Release Date: January 16th 2018
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Pages: 288
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis

“I don’t want something . . . expected. I want to go to film school and be the first Indian American to win an Oscar, and then I can meet the One and fall in big, heart-bursting love, and we’ll travel the world, my camera ready to capture our adventures.” My cheeks flush; I know I’m blushing, but I can’t bring myself to shut up. “Oh, my God. I want my future life to be a cheesy romantic comedy.”
He shakes his head. “No,” he says. “You want it to be an epic.”

Maya Aziz dreams of being a film maker in New York. Her family have other ideas. They want her to be a dutiful daughter who wears gold jewellery and high heels and trains to be a doctor. But jewellery and heels are so uncomfortable…

She’s also caught between the guy she SHOULD like and the guy she DOES like. But she doesn’t want to let Kareem down and things with Phil would never work out anyway. Would they?

Then a suicide bomber who shares her last name strikes in a city hundreds of miles away and everything changes . . .

Review

This book is a really important own voices read, that tackles a number of really difficult issues in an interesting way. Maya stands on the precipice of her future and there are two options – going to NYU and following her dreams of studying film, or going to a more local University and finding a new suitable boy to marry – the option that her parents want her to take. I thought she was a really fascinating character and I loved her perspectives on life, and her dedication to film. She was strong and determined, she made difficult choices and stuck to her guns even when things were hard.

The book focuses on two key areas – the romance aspect as Maya meets Kareem but also has feelings for classmate Phil, and an in depth look at hate crimes and the rippling effects that one horrific event can have on so many people’s lives. The romance I found a little cheesy and fluffy which is why I didn’t rate it higher, but it’s sweet and adds another layer to this interesting story.

The effects of the terrorist attack by a white supremacist is the part of the story that was most powerful. Although Maya wasn’t involved in the attack, her and her family still feel the effects and are still the victims of hate crimes. I would have loved for the book to dig a bit deeper into this important issue, rather than the focus on the romance between Maya and Phil.

The book is a pretty quick read, I read it almost in one sitting. That being said I think it highlights a lot of problems and issues in society, and is therefore a really important read. It has a really interesting cast of characters, and the story is well paced and interesting. If you like contemporary books with plenty of sweet and light romance, this is definitely a book to pick up.