Category: YA

How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi

I won a free e-ARC of this book thanks to PenguinTeen in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this novel we are following Amir Azadi, who has recently come out to his Muslim family and forced to go through an interrogation at an airport after he and his family have an argument on an airplane. As told to the security men during the interrogation, we learn that he had decided to run away to Rome, and things in his new life started to feel natural, until his past came back to haunt him and everything he had come to know was in jeopardy. 

The story is told in a sort of dual-timeline aspect. The present day is when they’re in the interrogation room and the past is through flashbacks. It’s mostly told in Amir’s narrative, except when we get to the interrogation aspect, which also includes perspectives from his family members. I’ll be honest, those aspects got confusing sometimes and it was hard to differentiate who was who, but I did like that they were included in the story.

I’m sad to say this didn’t live up to the high expectations that I put on it. It wasn’t *terrible* but it wasn’t the masterpiece that I had pictured it to be in my mind. There were things that I found somewhat problematic and overall it just wasn’t knock-your-socks-off amazing. 

So what were some of the issues I had? Well, Amir seemed to have very unlimited resources for an 18 year old who decides to leave his home on a whim. Once he got to Rome, every friend he makes are attractive gay men who befriend Amir and takes him under their wing. Not only that, but they are all older than he is. This felt wrong, and it’s constantly being pointed out how much younger he is than them, by the pop culture references and lack of knowledge. This book also is marketed as focusing on how coming out relates to Amir’s Muslim family but when he talks about it it is more of a culture thing. 

I didn’t have issues with everything in this book. I enjoyed reading the book for the most part and I read this pretty quickly. There was one disturbing scene and I don’t know why that was included. I liked Amir’s character, but most of the time I had trouble remembering that he was actually 18, as he seemed younger than that.

Despite the issues I had with this book, I did like it. Was it all that I had hyped it up to be? Unfortunately, no. That’s typically the case when I do that. Will I ever stop? Most likely not. Should you still read this book? I think so. Just maybe go into it knowing that the synopsis is a bit wrong or misleading, and you should be good. Publication is set for September 22.

White Fox by Sara Faring

As a member of the Faring Society, I received a free e-ARC of this book thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group-Imprint in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this novel we are following two sisters, Manon and Thais, as they work to uncover the truth behind their famous mother’s disappearance. They’ve returned to their home island, Viloxin, after being gone for years and living in America. They find their mother’s famous last work, White Fox, which holds the clue to truths about her. Now they can try to find out what really happened to her. But with knowledge comes cold, harsh reality. Are they ready to accept that everything they thought they knew about their lives may be lies? 

Y’all, when I read the synopsis for this book, I just HAD to read it. Of course I joined the Faring Society when I had the opportunity because why wouldn’t I?! I love reading spooky stories and psychological thrillers. And let me tell you, parts of this book go there.

The atmosphere of this book really sets the tone. The girls venture back to this island that they haven’t been to since they were children. They haven’t lived in their childhood home in years, and it is described almost as a living entity. It’s creepy but adds to the story in such a necessary way. It almost taunts, but I loved the descriptions of it. Along with the fortress of the childhood home, there are the surrounding woods: Delirium Forest, as it’s called. They’re known for people going in and not coming back out. It was haunting but I was loving the way these areas were described. They were spooky but really created such a vibe that made me want to keep reading.

We’re introduced to so many people on Viloxin and most seem shady or like they’re hiding something. As we come to find out, things are not as they always appear and people are not always who they appear to be. One thing that was frustrating was that, as I said, we were introduced to so many characters and seemingly so many important plot points, and then these plot points would just never be mentioned again. I think we could have done away with so many characters and just focused on a few and really fleshed out their storylines. As it was, we have several characters who seemingly are significant but we never really explore why they’re significant or really go anywhere with them. 

I would have liked the ending to have been different. Without going into any details I’ll just say that it wasn’t what I expected. 

Overall I enjoyed this book. There were a few things I’d have liked to see changed or improved upon, but it was a good read. I recommend picking this one up. It’s a perfect spooky read for fall! Publication is set for September 22.

More Than A Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood

I received a free e-ARC of this book thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

In this story we are following a high school senior, Danyal Jilani, as he prepares his entry for Renaissance Man. He’s always had a crush on Kaval Sabsvari, the beautiful sister of his friend Sohrab. But when Danyal’s parents try arranging a marriage for him with Bisma Akram and he starts spending more of his time with her, he realizes maybe his heart belongs to someone else.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked Danyal’s character and liked the humor that Masood infused throughout the story. Some parts actually made me laugh out loud. Danyal wants to become a chef, which is considered a less-than-honorable profession in his culture. I liked the descriptions of food that were in the story, but I also liked that Bisma was supportive of Danyal and his dreams. 

The inclusion of Churchill and British colonization was interesting and I liked learning about it. I think it was also important for Danyal’s character to do this topic for his project because he was always seen as a slacker and it forced him to decide whether to play it safe or go with his gut and talk about what he felt was important. 

The relationship between Danyal and his father was intriguing. In the beginning we see that they have a rocky relationship. His father does not approve of Danyal’s dreams of becoming a chef and feels that he is more or less a failure to him. We see their complex relationship and struggle to communicate throughout the book. By the end, however, it’s clear that the relationship between Danyal and his father has changed. I liked how Masood showed this change at the end of the book.

I didn’t like the fact that people were constantly telling Danyal how dumb he is or how little potential he has and he just agrees with it. I also wanted to know more about Bisma. We find out something important about her past on their first meetup, which has important repercussions for her and her family and plays a role throughout the rest of the book. She seemed like such an interesting character and was good for Danyal, I wanted more about her. She was such an integral part in Danyal’s character growth so a little more about her as a character would have been nice.

I can’t speak to the muslim representation in this book. One thing I did notice was that there was the typical stereotype of the “hardcore” religious worshipper. When one character practiced his religion the majority of his time, he was seen as the killjoy and too serious and multiple characters wanted him to “chill out” and I didn’t really like that aspect. 

If you’re into YA contemporary books with more serious topics seamlessly woven in or want a humorous diverse read, definitely check this book out! I’ll be keeping Syed M. Masood on my radar for other books. Publication is set for August.