I've read her fantasy book and it wasn't something I liked, even though fantasy with non-white characters is my cup of tea, so I thought I'd try this contemporary of hers. And I fail to see anything interesting.
Let's start with the characters. From the first few pages, we should be drawn into their lives, something that sets them apart from other teens in the same situations, but we're not. There's nothing compelling or interesting or remotely likable about the two main characters. Apart from their "Muslim" names, there's nothing Muslim about them. If you'd replaced their names with some other non-white names, the story would still be the same. And this is also the main reason why I didn't like her fantasy book. What is the author trying to prove? That Muslims are no different to the whites in the west? That they just have different colored skin and names but still do exactly the same things as non-Muslims?
No. Absolutely not.
As a practicing Muslim from the desi background portrayed in this story, the things these "Muslim" characters do are not what PRACTICING Muslims would do. This may be a fictitious autobiography of the author as seeing she's not a practicing hijabi Muslim, so the story is going to be about teens with a "Muslim" identity but not in practice. Also, the fact that she brings up Islam while mixing in Pakistani culture will confuse the HECK out of non-Muslims and/or some Muslims reading this to think the things these characters do are okay because they're "Muslim" when, in fact, is not. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CULTURE AND RELIGION. (Also, there are plenty of Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians in Pakistan/desi/Asian culture that go through arranged marriages, but for SOME REASON, only the "Muslim" ones are ever mentioned and always in a negative context.)
(And this is where traditional media fails, by promoting/publishing books like this while the proper portrayal of Muslims is never accepted because it's too "Islamic"--I'm speaking as a Muslim, desi aspiring author whose fictional works with practicing Muslim characters are rejected for said reason, and the irony is that this book addresses Islamophobia while at the same time, the story and the gatekeeping publishers are just that (yes, I'm calling them out), though they'll use phrases like "it's not marketable" or "it's too niche" to deflect their bigotry when in reality, we need these books to have this conversation).
Save yourself from the lies and the hype because this ain't it.
The cover is just as uninteresting as the excerpt, so this book is a hard pass for me.
Let's start with the characters. From the first few pages, we should be drawn into their lives, something that sets them apart from other teens in the same situations, but we're not. There's nothing compelling or interesting or remotely likable about the two main characters. Apart from their "Muslim" names, there's nothing Muslim about them. If you'd replaced their names with some other non-white names, the story would still be the same. And this is also the main reason why I didn't like her fantasy book. What is the author trying to prove? That Muslims are no different to the whites in the west? That they just have different colored skin and names but still do exactly the same things as non-Muslims?
No. Absolutely not.
As a practicing Muslim from the desi background portrayed in this story, the things these "Muslim" characters do are not what PRACTICING Muslims would do. This may be a fictitious autobiography of the author as seeing she's not a practicing hijabi Muslim, so the story is going to be about teens with a "Muslim" identity but not in practice. Also, the fact that she brings up Islam while mixing in Pakistani culture will confuse the HECK out of non-Muslims and/or some Muslims reading this to think the things these characters do are okay because they're "Muslim" when, in fact, is not. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CULTURE AND RELIGION. (Also, there are plenty of Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians in Pakistan/desi/Asian culture that go through arranged marriages, but for SOME REASON, only the "Muslim" ones are ever mentioned and always in a negative context.)
(And this is where traditional media fails, by promoting/publishing books like this while the proper portrayal of Muslims is never accepted because it's too "Islamic"--I'm speaking as a Muslim, desi aspiring author whose fictional works with practicing Muslim characters are rejected for said reason, and the irony is that this book addresses Islamophobia while at the same time, the story and the gatekeeping publishers are just that (yes, I'm calling them out), though they'll use phrases like "it's not marketable" or "it's too niche" to deflect their bigotry when in reality, we need these books to have this conversation).
Save yourself from the lies and the hype because this ain't it.
The cover is just as uninteresting as the excerpt, so this book is a hard pass for me.