Tag: young adult

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar

Four Eids and a FuneralFour Eids and a Funeral
by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar
Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan

Ex-best friends, Tiwa and Said, must work together to save their Islamic Center from demolition, in this romantic story of rekindling and rebuilding by award-winning authors Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé & Adiba Jaigirdar!

These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian Ms. Barnes dies, he must return home to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex-best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor.

Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly staying through the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on, between grieving her broken family and helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center—a place that means so much to Tiwa.

But when the Islamic Center accidentally catches fire, it turns out the mayor plans to demolish the center entirely. Things are still tense between the ex-friends but Tiwa needs Said’s help if there’s any hope of changing the mayor’s mind, and Said needs a project to submit to art school (unbeknownst to anyone). Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe save their relationship?

Cover image and summary via Macmillan

This Is How You Fall In Love By Anika Hussain

THIS IS HOW YOU FALL IN LOVEThis Is How You Fall In Love
By Anika Hussain
Bloomsbury (US Publication)

Best friends Zara and Adnan must navigate the twists and turns of fake dating, family dynamics and cultural stereotypes in this swoon-worthy YA Desi rom-com.

Zara loves love in all forms: rom-coms and romance novels and grand sweeping gestures. And she’s desperate to have her own great love story. A real one. So when her best friend Adnan begs her to pretend to date him to cover up his new, secret relationship, Zara hesitates. This isn’t the kind of great romance she had in mind. But there’s something in it for Zara, too: making her parents, who love Adnan, happy might just stop their arguing for a while. She may not be getting her own love story, but she could save theirs. After all, how difficult can pretending to be in a relationship with your best friend be? Turns out, very. And when a new boy turns up in Zara’s life, things get more confusing than ever.

This delightful YA follows best friends as they fall through the twists and turns of fake dating, family dynamics, and friendship, in a swoon-worthy YA rom-com.

Cover image and summary via Bloomsbury

My Big, Fat Desi Wedding Edited By Prerna Pickett

MY BIG, FAT DESI WEDDING Big, Fat Desi Wedding
Edited By Prerna Pickett
Page Street Books

Drama. Food. Fashion. More drama. More food. Nosey aunties and uncles―and, of course, the universal language of love. These elements are a must-have for any Desi wedding, inclusive of people indigenous to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In this anthology, authors from various parts of the Desi community will share genre-bending stories that explore the lush traditions of their region, translating that universal language through the familiar lens of the Ultimate Family Gathering.

In this collection that centers hope, love, and family, readers will enjoy eight stories from both award-winning and debut authors including Tashie Bhuiyan, Payal Doshi, Anahita Karthik, Syed M. Masood, Sarah Mughal, Aamna Qureshi, and Noreen Mughees, and edited by Prerna Pickett.

Cover image and summary via Payal Doshi

When A Brown Girl Flees by Aamna Qureshi

Main_when-a-brown-girl-flees-cover_distributorWhen A Brown Girl Flees
by Aamna Qureshi
Lee & Low/Tu Books

In this searing contemporary YA novel from new voice Aamna Qureshi, a Muslim teen runs away from home only to find herself on a breathtaking journey of healing, self-love, and hope.

After Zahra Paracha makes a decision at odds with her beliefs, her mother forces Zahra to make an impossible choice about her future. So Zahra runs away. A train and a plane ride later, she finds herself in New York, where she relinquishes her past in favor of a new future. There, she must learn who she is without the marionette strings of control in her mother’s hands. There, she must learn who she wishes to become.

On Long Island, Zahra stays at a bed & breakfast, unsure of her place in the world. Anxious, depressed, and grappling with guilt, she wanders aimlessly. She eventually visits the local masjid, where she is befriended by two sisters and drawn into the welcoming Muslim community there.

It is in this place of safety that Zahra’s healing truly begins–but can she create a home for herself when the foundation is built on lies she’s spun to protect her from the past? When a family friend recognizes her, will everything come crashing down? As Zahra tries to build a life for herself in this new place, the heart of the matter becomes clear: she can’t run away forever. Can she close the rift in her family and truly, fully heal?

Cover image and summary via Lee & Low

Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim

Spice Road
by Maiya Ibrahim
Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House

The first book in an epic fantasy series set in an Arabian-inspired land with secret spice magic. Raised to protect her nation from the monsters lurking in the sands, sixteen-year-old Imani must fight to find her brother, whose betrayal is now the country’s greatest threat.

In the hidden desert city of Qalia, there is secret spice magic that awakens the affinities of those who drink the misra tea. Sixteen-year-old Imani has the affinity for iron and is able to wield a dagger like no other warrior. She has garnered the reputation as being the next great Shield for battling djinn, ghouls, and other monsters spreading across the sands.

Her reputation has been overshadowed, however, by her brother, who tarnished the family name after it was revealed that he was stealing his nation’s coveted spice—a telltale sign of magical obsession. Soon after that, he disappeared, believed to have died beyond the Forbidden Wastes. Despite her brother’s betrayal, there isn’t a day that goes by when Imani doesn’t grieve him.

But when Imani discovers signs that her brother may be alive and spreading the nation’s magic to outsiders, she makes a deal with the Council that she will find him and bring him back to Qalia, where he will face punishment. Accompanied by other Shields, including Taha, a powerful beastseer who can control the minds of falcons, she sets out on her mission.

Imani will soon find that many secrets lie beyond the Forbidden Wastes—and in her own heart—but will she find her brother?

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

The Love Match
by Priyanka Taslim
Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets Pride and Prejudice in this delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security—just as she’s falling in love with someone else.

Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn’t pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahra’s plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a “good match,” Jane Austen style.

Enter Harun Emon, who’s wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and…aloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows it’s a bad match. It’s nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parents’ plans. And for once in Zahra’s life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: “dating” Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.

But life—and boys—can be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman
Scholastic

From the bestselling creator of HEARTSTOPPER and LOVELESS, a deeply funny and deeply moving exploration of identity, friendship, and fame.

For Angel Rahimi life is about one thing: The Ark — a boy band that’s taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything she loves — her friend Juliet, her dreams, her place in the world. Her Muslim family doesn’t understand the band’s allure — but Angel feels there are things about her they’ll never understand.

Jimmy Kaga-Ricci owes everything to The Ark. He’s their frontman — and playing in a band with his mates is all he ever dreamed of doing, even it only amplifies his anxiety. The fans are very accepting that he’s trans — but they also keep shipping with him with his longtime friend and bandmate, Rowan. But Jimmy and Rowan are just friends — and Rowan has a secret girlfriend the fans can never know about. Dreams don’t always turn out the way you think and when Jimmy and Angel are unexpectedly thrust together, they find out how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be.

A funny, wise, and heartbreakingly true coming of age novel. I Was Born for This is a stunning reflection of modern teenage life, and the power of believing in something — especially yourself.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

Love From Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali

Love From Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali
Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster

On the trip of a lifetime, Adam and Zayneb must find their way back to each other in this surprising and romantic sequel to the “bighearted, wildly charming” (Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author) Love from A to Z.

Adam and Zayneb. Perfectly matched. Painfully apart.

Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable.

Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia. Adam is thrilled; it’s the reboot he needs and an opportunity to pray for a hijra in real life: to migrate to Zayneb in Chicago. Zayneb balks at the trip at first, having envisioned another kind of vacation, but then decides a spiritual reset is calling her name too. And they can’t wait to see each other—surely, this is just what they both need.

But the trip is nothing like what they expect, from the appearance of Adam’s former love interest in their traveling group to the anxiety gripping Zayneb when she’s supposed to be “spiritual.” As one wedge after another drives them apart while they make their way through rites in the holy city, Adam and Zayneb start to wonder: was their meeting just an oddity after all? Or can their love transcend everything else like the greatest marvels of the world?

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

Road of the Lost by Nafiza Azad

Road of the Lost by Nafiza Azad
Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster

Perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince, this gorgeous young adult fantasy follows a girl who discovers she’s spent her life under an enchantment hiding her true identity on her quest into the magical Otherworld to unlock her powers and discover her destiny.

Even the most powerful magic can’t hide a secret forever.

Croi is a brownie, glamoured to be invisible to humans. Her life in the Wilde Forest is ordinary and her magic is weak—until the day that her guardian gives Croi a book about magick from the Otherworld, the world of the Higher Fae. Croi wakes the next morning with something pulling at her core, summoning her to the Otherworld. It’s a spell she cannot control or break.

Forced to leave her home, Croi begins a journey full of surprises…and dangers. For Croi is not a brownie at all but another creature entirely, enchanted to forget her true heritage. As Croi ventures beyond the forest, her brownie glamour begins to shift and change. Who is she really, who is summoning her, and what do they want? Croi will need every ounce of her newfound magic and her courage as she travels a treacherous path to find her true self and the place in the Otherworld where she belongs.

Cover image and summary via Edelweiss

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

All My Rage
by Sabaa Tahir
Razorbill/Penguin

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir comes a brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary YA novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents.

Lahore, Pakistan. Then.

Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds’ Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.

Juniper, California. Now.

Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding.

Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever.

When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst.

From one of today’s most cherished and bestselling young adult authors comes a breathtaking novel of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness—one that’s both tragic and poignant in its tender ferocity.

Summary and cover image via Edelweiss