This 308 page book is classified as a YA read for content, but it plays out in dual points of view by adults.  Years ago I would have classified it as, “Islamic fiction,” but those lines have been blurred in recent years, and the author mercifully doesn’t get overly preachy or didactic with the ample Islamic references and framing- it is who the characters are, or strive to be, and part of their world.  I’ll admit by the fourth chapter, I was nervous.  The author does not shy away from positioning his characters in rough spots from the get go: an escaped convict and non practicing young Muslim man joining the NYPD, and I didn’t know if he would be able to keep it believable and engaging, but alhumdulillah he did, and I enjoyed the book. In very much a YA framing, the self awareness and character arcs of realization is the underlying heart for the surface story of being on the run and attempts to capture and avoid being caught.  With heavy themes of understanding and coming to peace with one’s past, the reader is shown historical turmoil in Algeria, insight into motives and struggles of undocumented immigration, and given plenty to ponder about forgiveness, laws, faith, kindness, and second chances.  This book would be an easy recommendation for all readers 14/15 or up, there is crime, drugs, racism, gun violence, killing, arson etc., but nothing is overly graphic or dwelled upon. The characters are “good,” but exist in situations where gray surrounds them and would offer a lot to discuss in classrooms or book clubs.

SUMMARY (from the back of the book):

The night before 22-year old Saif Belkacem starts his new job as an NYPD officer, seven convicts escape a prison van and disappear into the streets of New York City.

Among them is Yasin Bamba, a wrongfully imprisoned Guinean immigrant who decides to seize the opportunity to find freedom.

While Saif and his colleagues race to find the seven fugitives, Saif slowly uncovers the story of his father’s death in Algeria, and his life starts to intertwine with Yasin’s in more ways than he could have imagined.

WHY I LIKE IT:
It is clear the author understands craft and storytelling, and I really think if he dug a little deeper and fleshed out some of the tension and rising action, this book could be traditionally published if he wanted to pursue it.  I’m not critiquing it to be picky for the potential readers, but rather for the author (a first for everything, forgive me if I’m overstepping), as I have a feeling he has been waiting for this review. Nonetheless here I go, voice: Saif’s voice is too immature at times, and his mother’s underdeveloped and non existent. Yasin, should be a bit wiser and hardened as a result of his circumstances and lived experience, he seems to just float from encounter to the next, not moving around like someone who has been in his own head since leaving home and mulled over some of his perceived truths.  Pacing: raise the stakes at every turn, keep the reader on the edge of their seat, for the surface story but also show the turmoil of Saif uncovering his past, at the 200 page mark it breaks from the story to info dump the historical and personal past in a way that really takes Saif out of the action. Weave it in, provide tension and motive of why his mother so easily now gives up all the information and why Saif never Googled it on his own.  The ending is beautiful and truly I wanted to know which way and what choices Yasin and Saif would make, but you didn’t really make me, the reader, work for it, and I think some twists and turns and emotional pain for the reader rather than just resolving it all for us, would give the book more depth and excitement. Show us the internal struggles, the temptation, the uncertainty raging inside them.  The heart and character arcs are there, they just feel a little too easy and surface at times, and yes I say this because I think the writing has a lot of potential and the author can do it.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I would love to do this as a book club read, high school for sure, possibly middle school, depending on the kids.  There is a lot to ponder and unpack, discuss and consider.  Muslim kids particularly will have some stereotypes to grapple with and hopefully think over as the book doesn’t make the characters and their situations black and white, haram and halal.