There are three kinds of people in my world:
1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They’re in your face so much, you can’t see them, like how you can’t see your nose.
2. Misfits, people who don’t belong. Like me—the way I don’t fit into Dad’s brand-new family or in the leftover one composed of Mom and my older brother, Mama’s-Boy-Muhammad.
Also, there’s Jeremy and me. Misfits. Because although, alliteratively speaking, Janna and Jeremy sound good together, we don’t go together. Same planet, different worlds.
But sometimes worlds collide and beautiful things happen, right?
3. Monsters. Well, monsters wearing saint masks, like in Flannery O’Connor’s stories.
Like the monster at my mosque.
People think he’s holy, untouchable, but nobody has seen under the mask.
Except me.
Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali
Author: S.K. Ali
Pages: 352
Publishing Date: June 13th,2017
Publisher:
MY THOUGHTS
“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.”
I wanted to read a light and cute read and from nowhere I picked this one, and I only have one problem from this book and that is Why I haven’t read before, I started in morning and finished it at night.
I was completely submerged in this book. My most favourite thing about this book is that it is different from other books on Islamophobia, It didn’t even slightly try to manipulate Islam in the name of culture or for the sake of glamorization of the book… The content was so original.
Again this book focused that this is not religion which makes someone bad, it is people who are bad and it doesn’t have anything with any religion.
Janna Yusuf, who is a hijabi but also a teenager, she is trying to follow Islam but still, she is human and makes mistakes. It is so easy to relate her.
I loved her family who never investigates her too much on her any action, Muhammad is such an ideal brother we need this kind of brother in our society. Sausan is such a cool character which I really enjoyed. Characters weren’t one-dimensional as most of the books show Muslim characters so stereotypical. We have characters from Amu, a practical Imam to Farooq, a monster who is using religion to hide his evilness.
“the why you do something is important.”
*Spoiler start*
I read reviews of people complaining that ending was quick or sudden, I think the ending was perfect, It was about Janna’s bravery and as far as Farooq is concerned, humiliation in a mosque in front of a community you know for all your life is satisfactory.
*Spoiler end*
P.S I found my name in a book finally, I never thought I’ll ever found it, it was with Arabic pronunciation but who cares I got a book with my name
