Sabina Khan

Pakistani Muslim Zara, an openly queer senior in Corpus Christi, Texas, handles not only being Muslim in post–9/11 America, but also being an immigrant.

Contrary to assumptions, Zara’s family is wholly accepting of her bisexuality. Instead, it’s her girlfriend Chloe’s Christian family that’s having a hard time coming to terms with their daughter’s sexuality. Zara knows how to navigate the racism of her Catholic school classmates, but when bully Tyler starts harassing Maria, a new show more student from Colombia, she can’t stay silent—and Tyler wants revenge. After the family awakens one night to find a racist message defacing their garage, Abbu, Zara’s father, immediately heads to Tyler’s house, certain he is the perpetrator. In a twisted set of events, Abbu is shot by Tyler’s father, winding up in a coma while facing criminal charges for trespassing. The incident does more than just rattle the family: It directly threatens Abbu’s employment, their immigration status, and the notion that the U.S. could ever be a safe home. Khan unapologetically tackles prejudice in its various manifestations—anti-immigration, homophobia, Islamophobia—while simultaneously engaging openly with the complexities of accountability. The myriad forms of oppression the most vulnerable face in our society intersect in the character of Zara, challenging readers to ask what it means for some to feel at home in a country whose systems feel built to exclude them.

A vivid account exploring issues many immigrant teens face. (Fiction. 13-18)

-Kirkus Review show less

Zara has tried to stay calm and under the radar at her Texas high school. She's in her senior year and is thinking about where to attend college. Her parents are loving, open minded, accepting...and Pakistani immigrants, Dad a pediatrician, Mom with an equally skilled and desirable job. Thanks to the draconian green card system, they're still waiting eight years after the hospital where her father works sponsored their stay. They're edging closer, but the current administration has made the show more process ever more slower and hostile (Trump, not Biden).
When she confronts a racist bully who is in the process of terrorizing another female immigrant in the school parking lot, it is the beginning of a nightmare that must be read carefully to be believed. It involves terrorist graffiti, someone getting shot, more racist, Islamophobic, and homophobic propaganda, shouts and behind the scenes maneuvering. This will be a challenging read for those with an open mind and hope for our country...Don't expect anyone with less of a mindset to get past page ten, because what happens is not only familiar to hundreds of legal immigrants every day, it's part of the black ooze of corruption flowing across much of the country, and there are too blasted many who can't, or won't think about the reality of what happens to Zara and her family.
This is a book I hope lands in every school and public library because it's powerful, not that far fetched and should make students feeling complacent about the future rethink that mindset ASAP. show less

"Bangladeshi-American Rukhsana Ali must choose between her family’s wishes and following her heart.

Although her Muslim immigrant parents approve of her professional dreams of becoming a physicist at NASA, Rukhsana is sure that they won’t be as enthusiastic about her personal dream of spending her life with her secret girlfriend, Ariana, who is white. After winning a prestigious scholarship to Caltech, her professional ambitions seem within reach—until her mother catches her kissing show more Ariana and she is whisked away to Bangladesh with plans to arrange her marriage. As she battles her parents’ homophobia, Rukhsana simultaneously struggles to help Ariana and her friends back home in Seattle understand the weight of the cultural and social stigmas that she has to fight. Along the way, Rukhsana finds unexpected allies, including her grandmother, who encourages her to fight for what she wants. This witty coming-out story is populated by colorful, nuanced personalities who never lapse into stereotypes. Unfortunately, the fast pace leaves readers little time to digest the most intense moments, including some physical and sexual violence. Likewise, the sheer amount of action leaves certain characters, like Rukhsana’s spoiled but loving brother, insufficient time to fully develop. However, the story is told tenderly and unflinchingly, balancing the horrors of homophobia against the South Asian men and women who risk their lives to fight it each and every day.

A coming-out story featuring diverse characters and a richly rendered international setting. (Fiction. 14-18)" www.kirkusreviews.com show less

This was a great book. Overall, I thought the protagonist was relatable, interesting, funny, and resilient. The book was rich with interesting people, complex mother-daughter-grandmother dynamics, support and betrayal. Ultimately, for Rukhsana, this book is about finding a path to self-liberation and finding community in those who embrace all the parts of her--her lesbianism and her Bengali culture.

Complaints: The ending tied things up a little too quickly and in a way that left me feeling show more like the depth of Rukhsana's experience and the harm done was not fully honored by the narrative. It was rushed in a way that didn't ring true. She deserves happiness, but in my experience it doesn't come so easily when trust has been so broken. The other main complaints are Rukhsana's relationships with Ariana (her girlfriend) and her two white friends... these three are wildly self-involved. They frequently mistreat and mischaracterize Rukhsana; they deny her the benefit of the doubt, look down on her culture, and are actively racist. I had a hard time understanding why Rukhsana felt connected to any of them, why she was in love with Ariana, or why anyone would root for Ariana and Rukhsana to be together at all. I wanted Rukhsana, in her becoming, to get to a place where she realizes Ariana (clearly) isn't right for her, and isn't good to her. show less