Reviews of books with Muslim representation.
When Alina is selected to join her class’s advanced math group, she is faced with the best and the worst of her new school. Between incessant bullying, the struggle of trying to impress a group of friends from a completely foreign culture, auditions for the school play, and an embarrassing last name, Alina has a whole lot on her plate. … More The Unlovable Alina Butt by Ambreen Butt-Hussain
The relationships in this novel are some of its best parts. Though he struggles with loneliness, Ali is never truly alone. For one, Ali has his Dada, or paternal grandfather. As we learn of Iqbal Khan’s tragic backstory, Ali’s Dada serves as the facilitator of so many lessons, showcasing the importance of listening to and being supported by elders … More Call Me Al by Wali Shah and Eric Walters
As a non-Muslim reader, I feel honored to have read this book and to have been invited to witness one of the most sacred traditions in Islam through Adam and Zayneb’s perspectives … More Love From Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali
Review by Claudine Yip
Burgeoning poet and eleven-turning-twelve-year-old Mona Hasan has an opinion about everything, so it’s only fitting she has a diary to record all her thoughts. … More The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan by Salma Hussain
Review by Claudine Yip
The anthology Once Upon an Eid celebrates the Muslim holiday of Eid. … More Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices, ed. S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed
Review by Shyamala Parthasarathy
When sixteen-year-old Nishat comes out to her Bengali and Bangladeshi immigrant parents as a lesbian, she is met with stony silence. Things get worse when her childhood friend-turned-business rival, Flávia, sets up a henna stall for their school project. Nishat must untangle her complicated feelings about Flávia while grappling with what it means to be Muslim and gay—two identity markers that everyone tells her do not go together. … More The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
Review by Jieun Lee
Uzma Jalaluddin’s debut novel, Ayesha at Last, is a New Adult reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that explores prejudice and racial discrimination in Toronto. Twenty-seven-year-old Ayesha is a new substitute teacher for a classroom full of preteen terrors, but secretly writes and performs poetry at a local lounge. … More Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
Review by Natasha Zippan
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali brings to life the struggle of a queer Muslim teen and takes the reader on an unforgettable ride of love, betrayal, loss, and transformation. Written by Sabina Khan, who immigrated to British Columbia from Bangladesh via the United States, this novel is at once relevant, shocking, and heartwarming. … More The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
Review by Lauren Hathaway
Fifteen-year-old Janna Yusuf can sort every person in her life into one of three simple categories: saints, misfits, and monsters. There are those who are holier-than-thou, like her brother’s fiancé, Sarah. There are the people who don’t quite fit in, like Janna. And then there are the monsters masquerading as saints, like Farooq: the boy who is revered by his community for his piousness but has also sexually assaulted Janna. … More Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali
YOUNG ADULTING 