This book was so cute. The perfect balance of obstacles and overcoming. The writing captures the voice of teenage Janna so well, including her imperfections and misunderstandings. The narrative starts off with a fairly jarring picture of description of Janna's interaction with "the monster" and sets things moving with a good amount of tension right off the bat. The story then moves at a comfortable pace, but Janna's struggles and interactions with others continue to build the pressure she faces and the many instances of prejudice and mistreatment she faces.

Janna is a strong character with great integrity and I very much appreciated that in her. For her to be able to hold up her own beliefs and stick with them even in the face of a father who doesn't agree with them was incredibly inspiring. I'm glad that she had support from the rest of her family, but it still spoke so strongly to me that she was able to be that comfortable in her convictions.

This is a great presentation of the many ways that prejudice slips in to teenage life. Teenagers can obviously be cruel...I think most of us who have survived adolescence would agree with that statement...but the things Janna faces are things that I personally would have never considered. To have her be so blatantly disrespected just hurt my soul. The ADULT teacher refusing to learn the correct term and insisting that she needed to use the word "hajib" instead of the correct "hijab" because she can't pronounce it seriously irritated me, yet I know that there are people out there who do this.

I loved the characters in this book all around. I definitely want more from some of the supporting characters, so I am glad that there is a sequel being released. Janna's friends and family have great personalities that come through incredibly clear and I love the way they interact.

There were some pieces of the plot that I felt were a little loosely addressed and I wish more attention had been given to them. I can't really explain those issues without spoilers. However, I think the crux of the plot was delivered in a bit more of a telling than showing way in the climax and this was a bit of a disappointment. It did nearly cause me to lower my rating by a star because things were going so well for the remainder of the book that I just felt let down. The rest of the plot, including the ending wrap-up, was really well handled.

There was a LOT of Muslim culture presented in the narrative and I loved how that was delivered. It wasn't forced, but instead flowed naturally into Janna's activities and thoughts. This was very well done and I enjoyed learning more about the culture in a way that didn't seem judgmental or in-your-face. It was educational without being intimidating. There were some issues with consistency on Janna's part in a specific scene in the book that I wish was handled better. It sounds as if I am in the majority with this as Islamic readers have also voiced concern with the blase attitude Janna takes during a scene in gym class. Beyond that instance, I think there was a lot of positive that was presented and I think it is a good read for those unfamiliar with Islam to grow in their knowledge and understanding of the culture and religious beliefs.

This is a fantastic YA read and I highly recommend it. I love S.K. Ali's writing and I will ABSOLUTELY be reading more of her work in the future.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *