This reads starkly as half a cheesy teen romance, and half an important narrative on Islamophobia and racism in today's America.
The over arching plot follows Maya Aziz as she attempts to navigate boys and college choices whilst under the strict guidance of her traditionally Indian parents. This book gave me an insight into Indian-American families and culture that I did not have before, and I loved that it didn't shy away from using Indian terms and phrases that may not be understood by a white American audience (a simple google told me meanings, and allowed me a greater understanding of their community without white-washing the story).
The other half tackles what happens to Maya at school and to her family when there is a terror attack in their State, with the prime suspect sharing the same last name, Aziz, with the family. This is an all too important story. It give us the perspective of a scared teen facing racism and Islamophobia, and this points out how completely absurd the racist, white-supremacist attitude is when juxtaposed with the first half of the the book - Maya is just a normal American teen. We see the controlling expectations of her parents mirrored in the story of the white, popular quarter-back character, Phil, which just works to further this point.
Whilst it is a very poignant and important story, is still is at its heart a bubbly teen romance. This allows the hard-hitting elements to be consumed easily alongside the other sweet-as-candy element to the plot. All is all, this is a very readable introduction to the subject of racism in America, perhaps more suited to younger teens who aren't quite ready for The Hate U Give.
The over arching plot follows Maya Aziz as she attempts to navigate boys and college choices whilst under the strict guidance of her traditionally Indian parents. This book gave me an insight into Indian-American families and culture that I did not have before, and I loved that it didn't shy away from using Indian terms and phrases that may not be understood by a white American audience (a simple google told me meanings, and allowed me a greater understanding of their community without white-washing the story).
The other half tackles what happens to Maya at school and to her family when there is a terror attack in their State, with the prime suspect sharing the same last name, Aziz, with the family. This is an all too important story. It give us the perspective of a scared teen facing racism and Islamophobia, and this points out how completely absurd the racist, white-supremacist attitude is when juxtaposed with the first half of the the book - Maya is just a normal American teen. We see the controlling expectations of her parents mirrored in the story of the white, popular quarter-back character, Phil, which just works to further this point.
Whilst it is a very poignant and important story, is still is at its heart a bubbly teen romance. This allows the hard-hitting elements to be consumed easily alongside the other sweet-as-candy element to the plot. All is all, this is a very readable introduction to the subject of racism in America, perhaps more suited to younger teens who aren't quite ready for The Hate U Give.