Yes No Maybe So - Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): New York Times bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed have crafted a resonant, funny, and memorable story about the power of love and resistance. 
YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.
NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.
MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.

MY OPINION: **

I am so disappointed by this book that it makes me sad. I was initially very excited for this book because the premise sounded really interesting and I have a love-hate relationship with Becky Albertalli. For me, her books are either hit or miss and this time I am sad to confirm it was a complete miss.

The beginning started out quite interesting. We are introduced to Jamie and Maya, two childhood friends who are randomly reunited one day after years of not seeing each other.

Jamie is a very awkward, klutzy, and a largely politically passionate Jewish teenager. He is willing to do all he can to support the upcoming election of Jordan Rossum so long as he is behind the scenes and not in the public eye. He's incredibly awful at public speaking and the thought of canvassing never even crossed his mind until he meets/re-meets Maya.

Maya is a Muslim teenage girl whose parents are going through some rocky times and her best friend is drifting away from her. She is less than excited about the political campaign but her mother bribes her into canvassing with the socially awkward Jamie.

I actually liked Jamie's character. He was quirky and relatable, especially to people like me who generally isn't the big fan of improv public speaking. While he sometimes got on my nerves with some of the things he would say, I appreciated his passion and determination to get Jordan elected. I could find myself relating to a lot of his personality; I especially loved his extreme passion in politics because I have lately found myself becoming more and more invested in politics. I also loved Jamie's relationships with his sister and his parents because they seemed so authentic and loving.

I cannot say the same of Maya. I had a strong dislike for her throughout the entirety of the book. She was so negative and cynical and pessimistic that it got on my nerves the entire time. I'm not the most positive of people sometimes but she reached an entirely different level. I understand that she was going through a rough time but to be honest, I think it was just a part of her personality in general. I hated how she lashed out at Jamie when he was just trying to be helpful. She expected him to know everything about Ramadan and her religion and got mad at him when he forgot or got confused. I personally am not religious and would not know what she was talking about half the time so I would expect to be told politely what I'm doing or saying wrong instead of being yelled at for no reason.

The book features a lot of diverse identities that I did enjoy. Jamie is a Jewish teenager who experiences the hurt and discomfort that comes with anti-Semitism and the prejudice that people have against others. I thought that they dealt with his identity quite well. Maya is a Pakistani-American Muslim girl. I think the main problem with her identity for me was the lack of representation of both sides of her. Just because someone is Pakistani doesn't mean they are Muslim and I would have liked to have seen more representation of her Pakistani side instead of just her religion. The book is set during Ramadan and she fasts of her own will but other than that, there is no other real mention of her being Muslim.

I disliked Maya and Jamie's relationship. I didn't feel any chemistry between them throughout the entire book at all, though they claimed to be in love. Maya is torn between wanting Jamie and not wanting or being allowed to date a non-Muslim white boy. I feel that this is a fairly common trope that is pretty well known in YA books and I would have like to have seen something more unique instead of the same-old cliche that I feel that I have read a thousand times.

Overall, this book just wasn't for me. It took me forever to read and I found myself being forced to put it down in order to just recharge and get up the energy to start reading again. I did like the political aspect of the book because I think it's important for YA books to start spreading more awareness to a younger demographic about politics and government and how our vote can change things.

I would recommend this book to readers looking for a politically-centered YA novel with a budding romance between two diverse teenagers.

Main Character: Jamie, Maya
Sidekick(s): Jordan Rossum, family, etc
Villain(s): The other candidate, religious limits, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.