Tag Archives: Afghanistan

Feb17

Free Radicals by Lila Riesen

Posted on February 17, 2023 by islamicschoollibrarian

This contemporary 400 page YA book about an American Afghan girl dealing with life and boys and worrying about family in Afghanistan since America’s withdrawal from the country, is written by an Afghan Australian, raised in America, and thus it seemed like a book I should review from an Islamic lens even if the blurb on the back seemed a little stereotypical with the oppressed-can’t-meet-with-boys theme. Well, suffice it to say the blurb on the back is terribly misleading and this OWN voice book lightly sprinkles in Islam as cultural adoptions and there are flags, oh so many flags. In the first 20 pages alone there is normalizing and discussion of sex, watching pornography, voyeurism, a females breast being exposed, drinking alcohol, a trans character changing, cheating, gossip of the main character circle jerking three guys, partying, a boy sneaking over, parents vacuuming to cover the sounds of their son and his girlfriend in the bedroom, attempted sexual assault, and the book doesn’t just say it is young adult, it specifies, 7th grade, ages 12 and up! I’m reviewing it as an Islamic School Librarian, but I am not ok with any 12 year olds reading this, and worry the American flag on top, the masjid on the bottom and the young girl on the side, just might entice a young reader to start reading, and that is alarming. The characters do not identify as Muslim, the grandpa known as Baba is a “conditional Muslim” he skips Ramadan, celebrates Christmas, and only prays a few times a week, so the drinking and the dating are really not concerns for the characters. I kept reading to see if there was some religious arc with the family in Afghanistan possibly coming, but SPOILER, I’ll save you the read, there is no Islam, a Quran is mentioned to be stored in a box with old shoes, the dad starts reading the Bible and considers “converting” and there are make-out scenes, a pan sexual character, vandalism, sexual assault rumors, just to name a few. The writing is entertaining if not chaotic at times, but I cannot recommend this book for Muslim readers, and have reservations about some of the stereotypes for non Muslims, I will stay focused on the Muslim reader in this review, however, since the book is OWN voice, and just because I don’t like or agree with various aspects, does not mean that they are not accurate or real.

SYNOPSIS:

Mafi is 16 and since rumors about what she did at a party with three guys started circulating she finds herself friendless and unseen. She has become the dealer of vengeance, working to ensure people get what is coming to them when the notes left in a tree are verified. Living each day in sweats and hoodies she dreams of Jalen, a basketball player, being more than just her brother’s friend. When she starts to get sloppy in her justice “ghost” dealings she finds herself emotionally involved and her world changing as a result. There are numerous side characters and side stories that keep this book buzzing: her parents relationship falling a part, her sister away at college, her grandfather’s dementia, her brother Rafi and his girl friend Bian, Rafi getting signed by a college for basketball that wants to make public his Afghan roots, a father who wants them to always deny their Afghan roots, Jalen’s own drive to be signed with a college, Jalen’s dad’s PTSD, motocross, driver’s license, the kid next door that smells of smoke, piercing noses, Brit, a popular trans activist with no sex drive who befriends Mafi, and rumors and gossip that poke and complicate every aforementioned character and relationship.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I have issues with the blurb on the back, the cultural/religious restraints are really non existent in the book, the SOL tree is only brought in for two acts of vengeance, and the age demographic is just too young to read about the sexual exploits, that are not detailed but are very present and normalized. I have issues with the religious references that are present anecdotally for the dismissiveness it implies, but it is not an issue for the characters- because religion is not a part of their lives, and honestly- ultimately, I’m glad it was kept at arms length, because with so many “haram” story lines, it would be problematic to see the characters identifying as Muslim. The writing at times was really engaging and smooth and I was shocked at how fast the pages were flying by. At other times it seemed too chaotic and underdeveloped. Keying a car seems such a sad planned act of vengeance, I wanted to know what acts she had done in the past other than the two mentioned in the book, there was a lot of set up to go deep on Bian, or Jalen’s dad or Mafi’s loss of friends, but it all just fizzled. I never felt emotionally tied to the family in Afghanistan, or the dad on the deck. I wanted to understand some of the walls the family established so that I could feel what the characters were feeling- and so often it just wasn’t there. I absolutely loved the grandfather and his quirks and the sibling relationship of Rafi and Mafi as the story progressed. After the initial shock value, the book really did settle down and have a lot of heart, but those first 20 pages were aggressive, and the last twenty seemed to just unravel. I would have loved to see some commentary about the hypocrisy or ironies of Mafi’s life, she has insights, they just seemed missing when reflecting on her own family quirks: her family doesn’t want to identify as Afghan, yet all their nicknames are Afghani, she claims she can’t hang out with boys, but she seems to all the time with no problem, they have no Afghan friends and yet there is no acknowledgement of this when the man on the moped shows up, how long Baba has lived with them seems inconsistent, they eat dinner together most nights but seem like strangers.

Politically, the author has her views and thus the characters theirs. For those not familiar there is enough information about Hazaras, and the Taliban, to understand her point of view, but I don’t know that the books really conveys a lot of the nuance or accounts for why the family would be heading to Pakistan while dropping jabs at Pakistan’s view of the Taliban. There is a bit of othering and we are the good ones not the terrorist ones that seems stereotypical, but the remarks are said in passing and not often.

FLAGS:

Sex, kissing, making out, voyeurism, porn, female breasts exposed, trans character changing, Islamophobic remarks, misogyny, bullying, language, loss, dementia, discrimination, drugs, mental health, rumors, gossip, lying, sexual assault, violence, ptsd, relationships, pan sexual, racism, theft, hate speech, death, fear, threats, sneaking out, Halloween, alcohol, hung over, violence, mention of murder, masturbation word play, a child using a dildo as a sword, pretty much every flag you can think of is present in some form.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I would not shelve this book in an Islamic school library or classroom. I would hope that public libraries would not be displaying it near the books for younger YA as well. It isn’t that I am holding it to a higher standard than other YA books, but it would be naive to think that the Afghan architecture on the bottom right of the cover that looks like a mosque and the light hearted blurb on the back, might excite young Muslim readers, and thus I’ve posted this review as much for my own conscious in making sure parents don’t pick this up for their kids as for warning Muslims that there isn’t Islamic rep in the book.

Feb6

Crescent Moon Friends by Wadia Samadi & Mo Duffy Cobb illustrated by Lisa Lypowy

Posted on February 6, 2023 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Crescent Moon Friends by Wadia Samadi & Mo Duffy Cobb illustrated by Lisa Lypowy

This 32 page book does not read like a new release, it looks like something you would have found in the early 2000s when the recent war in Afghanistan started and books about refugees from the region were popping up. Admittedly back then, I probably would have been more forgiving that the smiling illustrations showed Islam in action and two characters from different cultures coming together through dialogue, respect, acceptance, and fun, but for reasons I’ll articulate, this book reads very superficial, dismissive and erroneous at times. I am not Canadian or Afghani, I am a neighbor to both as a Pakistani American, and the book is OWN voice, so if I am just being overly picky, or sensitive, and am wrong, I am happy to acknowledge it, but before you push back, please read the entire review.

The description of the book says:

Crescent Moon Friends introduces the reader to two best friends Amelia and Aisha. While the pair is from Canada and Afghanistan, the girls reconcile their differences through exploration of the values they share. This book initiates a family conversation about Islam, explores tradition and language, and brings the girls closer together as a result. It is our hope that the book will be used as a teaching tool to help children understand the cultural backgrounds of others, and to create a warm environment for refugees resettling in Atlantic Canada from the Middle East.

This picture book is for both non- Muslims who are living in the West, and Muslims who are living outside their home countries. The focus of the book is on tradition, not religion, it also captures the significance of Islam. This is a valuable title for library and classroom use.

So first of all, I feel like the foundation of the book is othering Islam in making it seem that this book is an introduction of Islam to non Muslim with the premise being that Islam is what, a foreign religion? Numerous Canadians are both Afghani and Muslim in 2022, before I even began the book I was already fearing the framing. Then it identifies Afghanistan as the Middle East, which just made me really question the accuracy. Somehow after that first paragraph, the book then tries to say that the book is not about religion, but traditions. While part of me appreciates that distinction, the second part of the sentence saying that it wants to capture the significance of Islam really shows the poor focus of the book.

Let me pause here though and answer a question I’m sure many of you are wondering, “why review a book that is not well written, and is not widely promoted or known about.” The answer is simple, a book such as this may not sell in big numbers and be regularly seen online and in stores, but they often do find their way into libraries and classrooms. They are often shelved to fill “diversity” or “inclusion” quotas and thus their messaging does often reach our children. I also highlight books like this, not just to pick on this particular book, but to show that OWN voices doesn’t make something automatically correct. If this is the author’s own experience or is a memoir, there is some leeway, but saying that Afghanistan is in the Middle East or that Salam is Dari, not Arabic, or that it is “naan tandori” instead of “tandoori naan,” just makes the book seem inauthentic. Often publishers, editors, agents perhaps don’t want to push back and appear uncultured or racist, so they don’t question details, is the only thing I can think of as to why this trend continues to perpetuate. Which is also why the importance of having a piece sensitivity read cannot be overlooked, even when the author is writing about their own religion or culture. Yes, I too am only one person saying I have issues, but beta and sensitivity readers such as @muslimbookreviewers are four people and we discuss based on what we know and between the four of us there are a lot of singular specialties and a lot of overlapping expertise that really help books get it right. Sorry for my rant, back to the book at hand…

The book starts with the white Canadian girl camping with her family and wondering what the upcoming school year will bring. The text says. “she loved to look at the crescent moon.” Already the writing is clearly weak, who loves to look at a particular phase of the moon, does she not like the waxing gibbous or whole moon? The next spread introduces Aisha, she is standing in the foreground with a mosque behind her and the text says she loves the moon too. “There was a crescent moon on top of the mosque where her family went to pray.” Aisha has her hair loosely covered, and immediately we are connecting Aisha to her faith and to Amelia through their love of the crescent moon. Interestingly, Aisha who would presumably love the crescent as it symbols holidays and month changes in the lunar calendar is presented as liking the moon because of it decoration aesthetic. It is where her family went to pray, sure it reminds her of home, but chances are she didn’t often go to the masjid as culturally most women don’t, so I’m not sure that this spread really has any accuracy or value, it just sounds good…if that.

The next spread is the first day of 6th grade with the teacher introducing a new friend to the class. If it is the first day of school, aren’t they all new to the class? Aisha recalls that she left Afghanistan because there was a war in her country and school wasn’t safe, if she is twelve or thirteen, I’m not sure what caused the change in real life for the war timeline being referenced. On a more relatable note it mentions that she missed swinging in her grandfather’s garden with cousins as well.

The next page showing the girls being silly with pencils to look like a bunny and walrus is sweet. It shows language isn’t necessary, that silliness is universal and it is cute. The girls then show how they share things unique to their culture with one another. Aisha teaches her how to say Salam, hello in Dari, how to dance the Attan, about Eid, the most important Muslim holiday, and about a game with stones called anjaaq panjaaq. But this is wrong, Salam is Arabic, Eid is Arabic for festival or holiday so what Eid is the book referring to? Also why not tell how to play the game, or how to do the dance or how Eid is celebrated? If the book is to build cultural (or religious) bridges, thus far I’ve only learned how to stick pencils in my mouth to look like a walrus or behind my head to look like a rabbit.

It is then Amelia’s turn to share Canadian culture and the book picks: ghosts, goblins, Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. I find this a bit offensive on Canadians’ behalf, really their holidays are what make them who they are? Later we will learn that Amelia is not religious, yet the symbols for religious holidays of Easter and Christmas are what are being presented. Additionally, the holidays mentioned are not even unique to Canada: Christmas, Halloween, and Easter, are the same in America at the very least.

The next spread shows their moms becoming friends and the girls playing in Aisha’s mom’s scarves, hijabs, shoes and make-up. I find the joy sweet, but I wonder if the book as stated in the details by the author/publisher is to help refugees- is this a bit misleading- that they are settled and have an abundance of clothing accurate? Often refugees need assistance, will a book like this send the wrong message about helping those fleeing war get established, by not just avoiding talking about need, but celebrating surplus?

Aisha is then shown helping Amelia with math and when Aisha needs help with a Halloween costume, Amelia is there. The book really is doubling down on the importance of Halloween to Canadian culture, which again feels off. But also most Muslims don’t celebrate pagan holidays, so I’m not sure I like the positioning that it is cultural to celebrate and that to be Canadian one must engage in the rituals. Whether you see it as pagan or just assimilation, either way it doesn’t sit right for a book aimed at finding common ground between diverse individuals. Math is neutral and universal, why not have Amelia help Aisha with something also less controversial?

The next spread shows Aisha missing Afghanistan, and Amelia being a supportive friend and wanting to visit Afghanistan too. Unfortunately, once again the weak writing has her sounding like an adult missing the laughter in the air and hope and flowers, not a kid talking. When Amelia joins in, naan tandori is mentioned, which is backward, if it is the same as in Urdu it should be tandoori naan. She also wishes they could wear colorful Afghani clothes and dance the Attan, which are two acts not limited to Afghanistan. They can put on traditionally clothing and dance in Canada.

The story then takes a huge pivot and shows Aisha and her mom praying with the very vague text of her mom “described her way of life, Islam as the peace in her heart, and said turning to Allah in prayer would keep Aisha happy.” The text seems misplaced and the messaging completely pointless, why not frame it as what Aisha believes or what her faith teaches her? It almost comes across as her mom forcing the belief on her and this being the first Aisha has heard about it. The next page is set up the same, but shows Amelia’s faith to be kindness and compassion while they sit in nature. I think the intent was to be positive, but when you have two people representing entire populations, all sorts of stereotypes come in to play that either have to be so general as to be accurate or more specific to the two characters at hand. In this case I feel the takeaway is that holidays define Canadians, even religious holidays, but they are fine to participate in because Amelia is not part of organized religion.

Thus the next spread of Aisha’s family celebrating Christmas with Amelia makes sense in the story, but I find alarming because it normalizes abandoning your own religious convictions and adopting another faiths in order to fit in and assimilate. Imagine a teacher reading this book to a first grade class and little Muslim children who demand that Christmas and Easter stay out of public schools are hearing messaging normalizing the holidays for people of all faiths. Imagine a recent immigrant or refugee further feeling pressured to adopt these practices because they want to be seen as “good citizens” or be accepted by the larger community. The contrast of Aisha’s family celebrating Christmas is Amelia helping make star and moon shaped cookies for Eid.

The story comes back to the girls love of the moon, one as a dreamer, the other as a scientist. It tells of other firsts Aisha experiences and Amelia learning about Aisha and her faith. I’m not sure what a genie lamp has to do with Islam, but it is in the illustration with a hamsa hand, a book, a tasbih, and a crescent with a minaret coming out.

Aisha then starts to wear hijab and Amelia learns how to wear one too. No details about what or why hijab is worn or given, and in the illustrations it doesn’t completely cover anyone’s hair. The girls ski together and drink hot chocolate and living in Canada allows Aisha “to be the girl she was meant to be.” I’m not sure what that means, but that seems to be the resolution to the book before it circle backs to the mom and concludes.

I think on the very surface the book is a nice idea, but the conflation of what it means to be Canadian with observance of holidays and the lacking details of what it means to be Muslim Afghani make the book miss so much and ultimately do more harm than good if shared.

Nov28

House of Yesterday by Deeba Zargarpur

Posted on November 28, 2022 by islamicschoollibrarian

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While reading this 320 page YA supernatural/contemporary book-I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. When finished- I was bothered that certain threads weren’t resolved, now that I’ve ruminated a bit- I think the vagueness of the author’s prose in sharing her “fever dream” on paper has lingered and the gaps not as troublesome. The author’s OWN voice Afghan-Uzbek Muslim identity adds layers to a story that is both haunting in the literal sense and familiar in the immigration inter-generational traumas and secrets shared. Even deeper though, the book pokes at universal themes of regret, holding on to the past, family, friendships, and grief. The book’s characters identify as Muslim, but the story is not Islamic, nor is there much religion save a few salams and mentions of Eid. The supernatural elements in the book, whether you understand it to be ghosts, or personified memories, or jinn, are a large part of the book, but are not framed in a belief or spiritual manner, and while some may find it Islamically off-putting, I felt the book explored what the main character was enduring and what the weight of the past was doing to her, didn’t necessarily cross the haram line. Her father has a girlfriend he is looking to marry, but it isn’t celebrated, and there are close male/female friendships, but the book is relatively clean for the genre and would be a good fit for high school readers and up.

SYNOPSIS:

Summer on Long Island has Sara retreating into herself. Surrounded by nearly a dozen aunts and uncles and numerous cousins, it is the separation of her parents and trouble with her best friend that makes getting out of bed every morning a challenge. As a result, her mother ropes her in to helping with her latest remodeling project. When she enters an old crumbling house one morning to take “before” pictures, she starts seeing things, and feeling things. Things about her past. Things about her beloved grandma, Bibi Jan, who is alive and deteriorating from dementia. What is the house trying to tell her? Why won’t anyone tell the truth?

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love the mystery and the chills of the story. As the reader you aren’t entirely sure where the story is headed, what you are to do with the bits of the puzzle you are given, but the intrigue to find out pulls you forward. That being said, the book does reads debut, a few of the side story lines are not fleshed out enough to feel important, satisfying, or resolved and they come across as being abandoned. I would have liked to see more of Sara and her father’s relationship, the details don’t seem to fit, and the continuity seems halfhearted. At times so does the “night” it all changed with Sam. I like the interpretive vagueness of the supernatural threads and that they are up for interpretation amongst readers not just at the end, but throughout the book. I also like the family’s closeness even when they are disagreeing. For most of the book Sara and her cousins aren’t portrayed as particularly close and I didn’t invest time to differentiate one from another, but by the end, I felt that they were grounded and different and relatable, and I am not sure when that change occurred. At times the writing seemed a bit repetitive, but the lyrical style would then catapult the story ahead. There was one place that the fourth wall was broken though, and I was bothered by that slip.

Overall I loved that the Uzben Afghan culture sprinkles showed immigrant nuances, and that the love between the generations countered the trauma being shared as well. The messaging is subtle but powerful long after the last page has been read.

FLAGS:

For the most part the book stays clean, the father has moved on and has met someone he would like to marry, the mom and aunts briefly recall sneaking out to attend a prom decades earlier. There is mention of a child bride, and swimsuits, tank tops, and cocktail dresses being worn with no second thought. For a YA book, the flags are incredibly minimal, save the “ghosts”(?). There are flags of a death that is detailed, the book is “spooky” at times, there is mental health, divorce, pain, dementia, abandonment, theft, running away, and fear.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I would love to read this book with some high schoolers. It is a quick read that would allow for a lot of self reflection, arguments, and entertainment. The book is available here and releases in a few days, so if planning to purchase, please consider preordering and showing your support.

Oct25

A Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman illustrated by Peggy Collins

Posted on October 25, 2021 by islamicschoollibrarian

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A Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman illustrated by Peggy Collins

I know many of you are thinking, another book about school for girls in Afghanistan, and given the reception by most to the author’s first book, The Library Bus, I can sense the rolling eyes. I was in the minority on that one, as I enjoyed it, but, this one is simpler, sweeter, more universal while being complimented by culture, and I hope it is a more authentic and accurate OWN voice portrayal. I know I have a lot to learn about white washing narratives and breaking down colonial paradigms, so I promise if you disagree I will listen. But I genuinely enjoyed the illustrations and little Aria finding a way to make a bench so she could sit comfortably at school with her prosthetic leg. The girls go to school, and the furniture was burned to keep warm in the winter, a concept that the author verifies at the end as something experienced in his own life. Aria has to find a way to sit in class because she wants to learn, and lack of wood working experience, resources, and doubt that a girl can do it from her classmates, isn’t going to stop her. Over 32 pages, early elementary age children will meet a determined young girl as she pieces together scraps to build a bench.

Aria has been in the hospital for a while after an accident took her leg. She is excited to be back at school, but quickly realizes it is hard to sit on the floor with her new helper leg. She tries leaning on the wall, standing even, but just getting up and down off the floor is really difficult. At home when she mentions it to her mom, her mom reassures her that she can get through it and her little brother offers to help her carry her things.

That night Aria considers how much she would miss school if she isn’t able to figure something out. Then she has an idea, she’ll build a bench. At school the next morning, classmates tell her “Girls don’t build benches,” but Aria responds, “I can do anything a boy can.”

With that, a single friend joins Aria as they comb the city for discarded wood, broken furniture, screws, and nails. They assemble the resources and when they have enough Aria and her mom head across town, past the Blue Mosque, to visit the carpenter, Kaka Najar. He shows them how to fit the pieces together like a puzzle and loans them the tools needed to be successful. He even gifts her some sky-blue paint, “the color of courage, peace, and wisdom.”

That weekend Aria and her mom and little brother build a bench, paint it blue, and get it to school. When the other students see it, their excitement bubbles and they imagine building tables, book cases, and more. Anything is possible after all, there is paint left in the can and they are willing to work together.

There is nothing religious in the text, save the mention of walking past a mosque, but in the illustrations the women are all covering their heads when they are out, and are uncovered at home, the school uniform seems to be a white hijab and black abaya. I wish there were some Pashto words sprinkled, and it was a bit off that she was building a bench, but the finished project was a bench and table. The end has an Author’s Note and I enjoy seeing the smiling faces and bright illustrations in a book set in Afghanistan.

May28

Enduring Freedom by Jawad Arash and Trent Reedy

Posted on May 28, 2021 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Enduring Freedom by Jawad Arash and Trent Reedy

This isn’t the type of book I am naturally drawn to, and had it not been offered to me as an arc, I didn’t even request it, I probably would not have read it. So, to say that this young adult OWN voice 246 page post 9/11 war story had a lot to overcome for me personally, is putting it mildly. I gave in and decided to read it for the simple fact that I was curious to see what the narrative is in today’s literature, as we approach the 20 year anniversary of the attacks on US soil. The afterward is very clear that the agenda of the two authors, one an Afghan and the other a US veteran, was to show a personal view of growth and assumptions on both sides and how the future of Afghanistan needs to be rooted in education and stability. I think the book accomplished its goals, and made very clear how the terrorists first victims were their own people, and that extreme ideologies of the Taliban were and are still not reflective of the larger population. The pacing of the dual narratives, however, was a bit off to me, and I really felt that some of the major plot points didn’t get explored in a meaningful way, that they were simply glossed over and brushed aside to keep the book inline with the authors’ objectives. The book is not overly political, and the Muslim characters are religious and knowledgeable, but for a book that talked about how even in war the people, the soldiers, are the story, I wanted to see more internal wresting with choices and their outcomes, then what was offered.

SYNOPSIS:

The book is told in alternating view points, one is that of Baheer an Afghan boy living with his large extended family in Kabul next to a Taliban compound. The family is religious, Baheer’s grandfather, Baba Jan, is well read in poetry and religious text and often quotes the Quran by ayat and surah number. The family sells carpets, and often hides the latest movies or news recordings in the rolls, so that they can be brought home, the blackout shades pulled and the tapes enjoyed. They are fearful of being harassed for not having long enough beards, shaved heads, turbans and the like. Baheer and his brother Rahim do not enjoy school with the strict and abusive teachers. The talibs seem to touch them inappropriately and scold them harshly. Their older sister is not allowed to attend school and never has even though the family used to live in Pakistan where the boys enjoyed school. It doesn’t explain why they were there or why they returned. One uncle is assaulted by the Taliban and soon after, a news clip showing the attacks on 9/11 is secretly watched by the family. As a result they decide to move to Farah, in Western Afghanistan where Baba Jan has family and property, to be away from the impending US attacks and Taliban assaults.

Joe Killian is the other voice. When the book starts he is sitting in class, his senior year, when news about the attacks on the World Trade Center starts to break. He had joined the national guard that summer for the college money, and as his classmates sit glued to the televisions in Iowa, he is nervous that he is about to be called up to war. He doesn’t get called up that day, he graduates, and is studying journalism in college when the call finally comes. He is preparing for combat, but when he is deployed and discovers it is a reconstruction mission he is angry and annoyed. A year of helping what he terms barbarians, is not what he signed up for.

The majority of the book reads like a ‘day in the life’ of each of these two voices, as they adapt to life in Farah, as they deal with each other’s presence and as their friendship forces their assumptions to change. The interactions between Joe and Baheer show the power in getting to know someone to alter perceptions, and the threat of the Taliban on both the average citizen and the US forces on the ground as a unifying enemy to allow the friendship to grow.

The book concludes when Joe’s year of deployment is up, but really the authors’ notes at the end are a better conclusion to the real life friendship and growth of the two authors that resulted in the writing of the book

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that the family sees the planes hitting the towers and is mortified at the brazen destruction and loss of life. They immediately start praying for the victims even as they realize they will be the recipients of the backlash. I like that it highlights where practicing Muslims and extremists differ, by having the Quran quoted and explained as opposed to the rhetoric the Taliban is spouting. Baba Jan’s manner for speaking the ayats is a bit awkward in that most people don’t in daily conversation source and reference their dialogues, but it does grow on you. I think the book is very simplistic in making the Taliban to unequivocally be the ‘bad guys’ without any context of how they gained traction. It talks about the Soviets, but I think it will leave the readers wondering where this group came from and why the Afghan people allowed it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of nuances and complexities that are overlooked by such a simple narrative, and allow for an inaccurate picture to be formed.

I like that Baheer pushes back on Joe who thinks America is perfect and that Afghanistan is less than, by pointing out the flaws in American society as well as his own. I was ok with Baheer pushing the cultural limits to talk to a girl, it was innocent and I think understandable. My biggest concern is that I really felt that there needed to be more space on the page dedicated to understanding the repercussions of him being an informant to the Americans, and his brother passing on information to the Talibs. People were taken in to custody and injured and killed as a result of these boys’ actions and to just chalk it up to something to be forgiven, was not enough for me. I wanted them to hash it out and wallow in their choices, not forgive and move on so quickly. I also wanted to know more about their reconstruction efforts. It seemed rather minimal: relocating explosives, helping a burn victim, sending supplies to a school, I think in a year, that there would be more mixing with the people than the book would suggest. And finally, I felt like the sister not getting to go to school was handled as an obligation to address, not that any insight or understanding was really given to such a hot button issue.

The book is really slow and dragging at parts, I couldn’t tell you about any of the dozen or so soldiers that are mentioned, I don’t even recall any of their names. I think the book has a lot of potential, and perhaps it does shine in showing the effects of war and terrorism on the Afghan people. It held my attention while actively reading it, but I just as easily could have put it down and forgotten about it if I wasn’t under obligation to offer an opinion in exchange for an early copy.

FLAGS:

There is language, stereotypes, physical abuse, sexual misconduct, death, killing, violence, acts of war, bloodshed, a crush. Upper middle school and high school can handle it.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I don’t think I’d select this book as a book club selection because I’m not sure what would be gained from the book. The characters assumptions are challenged and evolve, but I think most minorities know that, getting to know someone is often the best way to have their image changed. I think the book still functions to make Americans feel better about invading Afghanistan, rather than have us question what the long term affects of our involvement have been.

May3

Brave with Beauty: A Story of Afghanistan by Maxine Rose Schur illustrated by Patricia Grush, Robin Dewitt, and Golsa Yaghoobi

Posted on May 3, 2021 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Brave with Beauty: A Story of Afghanistan by Maxine Rose Schur illustrated by Patricia Grush, Robin Dewitt, and Golsa Yaghoobi

This 44 page fictionalized retelling of Queen Goharshad, a 15th century monarch of the Timurid dynasty in Afghanistan should really be a larger book than 8 x 8 to appreciate the artwork that is detailed and stunning. The story of Goharshad, wife of Emperor Shah Rukh, and her influence on art, music, culture, higher education, and architecture, is one that we should be more familiar with, but the actual text and manner in which the story is conveyed isn’t consistent for me and I wanted more details about the society she stepped in to to rule, I know it is fiction, and meant for 2nd to 4th graders, but I would like to think that readers will want to know what obstacles she had and what support she enjoyed and from where. That they will question if it was a rich kingdom that she could pay musicians to play everywhere, and wonder if families sent their daughters to the University she built, ask why it wasn’t for women to design a Masjid, and what was the name of the smaller mosque that bore an older woman’s name? The book at times overly summarizes and at other times is haltingly detailed. It is a good read to reflect a strong woman and her influence on her land, but unless assigned, I don’t know that seven to ten year olds will pick up the book and be inspired by it enough to change their perception of the Afghanistan that they may see on the news.

Seven centuries ago Goharshad loved beautiful things such as painting and the texts of Rumi. Her brothers played at being like Genghis Khan and teased her for not being brave. She vowed to be brave with beauty even though she didn’t know what that even meant. At age 14 she was given in marriage to the king, Shah Rukh, in Herat. She ruled with her husband and had resources and time to spread her beauty by speaking up and being brave.

Her first act of beauty was by filling the kingdom with music. She wanted music every day in the court and beyond. Music that was playful and pious, music that painted pictures in the listeners minds and brought joy like the laughter of God. She next sketched and designed a beautiful and enchanting garden to be built. It doesn’t say where it was, but that people came from all around to enjoy it.

Feeling braver she turned her sights on building a mosque in the western city of Mashhad. She designed it and called the court architect, Qavam al-Din Shirazi to discuss. He doubted if it was right for a woman to design such spaces, but she assured him that she had the talent for it, so construction began. An elderly woman refused to sell her cottage for the new project unless a mosque with her name was built. The advisors wanted the old woman put to death or imprisoned, Goharshad disagreed appreciating the woman’s strength and instead agreed. The big mosque was built with Goharshad’s name and a smaller one on the property with the old lady’s.

With such an accomplishment complete, the Queen again summoned the architect and expressed her desire to build a great center for learning. A college for girls, a grand mosque for prayer, and a vast library. She wanted the structure decorated with paint from precious stones and sold her crown to finance the project.

After her husband died Goharshad reigned, but sadly after she died, much of her accomplishments died as well. Over time, harsh weather and war, nearly all her buildings disappeared and those that remain, do so in ruin. The book ends with hope that memories of her will endure, A guide to some of the words in the story, an Author’s note, and a Guide for Parents and Educators.

There is not a lot of Islam in the story, just the building of masajid . Some may take issue with her stress and celebration of music, and likening it to God laughing, but if you look at it as her story, it should be able to be appreciated even if you disagree.

Apr14

The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Posted on April 14, 2021 by islamicschoollibrarian

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The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

It seems this polarizing 32 page picture book has instagram reviewers torn, perhaps along racial/cultural lines, as to whether the book is wonderful or simply victim to perpetuating the same old tropes and stereotypes. Maybe being half brown, I shouldn’t be surprised to find myself in the middle. I think if you are tired of feeling like the only strong Muslim female from the subcontinent acknowledged by the West is Malala Yousafzai, and seeing her single narrative and experience being repackaged in a new book every other week, then yes, this book is going to grate on a similar nerve and OWN voice or not, you will write it off as Afghanistan being close enough to Pakistan and the story of a girl and education being unoriginal. I think the flip side is that if you find a female lead taking education in the form of a library bus to the places where formal education is not available and you love the empowerment that women educating women can have in changing a society, then you are going to probably love a female driving a bus, a female teaching, a girl planning to go to school, a grandfather making sure in a previous generation when women couldn’t be educated, that he taught his daughter, and being thankful that it is a person from the society and not a “white savior” coming to help the people in Afghanistan. Both as far as I can tell have merit. I think that you see in the book what your paradigm and perspective is before you even start. I have read it and re read it and then read it again over the span of many weeks. I was alerted to it by @muslimkidsbooknook who sensed that we might disagree before she even posted her review (haha it’s like she knows me!), so my review is going to try really hard to focus on the text, and what it says, not on the 30 books before it that had a similar message or on my views on publishers only accepting manuscripts with reassuring easily palatable narratives, there is enough of that already about this book out there. I’m going to try and offer my perspective on what the book contains and while it has problems for me, I definitely liked it more than I disliked it. Oh and one more thing: the illustrations, swoon, are gorgeous, like really, really beautiful. Bismillah…

Pari and her mother are getting ready to set off in their library on wheels. It is Pari’s first day as her mother’s helper and she is a little nervous. It is dark when Pari’s mom drives the bus to their first stop- a small village tucked in a valley between two gray mountains. There are a group of girls waiting for the bus and call it over to return books and pick new ones. This reminds me of my time in New England and hearing about the Book Mobiles and Mobile Book Fairs that would visit the small seaside towns that didn’t have proper libraries. Even my mom used to tell me stories about waiting for the Book Mobile to stop on her street in Davis County, Utah to get books once a month. The concept is universal and that it takes place in Afghanistan and is driven by a woman who is educated and independent, is intentional with the hopes of being inspiring.

The girls then gather for a lesson, it is hard to know how impromptu it is or if it is a regular organized class. It is also not made clear if they always practice English or it is something unique to the day, but they sing the alphabet song and count to ten. After class a girl tries to chat with Pari and see how much she knows. Pari lies and says she can print, but in reality can’t even read or write in Farsi yet. This shows a gap in the story as earlier Pari said she could barely count all the books in the library, and in the pictures there are a lot of books, but she is trying to keep up as the girls count to ten. As the mom and daughter team pack up to head to their next location they discuss how Pari’s mama learned.

Pari’s grandpa taught her mom a long time ago, at a time when girls were not allowed to go to school and she had to hide in the basement to learn. Pari wonders if her mom was afraid of the basement. It is always dark down there. It is really one paragraph on one page that mentions that girls could not learn. It is presented in the past tense, and as the story progresses we learn that next year when Pari is older she will be going to school.

There is a two page spread about the mom seemingly going off on her mantra that learning makes you free. And I’m ok with it. It says when you go to school study hard, period, then the next line says, “Never stop learning. Then you will be free.” Yes! I agree, how many of us pursued a skill or a hobby during this pandemic to feel free from the confines of staying at home. Learning in any capacity is liberating. It may not keep you safe in a war, but the freedom of the mind to find peace and pursue passions is critical to mental health and survival. Am I reading too much in to these basic lines? Absolutely, well probably anyway.

When the bus gets to a refugee camp with tents everywhere, Pari and her mom start handing out pencils and notebooks before settling in to what seems an organized English lesson of ABC. I am torn on my thoughts about them stressing English over their own language. A sense of pride in who they are by learning Farsi or Dari or Pashtu would show readers that Afghan culture is rich and worth learning and valuing. I worry that by stressing the English, it presents the culture and language erroneously as the opposite. At the same time, as a child and teen, I went to Pakistan over a dozen times and would beg my (middle class) cousins to teach me Urdu. I’d make them take me to Urdu Bazaar for dictionaries and text books, and preschool grammar books so that I could learn my father’s language. And it never happened. I’d beg in letters before I got there, and they would agree, but when I arrived they all wanted to work on their English. They wanted to practice it in conversation, they wanted me to read over their assignments, they would introduce me to their coaching center teachers, their principals, the tutors, and I’d find myself teaching them colloquialisms and explaining idioms, and I’d watch my “textbooks” gather dust. This was before social media, and YouTube and Netflix and I was their link from their studies to the larger world that rewarded knowledge of the English language. Is it correct or even logical? No. But it was my experience that they desperately wanted to learn English over Urdu or the required provincial language Sindhi. Would readers of this book know that? No. Do critics of them learning English wish that it wasn’t the case more than wishing that the book simply didn’t highlight it? I don’t know.

As they leave the camp, Pari reads the letters of the refugee organizations off the tents. I find it off that earlier she called it ACDs instead of ABCs and yet now she knows the alphabet. Again I’ve read the critiques questioning why the refugee camps are named and have over thought it. In some ways I think it is a reminder that the country has been at war and that individual organizations are helping care for those displaced by countries that tore the country apart. The text says that, “there are no schools for the girls in the village or the camps.” If anything I took this to show that while we stereotype Afghan society as not making education of females important, that international relief groups don’t either. The great saviors aren’t teaching the girls in the camps, a mom and her daughter come once a week. There is a subtle yet powerful critique of foreign policy there, if you want to really be honest, I think this should be made more clear. At the end of the day the strong Afghan people are putting their country back together after a never ending illegal conflict has ravaged them further.

The author says in his note at the end that this book is based on real people he met in refugee camps when he returned to his homeland and that this book is a tribute to the strong Afghan people, particularly the women. Imagine where any war torn nation would be without the bravery and determination of mothers and teachers, and women who will risk it all for their children and ultimately an entire generation, when politics and power have found other things to value.

The book on its own I think is fine, allbeit written plainly for western readers. Do I wish stories about life in this part of the world didn’t feature war and refugees and education, absolutely. We can argue my experience compared to your experience, to the author’s purpose and intent, to the publisher’s vision. That is the beauty of books, we don’t have to agree and we can discuss and we can all be better for it. There is nothing Islamic in the book other than some of the characters wearing a scarf or chador or hijab.

Nov6

A Galaxy of Sea Stars by Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo

Posted on November 6, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

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A Galaxy of Sea Stars by Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo

This middle grade, 330 page book is an easy read that touches on concepts of change within friendships and families with the back drop of life in a coastal town, finding courage, and Islamaphobia. While early middle school readers might find the book a bit predictable and cliche’, the characters, lessons, and fluid storytelling would still make the book worth their time.

SYNOPSIS:

Eleven year old Izzy spends her summer days in Rhode Island on her skiff mapping out the floor of the pond that runs next to the ocean. Fearful of the open ocean, she is, however, confident and independent in her abilities to navigate the calmer water and understand what is beneath the surface. Her father has recently returned from Afghanistan and with his post traumatic stress disorder making him angry and not the same as before. Izzy is further thrown into turmoil when the family moves out of their house and into the marina, her mother extends her already summer long absence to Block Island and middle school at a new regional school is about to start. As always she hopes to lean on her fellow sea stars, Zelda and Piper, best friends since kindergarten, however, things with them don’t quite seem the same either. Add in that her father’s translator from Afghanistan and his family have just moved in upstairs with their two young boys and 11 year old daughter Sitara, and Izzy has a lot to handle and navigate.

Piper and Zelda decide to take television production class first period to make sure they have at least one class together, Izzy is incredibly shy and while she appreciates that this has all been arranged she isn’t confident that it is a good fit for her. Dragged along, as it seems she often is by her much more confident friends, It is arranged that Sitara will also be in the class. Right away Piper and Zelda decide that they don’t like Sitara and her hijab and her “different-ness” and exclude her and by extension Izzy from their lives. As Sitara and Izzy get closer and start to learn from one another, Piper and Zelda lash out and go from ignoring to being mean to Izzy and Sitara. Sitara explains to people on the announcement show why she covers and helps Izzy to understand that her father was in danger after helping the Americans and that they had to leave Afghanistan. The anniversary of 9/11 however, turns many students into verbally berating Sitara and her having her hijab pulled off in the lunchroom. When Izzy figures out that her former sea stars were involved in the planning she is devastated and must take the lessons from Sitara and her Czech Grandma to have more courage than fear, find her voice, and do something to make things right.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that Izzy has a lot going on in her life and in many ways Sitara has been through a lot, allowing them to encourage each other to keep moving forward. There are some parallels in losing their homes and dealing with change that they comfort each other with, but the two characters combined show readers that strength and bravery occurs when you are afraid, and that most people aren’t truly fearless. I really feel for Izzy, her friends may have been there for her on occasion, but by and large they seem kind of dismissive of her and her fears. I think she sees them as equal, but I don’t get the feeling that they see her that way, they may be protective of her, but they kind of bully her in to doing what they want. Every few chapters is a flashback to a pivotal point in the sea stars friendship and even before Sitara enters the dynamic, I started to question Piper and Zeldas sincerity. Their best friend just moved, her dad came back from serving in Afghanistan, and her mom is not coming home, they should be concerned, not belittling her for liking art and wearing old clothes. The mom is another painful plot point, like lady I get that you have stuff going on in your life, but really you are just going to leave your child? Ya, I wasn’t a fan of hers.

I like that the story addresses Islam and Islamaphobia, and while it is very much in the story, it isn’t really about it. Izzy is front and center, and even she takes a while to warm up to Sitara. I love that it shows what Afghanis that helped fight against the Taliban went through and how painful it is for them to resume life after doing so. I think this point is so lost in mainstream understanding whenever there is a terrorist attack, that this is what the refugees are leaving, that people in Afghanistan and Iraq and Syria are running from, and when they get called terrorist it hurts that much more, because their whole lives and people they care for have suffered from the real terrorists.

I really wish there was a map, I wanted to visualize better the breachway and had I not lived in Rhode Island for a few years I probably wouldn’t have understood Block Island’s location to to the mainland. Like with so many middle grade novels I wish there was some more depth to the characters, but I truly appreciated that there wasn’t a completely happy ending, and that growth occurred in so many characters, but at different rates. It really made it clear that we all need to continuously work to get to know one another, find our voice, our courage, and be willing to change.

FLAGS:

Clean.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I don’t do an elementary book club, but I think this would be a great recommendation for those that do. There is a lot to discuss and explore that kids can relate to. The majority of the characters are female, but I think the themes are universal enough that boys will enjoy the book as well. I’m confident all readers will learn something new about sea stars and possibly even television production in this sweet story.

Nov2

Anything But Okay by Sarah Darer Littman

Posted on November 2, 2018 by islamicschoollibrarian

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Anything But Okay by Sarah Darer Littman

This 345 page contemporary book is brand new from Scholastic and isn’t yet in the AR database, it is billed as appropriate for ages 12 and up and is probably pretty accurate. The cover, in my opinion, is rather a disservice for the audience. The book would appeal to girls and boys, and isn’t really about school drama, which is the vibe I got from the cover. The story is actually pretty deep and thought provoking, on a wide range of issues facing many young adults today.

SYNOPSIS:

Told from Stella Walker’s perspective, the book opens with her and her friends, Ken and Farida, reviewing old movies. Farida, an Iraqi immigrant, is constantly pointing out the stereotypes, tropes, and bias they engage in regularly and see depicted around them. She is constantly nagging her friends to recognize their privilege and check it. Stella tries to get it, but it’s not that easy. Nor are the obstacles that the book explores.

Stella’s parents are vets, and her brother, Rob, has just returned from his second tour in Afghanistan and is suffering from PTSD. Additionally, Rob’s best friend commits suicide and yet, Stella’s family doesn’t involve her in the conversations and concerns, and as a result she doesn’t talk to her best friend Farida. This tension is amplified when Farida wants to run for class president, but her parents advise her against it, as Islamaphobia is on the rise with the mayor, up for re-election, spouting hate speech, and his son, already in the race to lead the school.

Stella, as a result, is convinced to run with the help and support of her friends. All should be going well, but in a desperate attempt to get Rob out of the house, a trip to the mall to watch a movie results in Rob sticking up for a Sikh kid being bullied, and breaking the instigators nose. The police are called in, and the real drama of the book takes center stage, as social media, a bigoted mayor, and a family’s member friendship with a Muslim paint Rob as a radicalized terrorist. The Walker’s house is vandalized and Farida’s family’s restaurant is suffering and the mayoral election and class office election will all require some tough decisions and insights into honesty, framing, perseverance and friendship.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I don’t think I was expecting the book to explore so many topics and to do it, in a rather real and raw way. The arc of concepts covered provides a lot of juice and relevance and the quick pace, makes it a quick read. Some pages are letters written by Rob, a number of pages are the various police reports taken after the mall assault and the various points of view are great. It explores how media editing and framing can change a narrative to one side or another.

I love Farida, bless her, she is annoying and one-dimensional, but yet so relatable. She is the token minority that ties it all together and is the billboard representation of “other.” I can so relate to her, being the minority and the one that constantly had to be the gadfly on the masses.

The school election is a little cheesy and overly elevated in importance, but it is the catalyst, so while I wasn’t really invested in who won, I liked the concepts it brought to the forefront of the characters lives. The family struggles and retaking the truth and owning it, was the real strength of the book, and introducing kids to the horrors of war, returning from war, mental illness, the blind eye of politicians, the struggles of the VA, the power of the media, friendship, and concepts of patriotism, privilege, pride, suicide, and moving forward.

My biggest complaint is the awkward and forced romance. It isn’t even romance really. After the mall incident, Stella confides in a classmate, Adam, who comes over to see if she is okay and they hold hands and kiss. It is so out of left field and so awkward I would imagine for most readers, not just me the conservative muslim mama looking for books for my kids and their school book club. In all they kiss five times I think, and mentions them holding hands twice. It isn’t lamented or dwelled on, it just kind of boom, jumps in to the story and then yes, they kind of snuggle after the election results, which is a little more fitting (but still irritating). Rob meets a girl, and again later on when she comes to celebrate the plea deal its nice that she is there, but they talk like once and he completely falls for her, kind of intense and random. The discussions about letting someone in to your life and all is good, and more natural and they don’t kiss, but they do have “feelings” for each other.

There isn’t much about Islam other than that Farida is Muslim and that her mom wears hijab. Even the Islamaphobia is mentioned more for political and prejudicial purposes than as a segway in to understanding Islam.

FLAGS:

Kissing (see above), suicide, war, violence. Beer is mentioned at the end when a college veteran gets one out of the fridge.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I really want to do this as a Middle School Book Club choice, yes I’m hosting those again. I need to talk to the school counselor about the kissing stuff. I think they can handle it, but I don’t know the kids well enough just yet, to verify this. Being it isn’t the Muslim characters, I can’t imagine it is any different from what they see on TV or in Disney Movies, but still, I can’t confidently say it will happen. Twelve and up is the non Muslim age point, I’ll have to think it over and update this once I investigate.

Author’s website: https://sarahdarerlittman.com/books_2/young-adult/anything-but-okay-coming.html

Reading Guide: https://sarahdarerlittman.com/books_2/young-adult/abo-teaching-reading-guide.pdf

Feb12

The Lines We Cross by Randa Abel-Fattah

Posted on February 12, 2018 by islamicschoollibrarian

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It is kind of remarkable now that I look back on the book, that before reading it, I knew exactly what was going to happen based on the jacket flap synopsis, yet somehow the book held my interest and I finished it easily. There were no surprises, no plot twists, not even any amazingly poignant passages, yet, I kept reading, so there is some merit, perhaps in ideas, even if the story line wasn’t meticulously crafted. At 390 pages, this 4.8 level AR book is not for elementary or even middle school readers, it is a high school and up for content understanding and appropriateness.

SYNOPSIS:

The dual storylines are told from the intertwined perspectives of Mina, a Muslim refugee to Australia who fled Afghanistan in a boat, and Michael, an Australian upper middle class high school student whose parents run an anti-immigration group and oppose the arrival of refugees. The two see each other on opposite sides at a protest, and reunite when Mina earns a scholarship to a prestige posh school, and the family moves so that she can attend. Naturally the two clash, then fall in love. Along the way there are slight changes as the characters grow, some side stories about friends and family members, and like the title suggests, crossing of lines, so to speak.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I like that the book in terms of its political plot is actually pretty nuanced. You could say it is framed as a good vs. bad, but it isn’t that simple, and I think the characters shed light on the gray area in between. In many ways Michael changes and grows and challenges himself to go out of his comfort zone created by his family. He forces himself to see where immigrants live, he steps foot in a mosque, he researches the detention centers and what not, to learn that he doesn’t agree with his parents. I wish, however, that all of these scenarios would have been slightly more memorable, maybe an interaction at the mosque, or follow-up by talking to Mina about it. The lack of reflection made his journey seem like he was changing his views for a girl, and not because of a deeper understanding. At the end his mom even asks him about it, and I kind of had to side with her in wondering about his motives. Mina’s personal growth is more in that she learns to trust new people, and let them in. Her growth is not as obvious as Michael’s and I think some would put her on the “good” side and see her as a stagnant character. She is greatly shaped by the death of her father and brother, by the escape and journey to Australia, and then having to move again for school, but in the course of the books timeline, she really doesn’t change much. Her Islam is really culture, she doesn’t pray, or mention anything about her belief or faith. Halal is not explained, but is just seen as a political tool to protest and argue about. Mina never goes to the mosque, and even for religious reasons never questions if she should have a boyfriend, but worries what her mother will say and thus does keep it secret. For all realistic purposes, she is portrayed as a Muslim as a political identifier that illicits stereotypes and assumptions by others, not as a description of what she believes, behaves, or thinks. Michael’s parents are where the real meat of the story for me was. Understanding how they see themselves as “not racists” ordering ethnic foods from all over, but actively working to keep non-assimilating foreigners out. Their organization claims to promote the idea of upholding Australian values, not of disliking other countries values, and I think this is really what so much of the world is facing right now. The ethnocentric idea of being so great and understanding in words, but not in behavior and policy making. Michael’s dad goes overseas and feels sad, but doesn’t feel compelled to help, rather than to keep those people from changing, “his” world. As the book mentions a lot, his parents in other ways are kind, good people. It really isn’t good against evil in all facets of life.

I think my favorite part in the book are the female relationships. I love Mina’s friend Paula, who quotes Oscar Wilde and while on the outside has it all together, lets Mina see the real her. She is smart and feisty and seems to stay genuine throughout. I like that Mina’s friends from the “old neighborhood” are still in her life and I even like how close she and her mom are. It’s nice to see females helping each other, there is power in that, that fiction helps remind readers about.

FLAGS:

There is mention of sex, nothing explicit, but side characters hook up, are accused of being sluts, and it is definitely there. The main characters kiss regularly. There is some swearing and lots and lots of lying. Mina can’t go out after library hours because that is where she says she is, when she is elsewhere. There is fighting, alcohol, clubbing, and smoking mentioned throughout. None of the aforementioned flags are glorified or even praised, but all are there.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I wouldn’t do this as a student book club, but I think it could be done as an adult book club. The politics need some background and understanding, that I think some discussion would be enlightening in a community or larger society setting. Sometimes even in the real world, meeting people different than ourselves does wonders for changing preconceived notions and stereotypes.