Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed -> Starting August 8th, 2022

[Aly]

A searing #OwnVoices coming-of-age debut in which an Indian-American Muslim teen confronts Islamophobia and a reality she can neither explain nor escape—perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Jacqueline Woodson, and Adam Silvera.

American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.

There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs

[Hina]

Chapter 1 (view spoiler)[ I'm only like 5 pages through this and I already know that the rep is so effing wrong.

I hate reading books with Muslim rep bc the rep is ALWAYS wrong, it's all about arranged marriages and bad parents and the character feeling the urge to run away from their culture. You know not all Muslims get an arranged marriage, some people get married out of love!! Also, not all Muslim parents are annoying and force their kids to do things they don't want to, some of them are really sweet! Then why don't we see this more in books? (hide spoiler)]

[Hina]

Chapter 2 (view spoiler)[ This is one of the most annoying books I've ever read, I'm pretty sure this will be a 1-2 stars read unless the next chapters convince me otherwise (hide spoiler)]

[Hina]

Chapter 6 (view spoiler)[ PLS - How is this considered Muslim rep?? The MC doesn't even act Muslim, she doesn't even acknowledge her religion and she looks so ashamed of her culture and her beliefs, she's literally doing everything forbidden in Islam WTF!! If the book's author wasn't Muslim I would've said that she didn't do much research but the author is Muslim then why is she doing really wrong rep? Did she just use Islam for marketing and to look diverse? (hide spoiler)]

[Hina]

Finished (view spoiler)[ I just hate this book so much, especially the part where the author tried to justify the terrorist's acts by saying that he was abused as a child. And by giving us his povs at the end of each chapter, it just sounded like she was covering up for his acts and telling us why he does what he does. Like terrorism should be justified. Totally sickening. (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

Chapter 5 (view spoiler)[I don't love this so far, it's a little too high school romance cliche (and your one star rating doesn't help). Is Brian going to be a perpetrator to something? (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

Hina wrote: "Chapter 6 [spoilers removed]"

Yeah I'm getting that vibe as well and I'm not even Muslim or any kind of religious or minority. Honestly this was recommended to me by a teacher in high school who's friends with the author, and I think there's a reason it's taken me so long to get to it (I'm 21 now). I've read the unfavorable reviews.

[Celia]

Chapter 17 (view spoiler)[So of course they'd blame the only Muslim man in the room without investigating, that just sounds exactly like something the US Justice system would do. Because white supremacist terrorism doesn't exist and isn't prominent at all (sarcasm on the white terrorism part, not the blaming part).

This is growing on me a little bit. I still don't like Maya though.
I'm breaking up with him because I'm into someone else. Wait, how DARE he get with someone else after I broke up with him because I was into someone else??? (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

Beginning of chapter 18 (view spoiler)[I still think Brian has something to do with it, though. Although he was at school on the day of the bombing... (hide spoiler)]

[Celia]

FINISHED (view spoiler)[This did grow on me a bit, although I didn't love the ending, especially given Hina's career path and the way the family accepted her compared to the way they reacted to Maya (hide spoiler)].