Randa Abdel-Fattah

Australian YA about two year eleven students. Mina is a refugee from Afghanistan who came to Australia as a child and now has a scholarship for a prestigious Sydney high school. Michael’s parents are starting a “Aussie Values” political party opposed to boat people and Muslim immigrants.

This was engrossing! I liked Mina’s friendships, and Michael’s relationship with his neurodivergent younger brother, and the way Michael and Mina find things in common which connect them. And the show more Lord of the Rings references! And I appreciated the sense of place.

I thought it was interesting that, while the book argues fiercely and eloquently that Michael’s parents’ politics are racist and reprehensible, they’re portrayed as people who are educated, intelligent, and -- in some respects -- caring. It’s a realistic level of nuance -- it means Michael has been inclined to assume that they must be right about things he doesn’t understand, and it makes it harder for him to challenge them, once he begins to disagree, because he values his relationship with them. But it also means there’s hope, hope that his parents may change, even if that doesn't happen quickly or easily. show less

Honestly, this would have probably been a 3/5 except the narrator was bloody brilliant! This was a coming of age story, with a twist, in which the themes of identity (whether culture, self-image, external/internal) and community (familial, cultural, societal) are explored in a number of different ways. I enjoyed seeing how Amal grew but at times, the story seemed heavy-handed. The audio-recording was top-notch, and Rebecca Macauley did a fantastic job giving everybody their own unique voice show more (and accent, tone, timbre...). She really brought the story to life for me. show less

I always appreciate a YA book that can bring something different to the table, and The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah really brought it for me. Set in Abdel-Fattah’s native Australia, she delves into their national immigration issues which illustrate a political and racial situation that I did not know anything about. Mina’s family escaped from Afghanistan, but not before her father and brother lost their lives. Now--ten years later--her mother has remarried, her family runs a show more successful restaurant, and she is an outstanding student who earned a scholarship to one of the premier high schools in the city. On the other side, Michael’s parents lead an active political group fighting to keep Australia pure and full of “Aussie Values”. Getting to know Mina forces Michael to examine his parent’s beliefs and figure out how he feels. Even though the setting is Australia, broad themes of Islamophobia, xenophobia, and finding your own voice really resonate in today’s America. show less

Esma is a "28 year old non-drinking virgin who is open to the idea of a blind date organised by family", because she's not looking for a boyfriend, she's looking for a marriage partner who is a Muslim. After another unsuccessful blind date, Esma suggests to her three best friends that they meet regularly to discuss their love-lives, or lack therefore. They're the No Sex in the City club.

Her friends have different cultural and religious backgrounds, but they are all educated women who are show more "active in the community, passionate about politics and human rights, single, living at home and time poor". And while they are not all equally conservative, none of them are interested in casual romantic relationships. (For three of them, this means they're looking for a husband who shares their faith.)

No Sex in the City is smart and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny and sometimes meandering. Esma is a chatty first-person narrator and her life is mostly conversations: with her family, with her boss, with the men she meets and above all, with her best friends.
I was excited that this was a chick-lit about women who come from conservative backgrounds, and that the book showed that, despite being conservative in some respects, Esma and her friends were intelligent, respectful and supportive. Exactly the people you want at your back if you're dealing with sexual harassment or trying to explain to a guy that women should not have to stay in an abusive relationship just because they have a child.
Furthermore, I loved that even in the midst of a book about finding "The One", there was a strong emphasis on friendship.

I don't think this is as emotionally compelling as the author's YA fiction (perhaps because Esma is quite confident in who she is and what she wants, and so she doesn't grow the way a teenage protagonist might?) but I really enjoyed it. show less