Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book):
A marvel: something you find amazing. Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom used to make together. An oddity: whatever gives you pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims are.
But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.
When she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.
Fueled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.
Then her path crosses with Adam’s.
Since he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things. Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.
Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.
Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.
Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…
Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.
Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.
MY OPINION: ***
I completely forgot to write this review but I got to end class a little early today and had some extra time, so here we go!
Adam and Zayneb had a very interesting dynamic throughout the book. I found both of them to be very unique and didn't get the annoying YA feel that they were the same character built from the same mold. Obviously, they had many similarities but their differences stood out to me a lot more.
Both Adam and Zayneb happen to keep the same type of journal, in which they record various "marvels" and "oddities." Marvels can be anything you find fantastic, whether it's something small or something huge. Oddities are things that make you stop what you're doing and remind you that the world isn't the ideal, majestic, utopian place many like to pretend it is. I thought this was a very interesting idea because it allowed the readers to really see what Adam and Zayneb were passionate about or what they loved/hated.
I cannot lie: I did not like Zayneb. She was a very angry person and complained every two seconds about something or other. If someone didn't agree with ANYTHING Zayneb believed in, she would start an argument. I honestly found her quite stuck-up and annoying, as well as cynical and pessimistic. HOWEVER, I did admire her ability to stand up for herself, for her community, and for her religion. I think it's important to stand up against discrimination and blatant prejudice, especially if it's happening in an academic setting where students are supposed to feel safe and accepted. I also liked how passionate she was about the things she cared about. I had VERY mixed feelings about Zayneb. I also didn't like how she treated Adam and I hated how she looked down on him when he didn't fully understand what she was going through.
Everyone has different experiences in life. Some people face more hardships, oppression, and discrimination than others. This does not invalidate one's experience versus another's. I hated how Zayneb yelled at Adam because he didn't understand what it felt like to be stuck with an Islamophobic teacher. BUT HOW COULD HE KNOW? He was never put into that situation, and I hated how she just expected him to know exactly how she was feeling.
Obviously, I am proud of our strong female characters who stand up against oppression. We definitely need more characters like Zayneb in terms of their goals and actions. I just did not like her personality. I think if we met in real life, we would clash quite a lot. I also would like to point out that I, myself, am not Muslim, and cannot fully connect with her experiences. I do think that her character can very easily relate to many readers; I just am not one of them.
Adam was an entirely different story. I usually don't like "soft boys" but I ended up really liking Adam's character. He is suffering from the same disease his mother passed away from, multiple sclerosis (MS), which I hadn't really known too much about prior to this book. I felt bad for him throughout the entire book because he was dealt such a bad hand in life and still tried to protect his family and friends from what was happening to him. I also could not relate to Adam, obviously, but I did feel bad for him throughout the entire book.
The relationship between Adam and Zayneb was slow-burning and powerful and I really liked the fact that they didn't just fall in love instantly. Obviously, they were both attracted to each other but they didn't immediately swoon and fall to the floor like in many other YA novels. I think they were so different and yet so similar that it was just meant to be. I would have liked to have seen more about their conclusion to their love story because I don't even know what happened in the end.
I loved the diversity in this book. I think it really added to the uniqueness and powerful themes of the book overall. We have Muslim characters, we have Adam, who is Asian, we have characters with MS, and we have a lot of representation of various hardships and problems that entire communities still face to this day. I learned a lot about the Muslim religion, Islamophobia and how people are being affected by prejudice, and about multiple sclerosis and what it means to be living with MS.
I would recommend this book to readers looking for a unique, powerful, romantic love story with diverse MC's!
Main Character: Adam, Zayneb
Sidekick(s): Hannah, parents, friends, family
Villain(s): Prejudice, Islamophobia, MS, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book is all very real to life.
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