Authored by a Palestinian-Australian and featuring a protagonist of the same background, this adult rom-com, is pretty halal all things considered.  The book is not preachy, hijab and not drinking alcohol are all discussed as being religious decisions, but there is no insight as to how or why they are part of Islam, they just are, and because the characters are Muslim that is what they do.  I found myself reading while cooking, which means I was invested enough to keep reading, but if I missed a line or two, to pull something out of the oven, I didn’t need to go back and find my exact spot.  It reads a lot like a Confessions of a Shopaholic or Bridget Jones Diary, Islamically it is on par with a Hana Khan Carries On or Finding Mr Perfectly Fine, where the characters are Muslim and that sets parameters, their culture adds the flavor, and the love triangle and writing adds the plot, yeah it is tropey, but most people wouldn’t be picking this up for literary insights, it is meant to be fun, and it is.  Three things bothered me with this book that gets a lot right. One, the cover, I find it ugly, additionally it mentions multiple times in the book that her eyes are blue, clearly on the cover they are brown.  Second, the labeling of “moderate,” “conservative,” “liberal,” and “fundy” Muslims.  There isn’t internalized Islamophobia, every one of the main side characters practices Islam in their way, the other characters accept it, and the stereotyping that the religious one is mean or critical is not present at all (alhumdulillah), the labels just bother me.  Finally the kiss at the end before marriage, they are engaged, and it probably is still better than many YA Muslamic romances out there, but as an Islamic school librarian, I have to mention it.

SYNOPSIS:
Samira works at a Bridal magazine, writing on occasion, but mostly getting coffee.  The book opens with her mid door-knock, looking at the manga hair of a yet another prospective husband, come to drink coffee and eat biscuits with his parents to meet her and hers in another meeting that will end with no match made.  Her parents don’t force her, she plays along willingly, venting to her cousin Lara who refuses to humor her parents, and her co-worker Cate who’s own dating dramas show Samira she isn’t really missing out.  When evil cousin Zahra is suddenly getting engaged, Samira is sucked in to familial obligations and involvement.  Menem, a guy she met at a team building activity, works near her, and they keep meeting, the icing on the cake is that his brother is Zahra’s groom. As things start to heat up with Menem, old family friend Hakeem starts acting weird, and Samira finds herself caught in a love triangle.

WHY I LIKE IT:

There are a lot of tropes of being 27 and unmarried, being a disappointment for having a liberal arts degree and the like, but at least there are not mean parents, forced religiosity, or the what will everyone say storylines present. A lot of the fun is found in the references to pop culture, that surprisingly didn’t bother me.  I was, however, annoyed when suddenly 80 pages in the fourth wall was broken.  It broke the tone, but it didn’t become a regular things, so I carried on.  A side character asks if Samira’s actions are Muslim or Arab and I like that, that distinction is presented.  I wish there was more culture, Samira is Palestinian, Menem is Lebanese, but there isn’t a lot of cultural sprinklings throughout that are specific to the two cultures. There are also a lacking of salams/assalamualaikums in their daily interactions.  It does mention Samira praying quite frequently, which I most definitely appreciated though.

Plot and character development was decent for the genre.  The pacing makes this book a quick read, I read it in two days (while cooking).  I never quite felt a connection to Lara, or rather why Samira and her were so close other than for a lack of options.  She just kind of annoyed me throughout, and never seemed to be a great friend (cousin).  A few times the book would seem to hint at something and nothing would come from it, take Zahra touching her stomach while picking out ice cream, or why Hakeem says he knows Samira can’t call her brother when she has car trouble.

FLAGS:

A kiss, a few hugs, hints at haram acts in earlier days, alcohol, music, belly dancing, texting, emailing, chatting freely with opposite gender.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I wouldn’t use this as a book club book, but I would be ok having it on the library shelf for high schoolers.