Aisha Saeed

In a Nutshell: A fabulous OwnVoices middle-grade anthology with all stories connected to Eid in some way or the other. Excellent plots and characters and diversity. I loved how much it surprised me and taught me. Much, much recommended!

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For a reading challenge I am participating in, I needed a book set around any festival. I knew for sure that I would not take a book connected to Christmas – I have already read plenty of them and I am tired of seeing Christmas books show more be more about parties and Santa and gifts than about prayer and church and community. So when I found this anthology, its beautiful cover, the classic “Once Upon A…” in a title and the joyous tagline won my heart. The content proved to be even better.

This collection of fifteen stories is OwnVoices in every way. Each contributing author, including the editors and the illustrator, is a practising Muslim, coming from a variety of ethnic and geographical backgrounds – USA, Australia, Jordan, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Mandinka, and more. This results in an intricate tapestry of stories that shows the wealth and diversity of Islamic cultures across the globe. (My heart did a little dance of joy when I saw that the two editors – S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed – are of Indian and Pakistani origin respectively. I love seeing a harmonious connection between our two nations.)

The introductory note by the editors is so informative! (I had no idea that there were Muslim communities in China and Argentina! Sadly, no authors/stories from these locations were a part of the book.) The editors rightly point out, "The customs, diverse cultural markers, and family traditions are “insider experiences” seen only within our own communities." It made me realise that I barely know anything about how Eid is celebrated, beyond the basic facts.

This book is a great way of getting an insider look at Eid preparations and celebrations. However, the stories aren’t just about the commercial aspects of the festivities such as food or clothes or gifts, though these also get their rightful place. There is so much about actual Eid herein – the meaning of the festival, the rituals associated with it, the two types of Eid, the need for and requirements of fasting during Ramadan. I appreciate how the content offered a complete look at all aspects of the festival – religious as well as celebratory. Writers of Christmas books ought to take a page from this approach.

The stories are aimed at middle-graders, and hence the main protagonist in each of the tales is of middle-grade age. Combine this with the fact that the book is set around a festival, and I expected the stories to be easy-going, happy tales full of celebrations. But many of the stories cover tougher events as well. Parental illness, refugee issues, death, financial troubles, divorce, accidents – these aren’t ordinary topics for a festive anthology. But as the tagline reminds us, the book contains “stories of hope and joy”. Even these sadder tales end on a note of hope, as they rightly should considering the age of the target audience.

I love how the stories don't compromise on the vocabulary. There's no "dumbing down" of words just to cater to the middle-grade crowd. However, with many Eid-related Arabic words such as ‘fajr’ and ‘suhoor’, there should have been a glossary at the end particularly for such terms.

Of the fifteen stories, two are written in verse and one is in comic format. The comic was next to impossible to read on the Kindle as the font was too small and the graphics couldn’t be zoomed into. Kindle for Web came to my rescue this once.

Every story comes with one full-page B&W illustration just before it begins. These graphics are excellent, capturing the main mood of the story perfectly. Kudos to the illustrator!

The book ends with a delicious acknowledgements section that is full of mentions of Eid delicacies (Loved this idea!), followed by the contributor bios. (I wish these bios had been placed immediately after the story instead of at the end.)

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the fifteen stories, six stories reached/crossed the 4-star mark. A majority of the remaining tales were clustered around 3-3.5 stars, with only two stories slipping below 3 stars. A highly satisfying performance! These were my top favourites:

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I approached this novel with some trepidation thinking it might become bogged down in US politics but, thankfully, it turned out to be a delightful read. I loved both Maya and Jamie, especially Jamie who was painfully awkward and totally endearing. He was a wonderful friend to Maya and their relationship developed gradually making it feel authentic. There were some very cute, clumsy moments between the two of them which had me giggling. The fact that Jamie was Jewish and Maya Muslim made the show more story more interesting. I also adored the relationship Jamie had with his younger sister, Sophie. His grandmother was also a high-energy, engaging character as well.

Not only was "Yes No Maybe So" a cute, contemporary read, it also dealt with some weighty issues including racism, politics, family dynamics, religious freedom and finding your voice. Overall, this was a funny, moving and entertaining story. show less

This was such a well told story--it had elements that made it feel almost like a classical fantasy while being rooted in something all too real world and all too important. I think the hardest part about shedding light on things that aren't particularly happy is generally that we read to be entertained more than to feel overwhelmed by the world, and Saeed really strikes that balance in creating an excellent, highly readable book that really does make readers more aware. Major kudos.

The Wedding Week by author Aisha Saeed was so good – hilarious, frightening, maddening, sad – it had me going from emotion to emotion and loving every minute of it. And I found a new author to add to my favorites list.

When the groom was a no-show three years ago for their wedding and Hena was accused of murdering him (even though a body has never been found), ridiculed, shunned and just generally made to feel an outcast she said fine, then. Goodbye and good riddance to her family home in show more South Florida. She moved to San Francisco and hasn’t seen her family since. And she’s quite content with that plan.

She has no plans to attend her younger sister’s upcoming wedding, but when her sister calls and uses as a trump card the fact that their mother is very ill and wants to see Hena, Hena caves and books a flight and her sister books her a hotel. Fly in, attend the ceremony, see her mother briefly if she really wants to see her; based on past history, that’s unlikely. Hena was never a favorite child and her mother was always demanding, cold and prickly. So fly in, attend the ceremony – and she’ll be out of there. For good this time. Not so fast, though. This isn’t just a wedding; it’s an over-the-top week-long extravaganza. A traditional Pakistani desi wedding, complete with mandatory traditional clothing, events all over the Everglades and non-stop showy displays. Could it get any worse? Yes, it could. Hena is part of the wedding; she must wear the clothing, attend all the events – and the hotel she thought would be a respite from being around her family all the time is actually where the wedding is being held. Her family is right there, including all the aunties and uncles – blood relatives or not – who feel free to offer their unsolicited opinions at any time. Lulu’s wedding plans remind her of her wedding-that-wasn’t, and things are still difficult with her mother. Despite the gossip and snide remarks and tense relationships, she’ll tough it out. She doesn’t want to spoil Lulu’s wedding.

It soon becomes apparent that somebody does and doesn’t care who might suffer serious injury or worse during the process. Up to this point the story was funny and charming – all those traditional costumes and foods to learn about, those aggravating mean-spirited aunties, the suspicion and hatred from some of her fiancé’s family. An old friend who is suddenly very attentive and a groomsman who she is attracted to balance out the discomfort. But once the sabotage starts the story also becomes a top-notch mystery. Danger, action, clues, revealed secrets, gambling, drugs, dishonest dealings, and an ending you won’t see coming.

I received an advance copy of The Wedding Week from Ballantine | Bantam via NetGalley. Aisha Saeed has written a well-plotted, well-written supremely entertaining story to lose yourself in. Your emotions will be all over the place and you will love it. And it’s one of those stories you don’t want to end; you’ll find yourself speculating about what happens next. Highly recommend. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own. show less