Tag Archives: relationships

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.

Apr8

A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan

Posted on April 8, 2022 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

I didn’t love the author’s debut novel, but wanted to see what a second novel would offer, and sadly it really is a lot of the same: light funny romcom surface story featuring a Bangladeshi Muslim character lead mixed in with layers of mental health, a toxic family, high school stress, and cultural expectations driving the plot. There is crude language, hetero, lesbian, bi, and pansexual relationships discussed, but nothing more than kissing is detailed in any of the scenes. There is a lot of cultural trauma from the parents and to the book’s credit, it does establish pretty early on that the main character is not religious, but that she does believe in Allah swt. Similarly, there is a Bangladeshi loving family in the story, so it is not making a critique on the entire culture, it is just the character’s family that is cruel. Ultimately, at 416 pages I was surprised that there were gaps in character arcs and plot. I never really liked the protagonist, Mina, but because of how underdeveloped and pivotal the best friend and younger sister were, when it all came to a climax, I found myself rooting for her, which is a very shallow reasoning in an OWN voice book. Additionally, the parents are terrible, and had I dnf-ed it (I was tempted until about 30% through it) I doubt I would have ever known that there was a time that they weren’t terrors. The peeling back of the layers of the family came too late, too slow, and the progression was muddled. I probably will not actively seek out further books from this author if the same themes and tropes are present, if she changes it up, I probably could be persuaded. The book is marketed 7th grade and up, but with the triggers, hate, language, content, genre, language, length I would say 17 and up, if at all.

SYNOPSIS:
Samina “Mina” Rahman is waiting to leave New York and her hateful parents, and start her life at USC as a film student. All she needs to do is win the Golden Ivy Film Competition, and get excepted to USC. Her parents dismissing her dreams, passions, and abilities agree to only let her leave if she wins the competition, doubting that it would ever happen, they even put it in writing. Co-president of the high school film club and best friend, Rosie is equally determined to win, there is just one big problem, every year the winning film has a cameo by a famous actor. Cue accidental meeting of Mina and Emmitt Ramos, up and coming indie movie heart throb that is cast in the new Firebrand blockbuster. Sent to Mina’s high school to research for his upcoming role, Mina is tasked with convincing him to make an appearance in their film. It is a romance story, so you can see where it is headed in this enemies to lovers book.

As family, friends, and college admission stresses mount, the simplicity of what Mina wants and how to go about getting it will be called in to question as her walls crumble and she will have to evaluate people in her life and how they will be affected by her actions.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I like that the story is based on real events in the author’s life, not just the religion, culture, mental health threads, but that an actor came to her high school in preparation for a part: Tom Holland. I also like that while her parents don’t value her, she has found a support group of sorts that do. At times Mina reads a lot older than she is, particularly when she is admonishing the freshman, but at other times she storms off pouting and seems to be very childish. I vacillate between this being intentional and it being an inconsistency in the writing. The younger sister Anam is painfully written. She is bold and confrontational, yet at the same time so clingy and needy and all over the place. At one point I thought she perhaps was suicidal and was braced for a really dark twist in the story, but no it was just Anam being Anam, I suppose, and the stress was never revisited let alone resolved.

I truly dreaded the passages about Mina’s home life and her family, they all were just awful to each other and rather than taking Mina’s side because I was shown, I found myself questioning what I was missing in the before and after dynamic. It is clear they are wretched, the victim doesn’t need to justify the abuse. The transformation of the family dynamic just felt lacking and in fiction when parts are explored it could have really showed some of the micro aggressions and changes that existed and made the relationship salvageable so that the reader would understand why saving and fixing the family were no longer options. Generational trauma is real and serious and a little more attention I think could have provided an amazing mirror to readers dealing with similar elements.

If the book was half the length I would assume that details would be glossed over, but this book had room, and I don’t understand why so few photography and director references seem to find their way into the text to show that these characters truly are passionate about what they are claiming to desire. I know the story isn’t a film story or a culture story, but they don’t spend hours editing the film or working on props? Emmitt is regularly pulled away from shoots, but always seems to have enough photos to choose from? Mina talks of her dad cooking, but foods aren’t detailed, the connection of food to love to family and that being severed seemed like a gaping hole in the crumbling home scenes. If halal food and no pork can make it into a love relationship, that much cultural/religious depth should have made it inside a families home.

As mentioned in the intro, it didn’t bother me from a religious perspective that Mina was off kissing a boy, that Anam had boyfriends, etc. because Islam was accounted for and the characters are not practicing, so I do appreciate that it didn’t become a stereotypical rebelling against religion book. Truly, thank you.

FLAGS:

Language, relationships (straight, bi, lesbian, pan), kissing, making out, hand holding, lying, mental health, hate, deception, cruelty, emotional abuse, angry ex boyfriend, triggers.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
Would not shelve or encourage young readers at our Islamic school to read this.

Feb11

Moonlight Hope: A Muslim American Coming of Age Story by Nora Salam

Posted on February 11, 2022 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

Moonlight Hope: A Muslim American Coming of Age Story by Nora Salam

This 354 page New Adult read is truly Islamic fiction, and as long as you know what you are getting in to, you probably will thoroughly enjoy it. It is Islamic centered, it is preachy, it is idyllic, it counters many stereotypes about Muslims and various cultures, while simultaneously falling into other tropes that define the genre, it has mature framing that is not suitable for younger readers, but doesn’t detail anything that is super “haram.” If you are looking for a potentially halal romance between YA and Adult ages with Islamic messaging this book is a solid choice. If however, you will be annoyed by any of the aforementioned labels, this book will not hold your attention or beg to be finished. It reminds me a lot of Umm Zakiyyah’s If I Should Speak and A Voice books where the story has its own twists and character arcs but it spends a lot of time preaching and setting itself up to tout an Islamic perspective, or concept as well. I wanted to read two books in the “New Adult” category and see if I could spread my reviews to include them, and with this being the second, I think I should resist the temptation, and stick to what my library background familiarized me with.

SYNOPSIS:

Told in alternating voices of Intisar and Majed, two individuals in New York City, at different places in their life, but finding that when they hit rock bottom, Islam is the answer.

Intisar is graduating nursing school when the story opens and has only one goal in mind, get married. She has strict Sudanese parents and has put all of her dreams on finding freedom in the perfect spouse. She meets a guy at a friend’s house and they secretly date, kiss, and hold hands. When he ghosts her, she is devastated and reluctantly finds herself agreeing to marry a much older man of her parent’s choosing. Loosing herself in the idea of marriage, she finds herself heartbroken, ostracized and falling apart. She starts to put herself back together slowly by finding Islam, her confidence, and some much needed perspective.

Majed has a famous family: his mother a model, his father and siblings singers, and he manages their careers. After passing out from drugs and alcohol more than once he really starts to examine his life and the road he is on. He sneaks away to rehab and in the process stumbles on to Islam. He is Egyptian, but the family is not religious at all, and infact stop talking to him when he converts. The trials of being a Muslim in New York with no family are not easy, but he feels it is worth it and his journey to Hajj and through loss brings him closer to Allah (swt).

The two stories are parallel and collide slightly in the periphery, but the book ends with them finally coming together and the ever dreaded words of “to be continued,” leaving the reader hanging.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I do like that the story shows struggles when one comes (back) to Islam, it isn’t always a walk in the park, it has challenges and stresses. The book starts each chapter with a verse from the Quran and is very open about what it is. So, while at times, the preachiness did get to me, it was very clear what type of book it was from the beginning and I kept reading.

Some of the side characters I felt needed to be fleshed out a bit. I didn’t understand many of the random friends, how they affected the main character often seemed off, or completely underdeveloped in what was revealed about them: particularly Izzedine, Parita, the girl that married Mansour, the uncle at the Masjid that thought Majed was a spy, etc.. I also really struggled with the presentation of Uncle Munir and his calling Majed, baby, and how he just happened to bump in to him outside the bar, and the kisses. I’m guessing it was meant to show him as over the top affectionate, but it just read as odd.

I like that the book addresses hypocrisy, mental health, and expectations. It doesn’t paint all Muslims as good or bad, nor society at large. The book reads as a journey, and many characters are given a chance to correct their errors and be seen in a new light.

The majority of the book is written well, but right away the book gave me pause as Intisar and her friends chat all through the Jummah khutbah, I get that it is trying to show her disregard for intentional practice of her faith and her “boy crazy/marriage” obsession, but you cannot speak during the khutbah, it isn’t just dirty looks, you truly cannot talk for it to count, and it isn’t even remarked upon, and it made me skeptical of the book for a while. There is a word missing from a sentence on page 161 and at one point a brother in the prayer hall aims a shoe to throw. But you wouldn’t be wearing shoes in the room where you pray, and the mosque has hallways and a glassed off section for women, so this seemed like an obvious oversight that should be fixed.

FLAGS:

Drugs, alcohol, lying, overdose, sneaking out, kissing, hooking up, physical affection, violence, temptation, sexual predatory behavior, it is an adult book, so I’m not going to continue listing everything. Nothing haram is overtly detailed or glorified. Ages 17 and up, could handle it.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
Too mature for my book club crew, but I wouldn’t mind it on a shelf in the school library.

Feb4

Wrong Side of the Court by H.N. Khan

Posted on February 4, 2022 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

I don’t know what it is about male protagonist sports novels, but they often seem to be overly crass and crude. Perhaps that is the real life environment that inspires such writings, or perhaps it is just male voiced YA books, but in this one in particular it seemed to stand out because the storytelling by-and-large is really enjoyable, it just has a lot of flags, A LOT. Beside the language, sexual innuendos, drug use, violence and romance, it also has a few religious and cultural concerns that are possibly just specific to the niche that I review for, but did have me shaking my head out of confusion and sighing in disappointment. To its credit there is a decent amount of Islam featured, some male friendships that are quite heartwarming, and some emotional depth that presents really well. The 312 page book is marketed to readers 12 and up, but there is no way I would encourage the book for anyone that young, Muslim or not. For Muslim youth specifically I would say 17 plus.

SYNOPSIS:

The book is told from the perspective of fifteen year old Fawad who lives in Regent Park with his mom and sister. He dreams of being the first Pakistani NBA player and the linear story bounces in time at the start and he sometimes even speaks to the reader, but the story is all his. Regent park is a poor part of town pressed right up against a wealthy part of Toronto and the neighborhood is rough. Fawad is a good kid: he doesn’t go out much after dark since his father died, he helps his mom, doesn’t run with a gang, he gets good grades, loves basketball, and doesn’t have a girlfriend, not yet anyway. The story starts with him reliving the final minutes of a summer league basketball game where he opted to pass out of fear of the ever looming threat of Omar, rather than take the shot himself. Omar ends up missing and they lose, oh yeah and Omar is the imam’s son. Under the protection of Abshir, Fawad’s friend Yousuf’s older brother: Omar, Yousuf, and Arif have someone looking out for them on the streets. Arif has some help from the Bengali crew, and Yousuf is Somali, but there are not enough Pakistani’s to make a stand or demand respect when out and about. When Abshir gets murdered, Yousuf retreats into himself his music and smoking joints, Arif keeps his playboy ways to take his mind off things when he isn’t reciting Quran beautifully in classes at the masjid, and Fawad makes the high school basketball team and finds a girlfriend. Things with Omar physically escalate as well, while things at home have his mom putting in to action plans for Fawad to marry his cousin in Pakistan.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I really like that Islam and culture are presented powerfully with OWN voice strength and detail. Things are not defined or over explained and if you don’t know what haram or Ramadan or an imam are, figure it out. I rarely find myself wishing the ending of books were different. You hear a lot about that in movies, that they didn’t screen well or something, and so the ending was changed, and that is how I feel about this book. *SPOILERS* Fawad and Omar should not have resolved their issues so easily, it was more than a respect thing, there was blood and hospitalizations. We never even knew why they had issues in the first place. Arif and Nermin should not have hooked up. The whole book she comes across as the strong Muslim hijabi that blurs the lines by side hugging her guy friends, but not being ok with it, then she shows up to a dance, and then hooks up with Arif, didn’t like that at all. I get the mixed signals of Fawad having a girlfriend from his mom, and while he seems to be connected to the mosque it never shares that he understands Islam more than just I have to do this and I can’t do this, but I didn’t like him going back to Ashley and wanted him to choose his own self-worth and respect over accepting her apology and going back to her. I do not understand why Fawad waited so long to tell his mother about Nusrat. It was nothing that would upset his mom, I don’t get why he dragged it out. I do love that the cousins were friends or friendly, but were fronting to their parents, but it was unnecessarily dragged out, and the more it got dragged out, the more complicated and intertwined it got with Fawad having a girlfriend.

I did not get the mom and sister relationship at all. The mom seems to have just given up on her, but they seem to spend a lot of time together, so that was a disconnect for me. At first I kind of liked the twist on the stereotype that the boy was not allowed freedoms to go out, but the sister was, but it kind of unraveled in the logic department. I am desi, (half anyway) and the stereotype is that the boys are earning before they get married. So to be arranging Fawad’s wedding at age 15 is bonkers. To be arranging anybody’s wedding at that age is, but it is so contrary to custom, that I couldn’t even ignore it and move on, it was constantly blocking the story from being smooth. The mom’s rationale is that she wants a daughter-in-law to take care of her. Again kind of bogus, but maybe there is some truth there, unfortunately there is the big gaping hole that she, the mom, doesn’t take care of her in-laws, so why the difference of expectation. Suffice it to say the mom and sister are both road bumps in the story for me.

I was impressed at how much basketball play-by-play was in the book and how it didn’t get boring. I love that there were plenty of male role models in the community and that the three boys really looked out for each other, supported each other, were connected to each other’s families, etc.. I didn’t like the abusive religious imam trope. I’m glad that Omar’s dad wasn’t blind to his son, but to be abusive was uncalled for.

I don’t know why Nermin is called, “Arabic,” at one point, that is clearly erroneous and I wish that the condom talk and sexual innuendos were greatly reduced. There isn’t a lot of resolution regarding who killed Abshir, if Fawad caused any permanent damage by playing, or what the future holds for any of the characters and their relationships, but it was a quick read and held my intention and I did quite enjoy the writing.

FLAGS:
Lying, violence, murder, physical assault, kissing, making out, talk of arousal, talk of condoms and sex and getting physical. Drugs and alcohol and addiction. Child abuse, theft, stealing, threats.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

There is no way I could teach this to middle school or high school in an Islamic school.

Jan7

10 Steps to Us by Attiya Khan

Posted on January 7, 2022 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

I try really hard to keep an open mind when reading Islamic YA romance books knowing that certain standards are probably not going to exist to move the story along, and of course I’m fully cognizant that Islam is practiced in a myriad of ways and chances are, I will disagree with a fair amount of any book in this genre. This particular book though, was hard to read. Ultimately I just didn’t like the protagonist, she was shallow and flimsy and her grasp on reality seemed lacking at times. The premise of the book is that you can have a boyfriend, if the boyfriend is Muslim. So by not agreeing with the very foundation; made the rest of the book hard to wrap my head around. The book is largely about hijab, and the author starts the book thanking the individuals that “educated her about the hijab,” yes, the article “the” is often used, and thus so much of the nuanced lived OWN voice experience of wearing hijab, is lacking. The book features language, lying, kissing, making out, talk of wanking, condoms, groping, and a scene that nearly concludes with sex, but stops short, barely. Perhaps high school seniors and college age teens could read this 231 page book, but I don’t know that the book is worth their time. Practicing Muslims will be irritated by the lack of mirroring, cultural readers will be annoyed that the protagonist didn’t push back on toxic assumptions, and non religious readers will be left confused at what the book hopes to accomplish by including religion and culture to no real definitive purpose in a romance novel.

SYNOPSIS:

High school student Aisha wears hijab much to her parents protests, and tries to avoid the Islamophobic aggressions that she endures in her white Kent neighborhood. She learns more about Islam than cultural superficiality from a family friend, an aunty, and she goes through her daily life largely unnoticed. She has a close friend, who is popular and likes to party, but Aisha doesn’t go out much, yet Isabelle still finds ways to include her. Everything starts to change however, when Darren moves in to town, defends Aisha at the bus stop and seems to be interested in being more than just friends. Aisha doesn’t date, but reasons if Darren were a Muslim, nothing would stop her. She devises a 10 step plan to make it all work, she just has to convert him.

While she sets her plan in motion, she finds herself lying to Isabelle, who has a crush on Darren, lying to her parents so that she can sneak around with Darren, and lying to Shafqat Aunty about her relationship with Darren. Along the way, she will lose her friendship with Isabelle, uncover dangers of equating culture and religion, remove and reconsider her hijab, nearly lose her virginity, and have to decide where her boundaries are. By the end of the book, nothing is clearly articulated for Aisha’s future or what she has decided regarding her relationship with Islam, hijab, and future boyfriends.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I struggled with the book. I like the flipped stereotype of the family not supporting hijab, but Aisha wearing it for her self anyway, unfortunately, I never felt that I understood why she felt strong enough to wear it, what brought her closer to Islam, and learning about Islam, and what the catalyst of it all was. I think knowing more of Aisha’s backstory might have made her more like-able. Throughout the book Shafqat Aunty is her whole Islamic touchstone. She doesn’t seem to have any other way of learning, or studying Islam. It seems that to come to Islam in high school would mean a level of maturity would exist that the character simply does not exhibit. I started wearing hijab at 16, I was the first in my family, I did it for me, I was actively trying to be a better Muslim and understand Islam, and hijab was simply a physical, tangible manifestation of that. So to see a character so passive in the learning, was a bit of a disconnect for me. I’m not saying that everyone has an experience like mine, but her grasp of basic Islamic tenants seems so weak, and she doesn’t seem to have a way to acquire understanding, or even a desire to obtain it. Often Darren seems to know more about Islam than she does.

I really struggled with the conceptual thread that her hijab prevents her from feeling comfortable making-out with Darren, so she hides it when clothing starts falling off. Shouldn’t hijab be the reminder to not have gotten in that situation in the first place? Perhaps if she would have had some depth, or the relationship wasn’t “love at first sight” I would feel a bit more invested in her trying to sort out her beliefs while in the midst of such strong lust, but it wasn’t developed to that level.

I liked the initial idea of sorting through cultural and religious views on divorce especially considering the woman involved is being abused, but I didn’t think the book exerted a strong enough stance that divorce in Islam is absolutely ok, that abuse is not ok, and anything otherwise is backwards culture. The book set itself up to make a strong statement, but then it abandoned it. I’m not sure why the author didn’t get up on a soap box and preach, I mean it would have given the book something really powerful to highlight and given Aisha some growth in understanding where culture has undermined the power of women’s rights in Islam.

The book dismisses understanding one’s faith, and falls into predictable troupes despite setting itself up to be “different,” when Aisha fears being shipped off to Pakistan when her parents find out about her and Darren. The writing feels forced at times, and a few times He when referencing God is not capitalized. I appreciate that some surahs, and duas, and Ramadan are included, but they don’t seem to shape Aisha, it seems like she is simply going through the motions.

The book ends on a “cliff hanger” of her either placing her scarf in the hamper or the garbage.

FLAGS:

Language, talk of sex, fairly vivid make-out scene that stops short of sex when they pause to acquire a condom and then Aisha changes her mind. There is a lot of lying, normalizing relationships if both are Muslim, even if both are not, talk of domestic violence, slut-shaming, hickies, crude jokes.

TOOLS TO LEAD THE DISCUSSION:

There is no way I would encourage this book in an Islamic school setting.

Dec3

Sway with Me by Syed M. Masood

Posted on December 3, 2021 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

This author won me over with More Than Just a Pretty Face, and his ability to celebrate and show flaws within our desi cultures while simultaneously presenting relatable Islamic experiences in a romantic comedy. I have been yet to determine if this YA/Teen 328 page book follows in those footsteps, or cuts a little too critically and close on the Islamic presentation. Undoubtedly the story is hard to put down, culture and Islam are present, but I don’t know what the lingering taste of Islam would be for a non-Muslim reading the book. Would they see the faith separate from those that practice or actively don’t practice, would Muslim readers? Literature is quickly showing how Muslims are not a monolith, but I worry that that nuance might be lost in this particular book, and the takeaway would be far more stereotype affirming, than critically thought provoking. The packaging of the story is memorable characters and quality writing, even if the plot and purpose is a little shaky at times. I admit for as much as I crave discussions on representation and twists and defined characters, this book has me at a bit of a loss on how to feel about the book overall. I think it is possibly the first time I just haven’t seen myself and my experiences mirrored at all in a book with this much Islamic content. As a reviewer it makes me feel useless, but as an American born Muslim, I kind of love the uneasiness and challenge that my head is trying to wrap itself around. The references, the language, lust, plentiful innuendos and physical abuse make the book a solid high school and up read.

SYNOPSIS:
Arsalan lives with his 100 year old Nana in Sacremento. His mother has passed away, and his father is out of the picture in Arizona as he attempts sobriety. Homeschooled and isolated from other kids, technology, and the world around him, he suddenly finds himself in a public high school trying to make his way. Afraid that when his Nana passes he is going to be all alone in the world, he reaches out to the stepdaughter, Beenish, of the community match maker to see if she can help him with an arranged marriage. She agrees on one condition, he dances with her at an upcoming competition. He agrees, but first a makeover is required and before you know it a romance is blooming. Awkward and formal and ever the gentleman, Arsalan uncovers that there is no competition, the dancing is required to break up Beenish’s sister’s wedding. The girls’ biological mother was a dancer and the shame it brought on them all as it destroyed her career, her marriage, and the family has made her daughters the black sheep of the family and community. The stepmom wants to get them out of the house as soon as possible and thus dancing of any kind is forbidden at Qirat’s upcoming nuptials. Beenish despises the groom and hopes her dancing will not only remind the family that the mom has been banned from attending the wedding, but also hopefully prevent the wedding from taking place. As the story moves forward with learning to dance, relationships must be reconciled, friendships developed, and growing pains felt, with some sass from Nana at every turn, more than one character will have to learn to make hard decisions and accept the outcomes that result.

WHY I LIKE IT:

Right from the start Arsalan makes it known that he is not a practicing Muslim, that he is “nominally one.” His Nana has raised him to be a skeptic, his abusive father would beat him when feeling religious and guilty for his alcohol consumption, and his deceased mother was more spiritual than disciplined. So, for the next few chapters, whenever Islam was mentioned I would snap a picture. Twenty pages later and dozens of pictures of text made me stop and realize that this coming of age book is not a story about Islam, but rather the characters are dealing with their own identities and Islam just happens to be present, for all of them. Arsalan remarks how our roots shape us as he quotes hadith, ok paraphrases them, and discusses sahaba, eventually having to accept that knowledge and wisdom and truth must be recognized, even when it comes from a source that he doesn’t favor. Similarly, the most presenting tough guy, music and sports and appearance obsessed character is always hanging around the mosque, at the MSA, and encouraging Arsalan to come and pray. The love interest calls out Muslims for their fake religiosity saying that her stepmom wears it as a fancy dress, she owns it, but takes it off when she wants. Her father came to Islam late, and is relatively strict and conservative as a result, she is Muslim, but more culturally as she doesn’t seem to have sorted it out herself. The characters dance, which involves touching and immodest clothing, at the end they do kiss. There is language which is noted as being course and vulgar, and there really is no “model Muslim” or any characters that want to be. So, similarly there are no haram police commenting when the characters, as individuals seemingly step out of line. The sister character is quote unquote religious, but I don’t know if she covers, she doesn’t seem to be representative of anyone other than herself and she has her own cultural family issues, so her Islam is just stated, but not explored. Some only eat halal, that gets included but not really opined on. It really is the first time I feel like I’ve read so many Muslim characters in one place that represent only themselves, which is very much real life, but also a shift in Muslim rep in literature.

The story has some foundational issues which made me laugh when reading the author’s note that says he, “writes in the dark.” Meaning he doesn’t know where he is going until he gets there. I think it might show in this book more than he realizes. Aiza Aunty is shamed as scandalous because of her dancing in Lollywood (Pakistan’s version of Bollywood, which is India’s version of Hollywood) films. She apparently got her sari a bit too wet in a waterfall scene, and it was too much shame to rebound from. So why did that ruin her life? I mean any production has rehearsals, and blocking, and post editing, and retakes, why does one scene seem to fall squarely on her shoulders, every single decision maker along the way passed it through. I’m not buying it. I also don’t buy the whole wedding is hanging on a single thread of dancing, it tries really hard to make it make sense, and by the end the reader really is just prepared to go along with it, but holding auditions, not planning to tell Qirat, really is expecting the reader to suspend reality just a tad more than the genre should be asking one to do.

The book is smart and it expects the reader to be smart. The references the character’s personas and need to be seen and loved is not always spelled out, it has to be pieced together and I love it. The Thanksgiving scene, the misfit members of each family coming together and bonding with Nana and Arasalan is sweet, but actually really sad, and I love that it doesn’t say it, it shows it.

Of all the characters I love Diamond the most, I just wish we knew more about what motivates him. He reads too nice and too puppy doggish and I wish we got just a bit more to see why he is the way he is. Truly all the characters are memorable, and I’m pretty sure they will stay with me for a while.

FLAGS:

There is kissing, romance, crude language, lots of sexual innuendos, physical violence, physical abuse, child abuse, death, shaming, manipulation, alcohol addiction, religious zealousness, dancing, intimate dancing, body objectification, music, singing.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I could never teach this book, but please, please, please, read it and help me to understand how I feel about it.

Jul9

The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad

Posted on July 9, 2021 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

At times this 352 mature YA book was really hard to read for a variety of reasons: the subject matter, the writing style, the pacing of the story, and the numerous characters and inconsistencies. At other times, the book was descriptive, and ethereal and hard to put down. It took me over a month to finish the book because it really is all over the place and a lot of internal force and motivation was required to get through it, yet for all its flaws, I find my thoughts drifting back to it often. The book contains a lot of violence against women, as that is the thread that brings this feminist group together. There are hetero, lgbtq+, trans, and nonbinary individuals and relationships in the book, but they are not explicit, the rape, assault, suicide, prostitution, child trafficking and murder are more detailed. The book takes place all over the world, and often mentions the athan being called or a mosque being passed. Many characters have “Islamic” names, but there is no religion specifically practiced in this hijabi authored women powered tale.

SYNOPSIS:

The premise of the book is simple and straightforward. A girl, the daughter of a prostitute, is betrayed by her mother when she is sent to a man. As she runs through the city to escape, she crosses paths with a young boy who tosses her a box that contains stars. A star embeds itself in her palm and allows her to enter a place called the “Between.” The Between is a magical corridor made of magic that contains doors that lead to locations all over the world. Once she enters she stops aging and is now made of magic. She has the power to scream which can destroy other middle worlders and she can go invisible when around normal humans. She travels the world finding other girls betrayed by those who had been entrusted to protect them, and offers them a star and a place in the Wild Ones. This has been going on for centuries. When the boy with the star eyes is in danger, he is reunited with the girl and her gang, and they pledge to protect him.

WHY I LIKE IT:

The concept of the book is pretty good, but the plot for more than half of the book it seems focuses on the girls constantly arriving in a new location, exchanging diamonds for local currency, finding food, and getting settled in, before doing it all over again. It is repetitive and pointless. Sure it is nice to read about exotic locations and savor local foods, but these girls live forever essentially and we learn so little about them or what it is they do. Toward the middle of the book you start to see them helping other girls, but this should have been made clear much earlier on, I’m sure many people stopped reading before they saw how part of each girls’ healing involved helping others. It is not developed or shown, which I think other than the two encounters detailed would have created some connection between the characters and the reader.

The cause of most of the confusion is that there are 11 Wild Ones, and you never really get to know any of them, the point of view switches between Paheli, and unknown speaker, and it has pages of prose from other Wild Ones that are neither explanatory of their life before or in relation to what they are currently experiencing. The fourth wall is broken periodically, but inconsistently. So often, I just had no idea what was going on.

At times the characters speak like they are the teens that they are when they entered the Between, really noticeably and painfully, but they are decades old at the youngest, and centuries old for some of them. Also, Taraana is presented as a young small boy that needs coddling a lot, although he too is centuries old, but then as the girls start protecting him, he suddenly is this incredibly handsome man in love with Paheli. I get that their physical ages are suspended, so a relationship really might be possible and not creepy, but Taraana seemed to change, and it wasn’t explained.

The world building overall is weak, which is a shame, because it isn’t disjointed from the real world, it is just a slight addition to what the reader already knows. If the Between is just hallways how is there a library? Can you live in the Between? Can all middle worlders access it? If so why aren’t the corridors crowded?

The pain of the girls, their rage, their ability to deal with their traumas in their own way and time, is very empowering. I wish the sisterhood was more mutual than blindly following Paheli, like lost little children. These girls/women can decide what to partake it, and leave the group if they want, so they are strong and capable, they just don’t seem to get to show it as they bounce around from place to place to place eating and doing what they are told.

The book almost seems to have been written in sections and then dropped in to place. Much of the character information comes too late to make the story resonate. Sure part of it is intentional to clarify and create “aha” moments, but it creates really boring stagnant chapters, when these girls should be fierce and powerful, not lounging and mundane.

There were a few spelling errors and grammar gaps, but I read an advanced readers copy, so I’m hopeful they will be resolved.

FLAGS:

Prostitution, rape, assault, suicide, death, murder, child trafficking, torture, drowning, infanticide, girl/boy kissing, girl/boy and girl/girl flirting. Many of the online reviews make it seem more lgbtq+ than I felt it was. There are two lesbian characters that flirt and imply that their relationship will move forward, but within the Wild Ones they aren’t all hooking up. Paheli and Taraana kiss, but nothing more graphic.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I don’t think there is any way I could do this as a book club selection at an Islamic school, nor would I want to. The book has powerful commentary on the status and crimes against women the world over, and possibly older, say early 20 year olds, would benefit from reading and adding their voices to a dialogue regarding life experiences. But, the story line might be too simplistic for older readers to bond with, and the confusion and inconsistencies may not be worth the time needed to finish the book.

Apr9

This Is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi

Posted on April 9, 2021 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

This Is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi

I wanted to give the author another chance to win me over after really disliking her first book’s writing style and characters and while this book is an easier read, I was shocked when the Empire Records inspired story really crossed over to me to being almost plagiarism. I was a huge fan of Empire Records as a teen in the 90s, and can quote the movie, recall with little effort when Rex Manning Day is (it was yesterday), and know what is going to happen at 1:37 exactly, so I was really excited to see what this Muslim author did with her spin of turning a music store in to an idie bookstore and focusing the story on three high school females. I wasn’t expecting the spin to be so minor though, and to still find an AJ and a Warren in the character list, a girl shaving her head, an employee dance party on the roof, a scummy celebrity, a celebrity assistant hinted at romance, a character deciding that today is the day to tell her crush how she feels, you get the point, it is remarkably similar. If you haven’t seen the PG 13 movie, the book isn’t terrible, but it is very scattered with three voices, a lot of side characters- often random, and unresolved story threads, the book takes place in one day after all, I don’t know that it is really worth the time to read it. There is straight and LGBTQ+ romance and break ups mentioned, a kiss, alcohol, vape pens, marijuana, sexual assault, some violence (slapping), a theft, language and one character has Arab parents and mentions Middle Eastern poets as well as likens the book store connecting people to the concept of an Ummah in Islam. I can’t think of a demographic that I’d really recommend the book to, nor do I think that I’d ever read it again, the author’s writing style for me improved slightly but the characters are forgettable and the story un original. In terms of appropriateness probably high school readers, 14 and up.

SYNOPSIS:

Eli is closing up Wild Nights Bookstore and Emporium and accidentally opens the manager’s computer and accidentally logs in to her accounts and accidentally learns from her emails that the book store is closing in less than two weeks. He then sees that the bank account is still logged in and finds a petty-cash account that has $9,000 and decides that he for once in his life is going to try and help out the store and invest in something to grow the money and hopefully delay the closing. Unfortunately he buys nine grand worth of Air Jordan knock-off shoes, and is unable to return them. The next day when the entire staff rolls in to work, bits of the story come out, some know the store is closing, others are sensing something is amiss when boxes are being unloaded that don’t contain books, and to top it all off a famous author is doing a book signing later in the day.

Each of the characters has something going on as well on this particular day, Rinn is going to tell AJ she loves him and use her influencer status to try and rally support for Wild Night, Daniella is going to lift the veil on her secret poetry writing and share it, and Imogen is going to break up with her girlfriend of nine months and shave her head. None of the girls like each other, and go out of their way to be down right nasty to one another, but eventually they come around, they support one another in the face of them losing their beloved store, and helping each other when one is sexually assaulted by the famous author. Along the way the reader meets the quirky characters that come to the bookstore regularly, some that never leave, a manager who never seems to be there, and an owner with weird rules about technology in the store.

The climax is the girls stepping in to their own and becoming vulnerable to who they are to one another, the world, and ultimately themselves. The book store isn’t saved in it’s entirety, but it isn’t lost either and the direction forward looks infinitely more unified than the crazy day the they all just had.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I like that the wave of nostalgia that hit me as I recalled the regular watching and quoting of Empire Records from my younger days, but that really was about all the book gave me. I wanted to love the girls coming together to save the day, but they were really crass and rough and while I’m glad they did get to a place of tolerance, the transition wasn’t cathartic because their original irritations with one another didn’t seem justified. The lack of character connection made it hard to cheer for them when they broke free from what they perceived was holding them back as well. For example, I wanted to be giddy with nerves when Daniella stepped on that stage, but the emotion just wasn’t there. There was a lot of telling, not showing, and with three perspectives, it was just stretched too thin.

I kind of like that Islam and the concept of Ummah was referenced at the end, but really only someone like me looking for it and piecing together the poets she mentioned, her one parent being from Lebanon and the other coming to America after the six day war would even take that conversation as being in sync with the character. She might not be Muslim, she is a lesbian has/had a girlfriend, and it is a non issue. Religion is otherwise not mentioned in relation to her or any other character. A French Tunisian customer calls her habibti and says ‘Handulullah.” I probably am reading to much in to it, old habits die hard and even after writing over 500 reviews, I still get so excited to see someone in literature possibly identifying as Muslim.

One thing that really stood out to me as a hole in the story was that it never said what Danny’s plan was, just kept hearing that it was a terrible, awful plan. That bothered me. The pacing is also off, to have all this happen in one day you would think it was all happening so quick, but then there are really long winded tangents about cell phone cases and grape soda. At times it is such a time crunch and at other times everyone is chilling on the roof or in the alleyway it is no surprise there is not enough business.

FLAGS:

Copied from above: There is straight and LGBTQ+ romance and break ups mentioned, kissing, alcohol consumption, a massive hangover, vape pens, marijuana, sexual assault, some violence (slapping), a theft, language. Nothing is really sensationalized though, the

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

Not even tempted to use this as a book club, or recommend others to do so. There is no real literary or representation value, in my opinion.

Feb24

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Posted on February 24, 2021 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

Technically this book is adult fiction because the protagonist is 24 years old, but the halal rom-com is so sweet and considering the YA options that exist in the same genre, I think high school juniors and senior would do better to dive in to this light, enjoyable, albeit predictable, read over so many of the other options out there. I read the 368 page book in two days, I was hooked and impressed with the strength of all the female characters, the step away from all the stereotypical tropes and the smooth writing style. The book is for everyone and while packaged as a light read, there are some themes of immigration, family, choice, and OWN voice realizations that are presented and explored in a thoughtful and impactful manner.

SYNOPSIS:

Hana Khan’s mother owns and operates Three Sisters Biriyani Poutine in Toronto, there are not three sisters, biriyani poutine is not on the menu and business is bad, really bad. The 15 year old restaurant that Hana named when she was nine is struggling even though it is the only halal option in the close-knit, diverse, golden crescent community. When news hits that a new upscale halal restaurant is opening a few doors down, Hana chooses to ignore that the business was struggling and instead blames the new proprietors. They are wealthy, corporate and insufferable. Well, the dad is anyway, the son Aydin, he isn’t so easily defined.

Hana balances shifts at the restaurant, her internship at Radio Toronto and her own anonymous brown girl podcast. Hana, real name Hanaan, comes from a supportive and close family. Her dad was injured in a serious car accident, her older sister is pregnant, and her cousin from India along with a cousin-aunt have just arrived under suspicious circumstances.

As the new restaurant gets closer to opening, Hana finds herself stooping to all new lows to sabotage their success. Encouraged by an anonymous podcast listener who she has been chatting with for quite a while, and inspired by her rebel cousin-aunt, Hana is determined to secure a permanent job in radio, save her family restaurant, and destroy the competition. But, an attack downtown draws attention to growing Islamophobia and forces Aydin and Hana to work together.

In a fictional story where everyone knows everyone both in India and Toronto, crazy family members are endearing and loyal, it is no surprise that the main characters are more connected than they think. As Hana finds her strength to carry on amidst change, she also figures out what direction to focus her energy, her talents, and voice.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I absolutely love the writing. I was invested in many of the characters, not just the protagonist, and absolutely cheered as she gave a nod to so many assumptions so that she could move past them: forced marriage, hijab, acceptable professions, inclusion, etc.. The family is all about choice and not getting hung up on stereotypes show the power that OWN voices have in telling stories that resonate with everyone. The book is full of religion, from waking up for fajr, to listening to the khutbah at jumah, going to the masjid to find peace, and believing in destiny. It is not a preachy book by any means, but the characters are Muslim inside and out. The traditional family does not pressure Hana to get married, her sister’s marriage was a love one. She is often alone with her male cousin or brother in law, or best friend Yusuf. She knows who she is and her family trusts her.

I love the food, the insight of immigrants and family. I was particularly moved by her articulation of being told by outsiders what it means to be Muslim in Canada, or an immigrant and then not being listened to when pushed back upon. Her challenging a teacher on what the fourth pillar of Islam is and not being heard, resonated profoundly.

Within the first 100 pages or so the reader figures out who everyone is and how they are connected, save one surprise, but it is like watching a favorite movie, you keep going because it is fun, and enjoyable and the point isn’t to figure it out, but to enjoy the ride.

FLAGS:

There are relationship threads, but nothing more detailed than a hand touch after a funeral. Her best friend Yusuf marries their best friend Lily an Agnostic, knowing that both families are against it. There is music and racist talk and vandalism.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

The high school book club usually tries to include a halal romance novel for the loyal participants that clamor for it in the group and I plan to suggest this one to them. For as light and straightforward as the book is, there is a lot to discuss when the surface is peeled back. There would be lot to explore from her podcast, internship experience, and her hate crime experience, that the romance part will be seen as simply a vessel to more profound issues to explore.

Nov20

The Servant by Fatima Sharafeddine

Posted on November 20, 2020 by islamicschoollibrarian

Standard

This 157 page young adult book is translated from Arabic and while at times the story seems intentionally choppy, at other times it seems that the translation is making it more jarring than it needs to be. I found the book interesting and powerful, in much the way a short story can be, but the length was awkward, as it was too long for a short story, and not long enough to really read as a novel with detail and depth and connection. I love the growth and retaking of control that the protagonist embodies and I absolutely love the ending being left intentionally unresolved. There is no mention of religion in this story set in Lebanon, until nearly the end when it states that she is Muslim. I wonder if the translation took out some of the ‘Salams’ and ‘inshaAllahs’ that would have clarified it a bit even if prayer, or the athan or any outward signs of being a Muslim are clearly absent. The book is probably fine for ages 13 and up.

SYNOPSIS:

Faten is essentially sold in to servitude by her family. Her family lives in a village outside Beirut and when money gets tight she is forced to go and work as a house keeper/maid for the Zein family. Once a month Faten’s father comes and collects her salary showing little to know affection for the eldest of his children. The small Zein family has two daughters and lives in a flat. While the girls are in school, Faten cooks and cleans and dreams of being a nurse. The family is not particularly cruel to Faten, they often refer to her simply as ‘girl,’ but they are not particularly kind to her either. The highlight of Faten’s day is watching a young man across the street that drives a dark blue car, come home, study, and play piano. On occasion she catches his eye, so he knows she exists, but the two know nothing about one another. On Faten’s 17th birthday she decides she is going to gift her self something, and writes a letter to the blond man across the street. She has her only friend in Beirut, Rosalynn, a much older house servant in the apartment downstairs from Sierra Leon, deliver the letter which asks the boy to meet her so that she might seek his help in a very important manner.

When Faten and Marwan meet, Faten asks him to obtain information about how she might study nursing and change her future. The two secretly meet with Rosalynn’s help on Sunday’s, Faten’s one day off. Faten borrows May’s books to study as she learns what exams she must take to make her dream a reality. Marwan helps her with questions she needs assistance with and Faten and Marwan become close friends, with both feeling some attraction for one another just beneath the surface. One day however, they are discovered by a friend of Mrs. Zein at a beach side cafe, drinking coffee and Faten is forbidden from leaving the apartment as a result. With the oldest girl, May, married now, and nothing to look forward to on her days off, Faten dives in to her studies and is more determined than ever to pass her exams.

To even take the multiple day exam requires a few lies, a few favors, and the willingness to take a huge risk. When the Zein’s find out she is let go, and now must face her parents back in the village. With the help of her childhood friend, Faten clings to hope, confidence in her ability, and determination to pave her own way on her own terms.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that while Faten is the victim of cruel parents, and an unfortunate circumstance, she rises up and fights for control. I love that she has feelings for Marwan, but that they don’t overshadow her future goals, nor does she become overly dependent on him. I really love her strength in handling the situation with him when it is good, when it is tested, and when she has to walk away. There are elements of it being a love story, but that is just one thread of the book, her charting her own path is much more the central story line. I wish her religion and his religion would have come to the surface more, and sooner. Lebanon is a diverse place and just saying they were of two different faiths could have provided a lot of insight and fleshing out of the culture and the dynamics the two would have faced. The classism is a bit obvious, but even when that is explored it provides a better understanding to the characters and to the arc they are moving on. I like that her childhood friend and family are so loving and that her mom is not completely written off as a passive flat character. Overall, I like the story and the book, set in the 80’s it really could have gone a lot of ways, but it held close to the theme and provided enough side details that it felt grounded, believable and ultimately was enjoyable to read.

FLAGS:

When May is entertaining suitors there is some ogling that young kids might question. There is a lot of lying and deception and the possible romance between Faten and Marwan that in the text is pretty clean, but there is some hand holding if memory serves and implied desire for the friendship to be more.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

The book offers a lot in terms of classism and forced labor to be discussed and the cliffhanger ending between Marwan and Faten would allow the readers to decide if they could be together despite their different faiths, economic status and families, or not. I probably wouldn’t do it as a book club, but if I were a high school teacher, I might offer some sort of extra credit assignment involving the book, as the ending really lends itself to the reader projecting the characters’ futures based on their own perspectives which would be fascinating to hear.