Book Review – Zainab Chats

See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon Book Review

January 15, 2023January 8, 202312 Comments

Hello everyone, it’s Zainab, welcome or welcome back! So, this book review is for the first book I read in 2023. I have already done a book review this year for As Good As Dead, but I read that right at the end of 2022 – so this is technically the first! I went into See You Yesterday not really knowing much except the synopsis, I had never read a book by the author, and I hadn’t seen any promotion for it.

This book was actually kindly sent to me by publishers Simon&Schuster however I was under no obligation to read or review it. So, all my thoughts in this review are honest and genuine. Let’s jump into it!

OFFICIAL REVIEWS

See You Yesterday was published in May 2022, so it’s still fairly recent, and still kept up some good reviews! On Goodreads, it has an average star rating of 4/5 and an average of 4.4/5 on Amazon and Barnes&Noble.

SYNOPSIS

Barrett Bloom is hoping college will be a fresh start after a messy high school experience. But when school begins on September 21st, everything goes wrong. She’s humiliated by the know-it-all in her physics class, she botches her interview for the college paper, and at a party that night, she accidentally sets a frat on fire. She panics and flees, and when she realizes her roommate locked her out of their dorm, she falls asleep in the common room.

The next morning, Barrett’s perplexed to find herself back in her dorm room bed, no longer smelling of ashes and crushed dreams. It’s September 21st. Again. And after a confrontation with Miles, the guy from Physics 101, she learns she’s not alone—he’s been trapped for months.

When her attempts to fix her timeline fail, she agrees to work with Miles to find a way out. Soon they’re exploring the mysterious underbelly of the university and going on wild, romantic adventures. As they start falling for each other, they face the universe’s biggest unanswered question yet: what happens to their relationship if they finally make it to tomorrow?

MY OPINION

After reading this book, I can honestly say that See You Yesterday is now going to be a comfort read for me. The book really encapsulates a typical experience for so many young people starting college albeit having a lot of time travel in the plot. The main character Barrett starts her college experience off on the wrong foot, her first day being a disaster. But, when she wakes up on the same day again, she realises that she’ll have a lot of ways to change the day. And the way Rachel Lynn Solomon writes about her thoughts and feelings made it so easy and simple to read, and also relatable and heartwarming to anyone who feels like they didn’t have good college experiences, Barrett definitely eases the experience.

Also, the way she decided to juxtapose that simple difficulty that Barrett, and later learned classmate Miles, experienced with the complexity of time really tied the whole overall message of the book together, and makes for a great reader experience. Every small mishap they had which my have damaged their short-lived college reputation, was met with a huge discovery about time, and the loop they got stuck in, That life is so much more than your mistakes and that it’s important to see past them and still live your life how you want!

I thought that a really interesting part of this book was that the two protagonists, Barrett and Miles, really antithesised eachother in their methods of coming to terms with their situation. Barrett was an aspiring journalist, so really tried to use her investigative reporting skills by talking to people, while Miles was solely focused on fact and logic from textbooks. The two methods didn’t necessarily compliment eachother like a typical romance book, but what it did do was allow eachother to see from the others perspective (again, another moral message of this book) so when they did finally come together, their union was so much more meaningful and really changed how they acted in the final third of the book as they kept trying to solve their time loop.

One thing I really wanted to do this year, as a reader, was read more diverse stories – and this was a good starting point. There was a lot of representation in this book, Barrett was plus-sized and Jewish while Miles was also Jewish and also of Japanese heritage. One thing I would’ve loved to see was a bit more information about being a part of these communities, because we didn’t get to see as much of their personal lives as I would’ve liked, and it also would’ve just been nice for my own awareness! But, I also loved how the representation wasn’t necessarily a big deal, because in a away it shouldn’t be. Naturally, there should be people in every story representing different people from all communities – because that’s how society is, naturally diverse and there shouldn’t have to be any movement for the media to be the same . so I hope to read more books like this!

I think the overarching plot of being stuck in a time loop is so fascinating to readers – and can really make for good book conversations. What would you do if you were stuck in a time loop? Barrett and Miles have such different approaches, but it’s really a message to readers as to how they would go about a repetition of life, where everything resets after 24 hours. Both protagonists definitely change their approaches, (doing acts of goodness, living life to the fullest, finding revenge etc!) Ultimately learning more about themselves.

Thank you everyone so much for reading, I really hope you enjoyed this review – the book was so interesting. Let me know your thoughts below in the comments!

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As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson Book Review

January 5, 2023January 1, 202315 Comments

Hey everyone, it’s Zainab, welcome or welcome back to my blog! If you’ve read a few of my previous reviews, then you’ll know I’ve been loving the Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series – and I’ve finally finished it by reading As Good As Dead. It was so bittersweet to end the trilogy, it’s easily one of my favourites! Today, I’ll be reviewing the third book, let’s jump into it.

Official Reviews

As Good As Dead was on the receiving end of some outstanding reviews as the finale of this series, such as an average of 4.5/5 stars on Waterstones. On Goodreads, the average star review was 4.2/5 stars and 4.6/5 stars on Amazon. All of these reviews are so high, and considering the consistency, it just shows how exciting this book is, and the ending it gives to the story.

My Opinion

Considering how much I loved the whole series, I had very high expectations for the final book, and I’m happy to say that I really thought that Holly Jackson delivered well! As Good As Dead was so captivating, and Pippa’s experiences in this book were as deep as it gets. Not to mention, they were enhanced with such powerful writing: the explicit imagery and metaphors in this book complimented the essence of the plot so well. Writer’s methods don’t really stick out to me when I’m reading, I’m much more focused on the plot, but the way the story was told through extended metaphors and comparisons made the plot even better!

In my review for the second book in this series, I mentioned the idea of changing the stakes, and how I thought they were actually lowered. But, I thought that this book definitely redeemed itself because I finally felt that Pippa had the growth I wanted her to have in the previous book. However, after finishing the whole book, I do understand the decision because the second book plays into this book a lot, so she needed her stakes lowered a little bit in order for Pippa to face her biggest challenge yet in this book.

Maturity was a very apparent theme in this book. Not only had Pippa matured into a young adult now (preparing to start University) but also what she faces in this book was much more mature than the previous ones. And even her actions are dictated by her newfound maturity, yet it also prompts her to make very shocking decisions that alter the outcome of the entire book, completely shocking me as a reader.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book, was that it conveyed circularity of the whole series. So many plot points of this book were fresh, but also linked back to previous books – creating a cumulative mystery overall. I really appreciated this as a reader, it definitely allowed me to feel connected to the book – I’m sure a lot of people were looking back at the previous books to make their own predictions!

Something you’ll come to realise about this book, specifically, is that the plot is very fast paced! I personally really enjoyed it, the story’s focus was constantly shifting and that really kept me on my toes as if I was Pip myself. The way the book starts is completely different to how it ends, and you almost forget it because it could become somewhat irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

The ending of this book is completely unexpected, but also unconventional in a way! It’s not necessarily a satisfying ending that you would hope for at the end of a series – it was left up for interpretation, so it’s really whatever you see it as! However, all the big questions from previous books, and this one, were answered so I think that overall, it was a good end to the series!

Synopsis

Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. She’s used to online death threats in the wake of her viral true-crime podcast, but she can’t help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?

Soon the threats escalate and Pip realizes that someone is following her in real life. When she starts to find connections between her stalker and a local serial killer caught six years ago, she wonders if maybe the wrong man is behind bars.

Police refuse to act, so Pip has only one choice: find the suspect herself—or be the next victim. As the deadly game plays out, Pip discovers that everything in her small town is coming full circle . . .and if she doesn’t find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears. . .

This book was such a great end to the trilogy, so I really hope you guys enjoyed my review! If you reasonated with my thoughts, or want to chat about the book, then do feel free to comment!

Have a lovely day!

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson Book Review

October 27, 2022October 23, 202215 Comments

Hello everyone it’s Zainab here, welcome or welcome back to my blog! I’ve recently finished A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder and thoroughly enjoyed it, alongside so many other people who have spoken highly about it. So today, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the book as it’s so popular and I know so many people who have read it. Let’s jump into it!

Official Reviews

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder was subject to some highly positive reviews! It has an average reader rating of 4.4/5 stars on Goodreads and on The Works it has an average of 4.9/5 stars. On Common Sense Media, the average was a full star 5/5 rating!

Synopsis

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

My Opinion

Since A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder had been widely circulating social media and had a majority of positive reviews – my expectations were quite high going into it. Almost so much so that I didn’t think it would be as great as people say because readers over exaggerate it. But, I an confirm that this book is definitely worth the hype for me. The plot and mystery were so beautifully crafted by the author where readers were forced to be the detective just as much as the main protagonist, Pippa. And I love this aspect of mystery stories. It makes this book so much more compelling as you’re in her shoes and even you have the significance to solve the mystery.

Furthering this point, creating the whole mystery alongside the rest of the plot’s book must have been very difficult – so to do it well was incredible! I loved how you would think the story was going one way but it would take a complete change of direction in the next page. And that made for the story to be such an amazing read!

There’s one aspect of this book that I really think sets it apart from other teen mysteries which is the layout! I know that’s something a bit out of the ordinary to praise in any book, but if you pick it up, you’ll see what I mean. Every other chapter or so, is filled with a log in which Pippa notes down all the key things that she’s learned from the past few chapters. With each one leading towards the end, as she produces her final project and realises who the culprit is. Again, this links back to the idea about playing ‘detective’ I really enjoy books that also take into account the reader experience, and make them feel much more involved – and in particular I think this was executed really well in this book.

A huge factor within the plot of this book is resilience and believing in others.When Pippa took on the case, she had almost everyone around her discouraging her and telling her not persue it. Despite this, she kept on going and eventually did bring new things alight about this case. I think this is a great message to the young readers that if you’re passionate about something – it’s important that you don’t give up! I love how this book may be a mystery, but some of it’s underlining values are so vital.

Taking a chance and believing in others is also hugely explored. Pippa begins her case by meeting the alleged murderer’s brother: Ravi. Her entire town has excluded and shunned them out without letting them say anything for themselves. Yet, Pippa still chooses to believe Ravi and help him with her brother, and Ravi takes a chance on helping Pippa even though he didn’t know who she was. The whole subplot was their finding their mutual trust for one another and sometimes it was a nice break from a brutal murder investigation!

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it’s one of the best teen mysteries I’ve read in a while! I’d highly recommend to anyone looking for a good book to get lost in.

Thank you so much for reading this post, I really enjoyed reminiscing about this! Let me know in the comments what your thoughts were on the book.

Have a great day!

A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey Book Review

September 22, 2022September 25, 202212 Comments

Hey everyone it’s Zainab, welcome or welcome back to my blog! I’m back to posting more book reviews, and you guys know that my favourite genre is thriller, but this time I took a backseat from thrillers and decided to read a YA Romance called A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tomorrow. I don’t know that many people that have read it, but I really enjoyed reading it, so today I’ll be sharing my thoughts!

Official Reviews

A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tommorow is a New York Times bestselling book with a variety of reviews! 93% of Google Users voted that they liked the book along with an average customer reating of 4.6/5 stars on Amazon. On Goodreads, the average star rating is 3.82/5 stars and had an average of 4/5 stars on Common Sense Media.

Synopsis

For Lila Reyes, a summer in England was never part of the plan. The plan was 1) take over her abuela’s role as head baker at their panadería, 2) move in with her best friend after graduation, and 3) live happily ever after with her boyfriend. But then the Trifecta happened, and everything—including Lila herself—fell apart.
Worried about Lila’s mental health, her parents make a new plan for her: spend three months with family friends in Winchester, England, to relax and reset. But with the lack of sun, a grumpy inn cook, and a small town lacking Miami flavor (both in food and otherwise), what would be a dream trip for some feels more like a nightmare to Lila…until she meets Orion Maxwell.
A teashop clerk with troubles of his own, Orion is determined to help Lila out of her funk, and appoints himself as her personal tour guide. From Winchester’s drama-filled music scene to the sweeping English countryside, it isn’t long before Lila is not only charmed by Orion, but England itself. Soon a new future is beginning to form in Lila’s mind—one that would mean leaving everything she ever planned behind.

My Opinion

Even just from the cover (and I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover), it was very clear going into this that A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea And Tommorow was going to be one of those comfort stories that you can go back to and read again. And I got this just from a few reviews, and the welcoming impression on the cover – and my expectations were reached.
The plot line was very sweet and thoroughly enjoyable. Telling the story of aspiring head baker Lila Reyes being sent to England to try and find herself again. It was quite a short, light read – but for me, I think books can be so saturated sometimes that this made for a really comforting read. The warmth and loving atmosphere you read about will definitely one I’ll be going back to read again in the future!

The idea of choice and the effects of making choices, are very prominent throughout this story. Despite Lila’s stubbornness in regards to wanting to go back home, as soon as she chooses to enjoy her time in England, new doors and avenues for her life are opened for her – prompting her to have to make even further choices. Some which are very difficult because she wants to consider all the factors, her family, what people will think, etc! And I think this is very relatable for any teenager (especially slightly older ones) reading this as they’re probably going through very similar situation in their own lives.

With the key message being, don’t be afraid to prioritise yourself. Lila goes on a journey throughout the book of self discovery, while still being afraid sometimes to make choices for herself without thinking of others. This was a huge responsibility of Orion and the rest of her friends in England, to help Lila come to terms with the fact that her future was the most important thing for her. They acted as great reminders, not only for Lila, but any readers going through similar situations.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book were the references to Lila’s heritage. Lila comes froma family with a Cuban background and she is unapologetically herself, and embraces her heritage with pride – which I love to see! She speaks Spanish in the book, she bakes Cuban food and shares Cuban traditions with others, and as someone who doesn’t know much about Cuban culture, it was so interesting to learn about.
It was also so refreshing to see a teenage character actually proud of their heritage, in a lot of YA stories, the arc comes from the main character finally learning to accept their heritage. But, from the beginning of this story, Lila already takes pride being Cuban and uses it to guide her and help her while she’s away from her family – and I love how books are now normalising diversity and characters already being proud of who they are. I only wish it could’ve been done sooner!

As well as the new people she meets in England, Lila’s family also plays a huge role in this book, despite the fact that they’re away from her for a majority of the book. Lila’s relationship with each of her family members all shaped her into who she was. Her sister helped her with business, her Abuela taught her the basics of baking and was the beginning of that chapter for her, etc! Each member of her family moulds Lila into the girl that came to England, and despite her anger at them, ultimately they were always there for her. This was so lighthearted to see in a YA book, as a lot of times there is major conflict. And while Lila and her family are not picture perfect, they love her no matter what – and that truly gives this book the ‘comfort factor’ that a lot of people seem to talk about.

If you’re looking for a quick easy read, perhaps something to boost your mood, I would definitely recommend this book – I smiled so much while reading it! I’d also like to add that they’re actually adapting this book into a movie, and they recently finished filming so when it comes out, let me know if you’d like to see a movie review too!

Thank you guys so much for reading this post. Let me know in the comments any reading recommendations or your thoughts on the book!

Have a great day!

We Were Liars by E Lockhart Book Review

August 28, 2022August 27, 202211 Comments

Hello everyone it’s Zainab, welcome or welcome back to my blog! I recently read the widely popular book: We Were Liars and I found it very interesting – so today I’ll be sharing my thoughts!

Official Reviews

We Were Liars had a variety of different opinions and reviews. Starting with an average of 3.7/5 stars on Goodreads. Amazon customers had an overall average rating of 4.3/5 stars and Waterstones giving it an average 4.5/5 star rating.

Synopsis

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

My Opinion

Going into We Were Liars, I was very unsure of what to expect. Both the blurb and synopsis did not really give much away about the plot. On the one hand, this made for a very exciting reading experience as I didn’t know certain things would happen so I genuinely had a very raw reaction at a lot of moments within the story. On the other hand, it made reading slightly boring at times because at some points (more so at the beginning when it was slow) I was so confused of where plot points would lead to or not really be able to understand the build up. So, it was intitally a hit or miss -in my opinion!

Other than that, I thought the story was very well crafted. The Sinclair family illustrate themselves as a picture-perfect family at the beginning of the story. And I thought that the theme of family relationships was beautifully crafted in this story as Lockhart really breaks down barriers and shows realistic strains in the family – that many normal families also go through. The discovery of this was executed so well, because after the main protagonist’s, Cadence, life changing-event her family changes and breaks down – almost trying to force their past dynamics in which she realises that some things will have to change.

The idea of trauma is also heavily explored in the climax of this book – both physically and mentally. The traumatic event that Cadence goes through really set the story on it’s course. Because the mental effects of trauma are not only on herself but also felt by her family. Yet, the physical trauma meant that Cadence couldn’t remember her life-changing event – and this really began the mystery as she tries to discover what actually happened to her, all while her family ties are changing and her group of friends (The Liars) aren’t telling her something. With that being said, if you’re not good with trauma, please check the trigger warnings beforehand because some people who didn’t had an uncomfortable reading experience.

I briefly wanted to touch on the ending (don’t worry, no spoilers) because it was honestly the most unexpected ending in a book that I’ve ever read. After reading it, I was so stumped (go to my Goodreads to see my reaction to the ending!) Without giving anything away, it was so well imagined and thought out – E Lockhart really gave an incredible ending! Once you finish it, you’ll instantly respect the book and the author even more because you’ll realise how much lead up to it, even from the first page, which you didn’t realise. The subtle foreshadowing was amazingly executed!

Overall, this book was quite enjoyable. Despite the slow pace and confusion, I thought the second half really made up for it! So I’d definitely recommend if you’re into more shorter books with plot twists you couldn’t even imagine.

This review was so interesting for me to write, so let me know in the comments what you thought of this book, and whether you agreed or disagreed!

Enjoy your week!

Hide And Secrets by Sophie McKenzie Book Review

April 21, 2022April 18, 20228 Comments

Hey guys, it’s Zainab here, welcome or welcome back to my blog! In today’s post, I’ll be reviewing one of Sophie McKenzie’s more recent thrillers called: Hide and Secrets. Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while knows that I’m an avid reader of her thrillers – so keep reading to see my thoughts on this particular story!

Official Reviews

Hide and Secrets had an average rating of 4.5/5 stars on Waterstones along with a 3.59/5 stars average rating from Goodreads users. Amazon customers gave the book 4.4/5 stars.

My Opinion

Hide and Secrets really captured the essence of an exciting teen thriller, in my opinion, due to the fact that secrets were questioned everywhere in this story. What I mean by this is that the main character, Cat, is told something shocking about her presumed dead father but in reality, there could be a lie in that revelation (no spoilers!) Or the so called ‘truth’ is fake? The mysteries in the story are so confusing which is why I believe so many people did enjoy this book – the mystery is an epitome of a thrilling story!

A huge theme in this book is grief, which I think is a subject that is worth speaking about. Since the story is centred around Cat’s father who died, each member of her family had different ways of grieving, which was really useful to see. It’s a great reminder that everyone grieves and commemorates losses differently and they shouldn’t be outed or feel alone because of this. Cat lost her friends through her initial period of grief for her father, and it’s an important message for readers who may be grieving or knows someone who is to give time and be there for people. Especially if they’re at different stages such as different family members in the story.

This is a thriller, so of course there would be action. But to me, I felt like the action in this book was different/delayed in the story. Compared the other thrillers where usually murders or physical action is a main plot point, I felt that this book was a lot more mild in the sense that the beginning action was just Cat deciding to believe what an unknown text stated. There still was action to the story, I just felt it happened quite later. This was not disappointing but I just would’ve liked to feel more excitement at the beginning to dive into the story more.

Overall, this book was really interesting to read. I thought it was more in ‘real life’ circumstances in the sense that you may not always feel that this book was fiction since the action wasn’t as dramatic – but some people really enjoy that. If you’re looking to slowly phase your way into reading thrillers, this is a great starting point!

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Cat is lonely – reeling from the loss of her father, she’s disconnected from friends and fighting with her mum. But when a new boy, Tyler, arrives for the summer, Cat finds herself opening up to the handsome stranger. A shocking revelation about her dad turns Cat’s world on its head. She and Tyler uncover a series of secrets that take them on a perilous journey. With fresh lies exposed and threats from a dangerous gang revealed, will Cat risk everything to keep herself and her family safe?

As always, thank you for reading this review. I’d love to know your thoughts on the book, especially the action portion, and if you have any other recommendations for me – let me know in the comments!

Thank you so much for reading this post, I’d love to know some recent lessons you guys have learned – let me know by commenting down below!

Enjoy your week!

One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus Book Review

April 7, 2022April 3, 202222 Comments

Hi everyone, Zainab here, welcome or welcome back to Zainab Chats! Today’s book review is a book that I’ve wanted to read for ages, and I finally read it! If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’ve constantly been saying One Of Us Is Lying is on my TBR. Well, I’ve finally read it and today I’ll be reviewing it!

Official Reviews

One Of Us Is Lying was subject to some amazing reviews such as 5/5 Stars from Waterstones as well as an average Google Audience rating of 4.7/5 stars. Goodreads also rated the book 4/5 stars!

My Opinion

One Of Us Is Lying is a YA mystery novel solving a murder at Bayview High that did not fail to impress me. The book is told from the viewpoints of 4 very different students, which I think is a factor into why so many people enjoyed this book. The 4 students who are targeted in this book all have very different school experiences which means readers can use this context to try and guess who committed the crime. It was also very interesting to see people who came from very different cliques having to work together in different ways, it was a very unique dynamic and one I enjoyed reading. I think the idea of having 4 very contrasting characters meant that readers could either hate or sympathise with them at different points in the story – which was so interesting to read!

Suspension was also a key ingredient in this book (and I loved every second of it!) After the pivotal murder at the beginning of the story, new anonymous information about the suspected murderers was continually being released, leading readers to constantly being swayed in different directions of the story, and I struggled to decide who I thought was the actual murderer! Karen McManus did a great job at creating a feeling of anxiousness and excitement with every new discovery.

Of course, sometimes a break from the murder investigation was needed so the book would go from crime drama to teen drama at various points – but it was actually enjoyable. Like I said previously, since each of them had very different experiences, their drama also was varied. From school to family to relationships, there’s many different subplots that are all well intertwined with the overall investigation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book – I think it’s the perfect book to get you out of a reading slump or if you want to immerse yourself into a dramatic story!

Synopsis

Five students walk into detention. Only four come out alive.
Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule. Sports star Cooper only knows what he’s doing in the baseball diamond. Bad boy Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime. Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life. And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won’t ever talk about any of them again. He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it’s no accident. All of them are suspects.
Everyone has secrets, right?
What really matters is how far you’ll go to protect them.

Thank you guys so much for reading this post, I really enjoyed writing it and reading the book. I know this is a very popular book, so let me know your opinion on it by commenting down below!

Thank you for reading!

All American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney Book Review

December 2, 2021November 28, 202113 Comments

Hey everyone, Zainab here, welcome or welcome back to my blog! It feels like forever since I’ve done a proper book review – because as some of you may know, I had a summer reading slump. But, I’ve finally started to enjoy reading again so I thought I’ll start reviewing again. For today’s post, I’ll be reviewing All American Muslim Girl, written by Nadine Jolie Courtney. Let’s jump into the review!

Official Reviews

All American Muslim Girl received some amazing reviews – including an average of 4/5 stars on Goodreads. As well as, 5 stars from Common Sense Media. Barnes and Noble gave an overall rating of 4.3/5 Stars.

My Opinion

All American Muslim Girl is a book that I was very excited to read before I had even opened it. I was thrilled to see some Muslim representation in a book, and was eager to know what would happen in the story!

As a basic setup of the plot, Allie Abraham is having a worry-free life, she’s doing well in school, close with her parents and friends, and has a good relationship with her boyfriend Wells. All while she’s keeping her Islamic faith private, which is easy for her as she doesn’t ‘look’ muslim. The book begins with discrimination towards her father about his faith which then sparks her growing interest in Islam, which she explores throughout the book.

Tackling discrimination is a huge part of the story, starting from the very first page. When Allie sees the amount of islamaphobia in society she realises it’s time to speak up and it’s a huge part of the story. The way she does in the story is a breakthrough, so I won’t share how. But what I will say, is it’s clear Allie was educated in order to do this, and it took her a long way to get to that point. Which is also a lesson to the readers, when you see something going on, educate yourself and stand up for yourself!

Another big plot point of the book is that before Allie started embracing her faith, nobody ever thought she was muslim because she didn’t ‘look like a muslim.’ I think this theme in the book is a lesson to all of her classmates and also us as readers, you don’t have to look a certain way to believe something or be part of a religion.

Overall, I really enjoyed All American Muslim Girl. I thought Nadine Jolie Courtney did a great job at taking Allie on a journey of rediscovering herself (through her starting to pray, learning from the Quran etc) while the book also did a good job of taking the reader on a journey of learning a little bit about Islam while still immersed into a great story. By the end, Allie knows she’s still not a perfect muslim, but she’s at peace knowing she has the right intention – and remember, nobody is perfect!

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

Allie Abraham has it all going for her—she’s a straight-A student, with good friends and a close-knit family, and she’s dating cute, popular, and sweet Wells Henderson. One problem: Wells’s father is Jack Henderson, America’s most famous conservative shock jock…and Allie hasn’t told Wells that her family is Muslim. It’s not like Allie’s religion is a secret, exactly. It’s just that her parents don’t practice and raised her to keep her Islamic heritage to herself. But as Allie witnesses ever-growing Islamophobia in her small town and across the nation, she begins to embrace her faith—studying it, practising it, and facing hatred and misunderstanding for it. Who is Allie, if she sheds the facade of the “perfect” all-American girl? What does it mean to be a “Good Muslim?” And can a Muslim girl in America ever truly fit in?

Thank you so much for reading this review, I know it was quite long, but I had quite a lot to say about the book. If you enjoyed this, make sure you comment down below if you’ve read All American Muslim Girl or what you’re reading right now!

Have a great day!

Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman Book Review

May 6, 2021May 3, 202116 Comments

Hey everyone it’s Zainab, welcome or welcome back to Zainab Chats! Today, I’m going to be reviewing a book I recently read – and it’s actually now one of my favourites. The book is: Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman and it’s such a great story, so today I’m going to review it, let’s jump into it!

Official Reviews:
This book received some great reviews, such as 4.1/5 Stars on Goodreads as well as a full five star rating on Waterstones and the BookTrust!

My Opinion:
Boys Don’t Cry is such a heartwarming yet dramatic story about a young seventeen year old boy named Dante who has dreams of going to university and becoming a Journalist. However, one day when he is supposed to get his exam results he hears a knock on his door and it’s his ex girlfriend – with a baby called Emma which he was the father of! His ex girlfriend, Melanie, says she is too incompetent to raise a baby so she leaves his house to run away, but doesn’t take Emma with her.

The whole story is revolving around how Dante tries to live with his now daughter and unfortunately he does have to withdraw his place in university. Obviously, as things take time, he does learn to eventually love Emma, but with some bumps along the way.

This story is also told in multiple person narrative, with the main narrator being Dante, but also part of the story is told through his brother Adam’s perspective.

Adam is a very pompous person with dreams of becoming an actor, but life isn’t always easy for him. He is happy to be an Uncle now to Emma, but through the story, he discovers more about his identity, something that not everyone in his life accepts.

As the story goes on, Adam goes through a lot of trauma and hatred. It’s quite emotional and very vividly described so I won’t go into it so you’ll have to read to find out.

All in all, Boys Don’t Cry is such a wonderful story and really goes into some realistic themes and conflicts in the book. Malorie Blackman did such a wondeful job of telling the story and breaking down the stereotypes that men and boys need to be strong.

Synopsis:
You’ve got it all planned out. A summer of freedom, university, a career as a journalist – your future looks bright. But then the doorbell rings. It’s your ex-girlfriend, and she’s carrying a baby. Your baby. You agree to look after it, just an hour or two. Then she doesn’t come back – and your life changes forever.

Thank you so much for reading this you guys, I really hope you guys enjoyed this review. Let me know if you’ve read this before and what you thought of it! Just before I go, nominations are open for the 2021 Blogsophere Awards which are awards for categories such as Blogger, Vlogger etc, if you can I’d love it if you could vote for me here, thanks so much for the support!

Have a lovely day everyone!

The Source Book Review | AD

March 11, 2021May 19, 202135 Comments

Hey everyone it’s Zainab, welcome or welcome back to Zainab Chats! Today, I’m going to be reviewing a new book called, ‘The Source’ by Ifunanya C Ogo. It’s a very interesting novel, so when Ifunanya reached out to me and asked me if she could send me the book and share a review, I was so excited, but don’t worry all the opinions in this review are genuine! so we are just going to jump right into the review! Some spoilers ahead.

My Opinion:
The Source is a fantasy fiction book with very interesting characters and story lines. It tells the stories of Madison and Jason waking up on an Island with no memories of who they are. Madison and Jason are trying to figure out who they are and what they’re doing on the island. One of the most interesting things about the plot is everytime the two of them would go to sleep, they would dream one of their memories! For the rest of the story, they are trying to piece together their memories to try and figure out their purpose on the island!

My favourite thing about the book was the whole concept itself. The fact that Madison and Jason both find out they’re transcenders (people with powers) is so cool and the way there’s a lot of backstory to the plot such as different types of particles and types of sources really draws you into the plot more!

I also loved the idea of ‘The Master’ being someone who has discovered the most about their transcender powers. The sense of him being a bit of an anonymous old man nobody really knew much about added some mystery to the story which I really enjoyed!

There was a lot of multiple narrative in the story (the story being told in different perspectives) which was really unique but sometimes I did find it a little bit confusing. If you do like stories being told in different perspectives I’m sure you would enjoy the book more! Also, in terms of the pace, it was quite fast which I actually really enjoyed as I felt I could indulge into the story more!

Synopsis:
A girl, unwanted in the world, wakes up on an island, pleasantly deserted. Memories gone, nothing holding her back, she is free. A boy, who prides knowledge over anything else, realises just how much he doesn’t know, especially about himself. Alone in a strange land with no memories, his intellect is all he has. Then they find each other again. Memories return slowly, and with them, a myriad of questions. And then their powers. With them, the children realise what they must do.She must find the Source.And he must confront the darker unknown side of himself, one that will destroy them both if not dealt with…

Thanks so much for reading this review guys. If you’re interested in checking out this book you can go to Infunanya’s Instagram for more information or order the book on Amazon!

Enjoy your day!