I have always maintained that my reviews are not personal, and for over 10 years, I kept to that. I recently made a public exception however, for Palestine. I cannot and have not checked every author, every illustrator, every publisher, or every agent, to see who has spoken up about the genocide, but there are a few prolific authors that are standards in the niche of Islamic fiction literature. Who have elevated our representation with a standard of quality and consistency across multiple age groups over the years, whose stature made their silence, seeming or actual, to the occupation, the apartheid, and the ongoing attempted erasure of a people and culture impossible to miss. No there is no standard or bare minimum, this is all emotion, and if you are thinking who am I to judge, or maybe I missed something, yes you are right. None-the-less it definitely caught my attention that an author who remained silent, wrote a 416 page middle grade book about partition, a historical event impossible to separate from colonization. I know the timeline for books to be published is not quick, but when I read the characters discussing that, “If we only read books by perfect authors, we’d read…nothing, I guess.” It felt a little defensive, and while I never set out to shame anyone, I have written this disclaimer to hold to my word, and to acknowledge that as much as I have set out to write the remainder of this review as I would review any book, my own disappointment in the author, may show through. Literary wise the book is moving, heartfelt even, but the performative othering, the internalized Islamophobia, and the catering to a western gaze, are subtle, but undeniably there. Perhaps the biggest example is the word “British,” the whole reason for partition, is only mentioned a grand total of six times.
SYNOPSIS:
Mahnoor, aka Maha, is in seventh grade, and her whole world has just flipped upside down. Her Dadi, her paternal grandmother, has just moved in from Pakistan, taking her room, and her free time. Plus Dadi is old and grumpy, and Maha is not amused. With parents that are too busy to spend time with her, Dadi slowly but surely starts to fill in a lot of pieces that Maha didn’t know were lacking in her life. Through food and stories and the start of Ramadan, Maha learns about Islam, Pakistan, friendship, and with a school documentary assignment, partition. A historical event she had never heard about before, starts to be all she can think about. It also seems to hang over everything she encounters from a book on a novel study English assignment list, to the train in their neighborhood, everyone at the senior center, and even Texas history. With dreams of being a journalist, Maha’s singular focus because almost obsessive, according to her friend Kim, but the more she learns, the more she changes. And the changes are for the better, even if there are some stumbles along the way, fighting with Kim, making Dadi runaway, calling out her parents preoccupation with work, missed fasts. The book has a happy ending though, as the unlikeable privileged Maha at the beginning, transforms to being someone the reader is cheering for at the end.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I am Pakistani-American, being half Pakistani and half American, the hyphen for me signals both my parents. So I was thrilled a year or so ago when I first heard about this book. I am a bit removed from partition because my father was the first in his family to be born in Pakistan, and my in-laws did not move from India until much later. That being said, I know it is a part of me, as all desis do, and was eager to read this middle grade book. Please note though, I am also white passing American (albeit with a hijab), so I can tell when I am being pandered to as well.
Do I feel the book did the topic justice? Absolutely not, by not discussing colonialism and British occupation, a huge part of the setup is conveniently ignored. It also is very placating of what the Muslims, Seikhs and Hindus seemed to want as Jinnah and Nehru are only name dropped once. Gandhi not at all. I get that the book presumably isn’t about that, but by ignoring it all together, there is some intent there, possible watering down for a white audience, that doesn’t sit right with me.
This book feels like it is written for non Muslims. The dialogues about being a good person even though they don’t follow Islam as they should, and pray and fast and eat halal, seem like internalized Islamophobia, that is trying to normalize not practicing. When the text goes so far as to call those that do fast all 30 days “ultra-religious” it seems to walk back the numerous passages of Maha loving fasting and finding peace in prayer. The takeaway for a Muslim reader will be a little self doubt, for a non Muslim reader it will reinforce the labels of “those Muslims” and “extremists.” It makes what many Muslims find basic faith requirements, come across as optional here in America, like taking off shoes when entering your house. With that being said though, the book does have a lot of heart, and in many places Islam and Pakistani culture are warm, but that warmth often comes through attempts to appeal to a non Muslim western lens. Similarly the stereotypes do as well. Pakistan is considered conservative, which is dismissed as meaning, “code for no swimsuits.” Wow, a whole culture and religion, so easily labeled and stereotyped. Stings a bit, not gonna lie.
Maha’s parents are not religious, so much of Maha’s knowledge of Islam is coming from what she sees her Dadi do, pray, fast, read Quran, etc. Except, Maha knows how to read Quran, and pray, she just needs practice. So explain, how she doesn’t know what inshaAllah means? This is just one example of inconsistency bumps in the text. At one point they eat iftar, and then a few hours later have dinner, I mean sure it is possible, but it seems weird. Her frail grandma runs away on a hiking trail? She wants the archive curators approval for her documentary and not her Dadi’s? Ahmed says he only eats hala, Maha is eating a non halal chicken salad and then they share it. Overall, Maha rarely reads like she is 12. At the start when she is whining, is about it, the rest of the book she reads much much older.
FLAGS:
Boy girl close friendships, angry mobs with guns, death, cholera, internalized islamophobia, talk of gods and demigods in Percy Jackson, mention of J.K. Rowling negative comments on trans community, fear.
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
I cannot in good conscious purchase, recommend, or even check this book out from the library. I received an advanced digital arc, but my heart is too heavy by the author’s silence in the face of the atrocities occurring in front of us regarding Palestine.
Islamic School Librarian 