgeous and nearly had me in tears (as well as the "Michigan Public Radio" insert in between two chapters).