Love from A to Z

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You didn’t say anything! I turned to her. Nothing about what he’s doing! You acted like it was my fault! When we first meet Adam, he’s on his way home to Doha from London where he attends university. He’s burdened by the secret he’s kept since October from his dad and little sister: his choice to drop out of school. Clinging to his pragmatic and positive attitude, he’s turned to making and building things as a way to cope with a tough diagnosis. On the plane to Doha, Adam realizes that Zayneb–the cute girl with the vibrant blue hijab he’s instantly drawn to– also has a Marvels and Oddities journal–the very thing that he uses to chronicle his ups and downs and help him cope with everything going on. Zayneb also finds herself drawn to Adam and not only because of his good looks–he offers her an Islamic greeting on the plane.

Then, two years ago, when Mom and Dad had stopped this rudeness, I began not to care that they’d called me an angry baby. On the other hand, we have Adam, a biracial white/Chinese boy who’s so soft and gentle and caring, and who’s strength is more quiet, it works behind the scenes and shows in the way he is with his sister, his friends, and the way he’s been such a pillar for his family through all their hardships. He’s wildly optimistic and likes to see the good in things while still having this sadness to him that was ingrained in him by losing his mom, seeing his dad grieve and then finding out that he, himself, has the disease that killed his mom and having to come to term with it. I cannot speak for the representation of Multiple Sclerosis in this book but as the author’s note says, and, Adam’s manifestation of MS is just one of so many. Zayneb is an 18-year-old hijabi from Indiana—and she was just suspended for standing up to her Islamophobic teacher.Zeynab, my absolute favourite character who I relate to on a level that I thought was almost impossible, is fuelled by anger. She's angry because of the injustice of the world. Because she's a brown Muslim hijabi who has been unfairly treated too many times, simply because of who she is. She is such a brilliant character because her anger and frustration is palpable and utterly real. She wants to fight the injustice that she, and others, face simply for existing, but it's not easy to fight when everyone is telling you that your anger needs to be tamped down. That you're bringing on more trouble than it's worth. But Zeynab shows us that anger is okay, and good and important. My lap had been full. I’d had my Marvels and Oddities journal, a pen, my phone, headphones, and the food I’d bought right before boarding—a saran-wrapped breakfast sandwich and coffee. I had to gather these and, while clutching them to me, slide out. i LOVE the characters so much. zayneb and her stubbornness, her heated personality. her passion for justice and how she took no crap from anyone, what a legend. From William C. Morris Award Finalist S.K. Ali comes an unforgettable romance that is The Sun Is Also a Star meets Anna and the French Kiss, following two Muslim teens who meet during a spring break trip. Fuelled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.

In her second novel, S.K. Ali strikes a balance between charming love story and issue-driven narrative, in which Muslim teen characters confront and overcome Islamophobia, racism, and ignorance. Love from A to Z follows protagonists Zayneb and Adam, who travel to Doha, Qatar – from the U.S. and the U.K. respectively – and are continually brought together by what Adam calls “serendipity.” And was there something that these countries had in common? Come on, people. Someone other than Mike?

Like, why be different, why be Muslim, why be anything that society tells you isn’t normal if you can’t actually be it freely? Why do we have to suffer to be us? It’s a good thing my roommate, Jarred, is practically never here. I mean it’s a good thing his girlfriend has her own place. Yesterday I took the thin pieces of grooved balsa wood and fit them together in a grid pattern inside the box I’d already made. As the square compartments revealed themselves, smooth and flush without any screws or nails, I thought about touch. He stroked his beard and cleared his throat. Okay, I don’t want you to see this as a reward, but Auntie Natasha is on the phone with Mom. Trying to convince her to let you come earlier. The boy is named Adam, and he is of Finnish and Chinese descent. He is also Muslim, but he converted as a teenager because of his father's conversion and finding of peace through his new religion. He thinks the hijabi girl at the airport is cute - but what really draws her to him is her journal, which he sees when it spills out of her bag. It's called "The Marvels of Creation and the Oddities of Existence," just like his, which is named after an Arabic work of the same name, ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt(عجائب المخلوقات وغرائب الموجودات).

The way I jolted hearing a Deep Manly voice suddenly fill my ears when my audiobook switched to Adam’s chapter...... The honesty the characters show in their entries allows for a full portrait of the teens, including their more complex, less idealistic traits. Hearing the differing accounts of their romantic interactions – including the details they focus on – lends a sense of intimacy to the book, show casing Ali’s comfort with the epistolary form. Yeah, I know, not the lightest topics on the planet, but they are real. And this story just shows how are they applied.The sight stilled the tears that had begun pooling. I blinked them away and concentrated on boring more holes in Fencer’s shoes. From that day, he vowed to record the marvels he knew to be true and the oddities he wished weren’t. I was getting tired of the books that were getting published that featured Muslim characters for the sake of fulfilling the status quo. I wanted there to be depth to these stories, to showcase what the Muslim identity is and portray the Islamic faith. Mom looked at flight options, and you could leave tomorrow afternoon if we drive you to Chicago. Auntie Natasha said instead of moping here, you should spend the next week with her, before Mom joins you guys.

The writing was good, It was not magical or anything special. I was bothered by the HP references that are now apart of almost every YA contemporary. I feel authors use it to sound cool and relatable but seeing it time after time became a pet peeve for me, where is the creativity people?! One of my favorite things about Love from A to Z is that it represents and validates the diversity of experience within the same marginalized group. Not all people of color are going to have the patience to explain why something is racist, and not all people of color are going to have the emotional and mental capacity to do so either. Some people are able to let things slide in favor of saving their energy; others can’t stay silent in the face of bigotry – all of these reactions are valid, and I was honestly floored that Love from A to Z talked about this because it’s something I feel is underrepresented in all forms of media. As soon as we got in the car and she turned the ignition, Mom began. I never thought we’d have this sort of trouble with you, Zayneb. A threat against your teacher? A knife? But maybe Kerr saw my wet eyes. Because suddenly she cleared her throat, and when she next spoke, her voice was calmer. “The only reason we’ve decided to give Miss Malik a week’s suspension instead —which will go into her records, by the way—is due to her exemplary academic record over the years. I’ll see this as a terrible, terrible decision she’s made. Mr. Fencer agrees with me on this.” Her voice hardened again. “But give me one more thing to make me reconsider, Miss Malik, and we may be seeing your college future at stake. I will not hesitate to make that so.” Beside Mom, Fencer sighed as if he were pondering college-less me. Anger welled and churned inside. Eat them alive. I’m going to get him. I’m going to get Fencer. • • • As soon as we got in the car and she turned the ignition, Mom began. “I never thought we’d have this sort of trouble with you, Zayneb. A threat against your teacher? A knife?” “It wasn’t a threat! It was about getting him fired. And the knife was a butter knife. I was just about to draw the fork.” I frowned at the front of Alexander Porter High with its ugly green double doors. “We didn’t bring you up like this. I’m ashamed.” Mom’s voice was small, which meant it was going to be the crying kind of lecture. “You didn’t say anything!” I turned to her. “Nothing about what he’s doing! You acted like it was my fault!” “I can’t prove anything about your teacher. Every time Dad and I offered to talk to him before, you said no.” With the car stopped where the entrance of the school parking lot met the road, she glanced at me, mouth trembling slightly. “Can’t you just graduate in peace?” “You mean, Shut up, Zayneb! Don’t make a scene, Zayneb!” I put my hand on the door handle. “Can I get out? I’ll just walk home like I always do.” She let me. I'm so so mixed on this one. To the point that I didn't even want to leave a review because I just don't know how to put my thoughts together about why this didn't work. But lets give it a go.

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I don’t think me being a muslim and myself would’ve survived in a place where a zero to none understanding and hatred towards my faith was palpable. I live in a country where the majority of the people are muslims. Though I couldn’t comprehend the enormity of discrimination Zayneb received, it broke my heart and made me angry to read about it. I’m a pretty much ‘chill’ person. I hate conflicts so I’ll try to avoid them at any costs. Sometimes it was annoying to see how Zayneb would get so worked up about something. But it was also admirable that she never hesitated to speak up and wouldn’t ever let anyone disrespect and wrong her. To the best of good peoples, my parents. And to other good peoples, Anu and Haju, without whom this book could not be.