Review: The Thirty Names of Night is a complex story with multiple layers. It is a story of visibility, being, and belonging. It is a story of artists who connected by unspoken personal histories. It is a story of immigrants trying to find themselves. It is a ghost story. It is a story about birds. It is a mystery. It is also possibly the most beautiful book that I have read thus far in 2021.

     In this exquisitely, lush, and lyrical book we follow two main story-lines that will ultimately converge. In one story line we follow an unnamed narrator (for majority of the book) in contemporary New York City who is struggling with gender dysphoria, coming to terms to his own gender identity, and grieving the loss of his mother who died tragically in an Islamophobic hate crime. The narrator is unnamed because the name he was given at birth no longer fits him. Our narrator is an artist who has a creativity block, because he is constant restricted to the limitations of art just like his gender. He longs to be limitless, label-less in a world that constantly wants to place people in neat boxes. During the day our narrator cares for his ailing grandmother and during the night he paints murals of birds across New York City as an homage to his ornithologist mother as well as to Laila Z, an artist his mother admired and whose journals he discovers. 

  Our second story line follows Laila Z, a Syrian artist whose story begins in 1920 in French occupied Syria. After her family immigrates to America, she becomes an acclaimed illustrator of birds. Through Laila Z's diary we see the construction of Little Syria and its people in New York City. There is a profound sense that there has always been people who identify as LGBTQ+ in Syria in which our narrator finds comforting. It is also through Laila Z that our narrator also finds the key to unlocking himself.

  It did not take me long to get absorbed by Thirty Names of Night. I found both narratives equally compelling. Though both story lines are written in the second person and addressed to another character, it did not deter me from connecting to the characters. I read these two story lines as confessionals that are much easier told to another person than to yourself. Having our main character be unnamed is powerful and highlights the importance of agency:

Rating: 4.5 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong language, implied sex scene, and Islamophobic hate crimes. Recommended for older teens and adults. 

If you like this book try: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, How Much of These Hills are Gold by C. Pam Zhang

Review: I absolutely loved this picture book and I wished I had this book when I was younger. Like the main character of the book, I too have a name that often gets stuck in people's throats. My name has been butchered countless times and I have grown numb to the pain it causes. I had teachers who would never say name, but would only give me visual cues if they were talking to me.  My name is very hard to Anglicize and I even tried a nickname "Rum" which I thought would prevent the mispronunciation and help lessen the blow, but I started to distance myself from the nickname because that is not me.

   At the end of the first day of school, a young Black Muslim protagonist, shares her sorrow with her mother over her teacher and classmates' inability to pronounce her name. Her mother's response lifts the girl's-and readers'-spirits by illuminating the resonating meaning and power of diverse names from many different cultures through song. As the gently rendered scenes of this heartfelt talk unfold, Uribe's expressive details capture the musicality of different names. Fine, swooping lines and blooming silhouettes of pastel color flow through each page, matching the mother's musical notes and the young child's growing sense of understanding and confidence in her ability to pass this lesson on to others. When again confronted with a verging microagression, the young child gives a teachable moment to her teacher and class of how to pronounce her name, Kora-Jalimuso, and others as a song. The book concludes with a glossary and a pronunciation guide, emphasizing the beauty and significance of all the names featured.  This beautiful affirming book reminds us that we all deserve to have our names pronounced correctly and that names are an important part of our identity and cultural heritage.

Rating: 5 stars

Words of Caution: None.

If you like this book try: Alma and how she got her name by Juana Martinez-Neal, Always Anjali by Sheetal Sheth

Description: With her new backpack and light-up shoes, Faizah knows the first day of school is going to be special. It's the start of a brand new year and, best of all, it's her older sister Asiya's first day of hijab--a hijab of beautiful blue fabric, like the ocean waving to the sky. But not everyone sees hijab as beautiful, and in the face of hurtful, confusing words, Faizah will find new ways to be strong.

Review: Nima is a Muslim, working class, a daughter of a single mother, and implied Sudanese American who feels invisible and unmoored. She lacks ties to her native land, not speaking Arabic fluently nor does she feel American as her bullies constantly remind her of her accent and calling her a terrorist because of her Muslim faith. Nima lives alone with her hijabi mother; her only friend is an energetic boy in her building named Haitham, who feels like a sibling. As rising Islamophobia in their suburban American community increases both the bullying at school and Haitham who is physically assaulted in a hate crime, Nima longs for the life she believes she would have had if she had been named Yasmeen as her mother originally planned. She constantly plays the "what if?" game in which she imagines a life of happiness and belonging that are captured in old family photos. With her desire to become Yasmeen growing, Nima begins seeing glimpses of her other self while beginning to disappear. Nima's introspection and the constant feeling of not being 'enough' is beautifully and heartbreaking captured in verse. Readers, especially those who are immigrants, may find Nima and her pain and search for a 'home' to be highly relatable and palpable.  

   There is a dash of magical realism that is introduced halfway into the book. After a string of incidents leaves her feeling desolate, Nima meets Yasmeen, launching both into their parents' past and a battle between reality and what could be begins to form. I found the magical realism a bit hard to follow at times, especially the way it ends and the segue-way back to reality; however I understand the purpose of having Nima's visions of 'possibilities' manifest in the book and finally coming to the conclusion of self acceptance and being enough. Elhillo is a renowned and award winning poet and slam poet performer. Her skillful lyricism and carefully chosen words are artfully profound and achingly beautiful. I read this book a bit slowly than I normally do in order to savor her words. She is definitely an author to follow and I can not wait to see what she writes next.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is a physical assault related to a hate crime, bullying, and failed attempts of sexual assault. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.

If you like this book try: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Every Body Looking by Candice Illoh

Review: 10 Things I Hate About You is a companion novel to There's Something About Sweetie and features two of Ashish's close friends: Pinky Kumar and Samir Jha. You don't have to read There's Something About Sweetie before picking this book up. There are quite a few romantic tropes used in the book such as hate to love and fake dating, which will delight romance readers. 

   Pinky is a rebel with a cause, who is proud, unafraid to voice her opinions and makes impulsive decisions much to her mother's frustration. An incident involving a fire at her family's vacation home makes Pinky a usual suspect, but she is falsely judged. Tensions escalate between her mom and gives Pinky a new cause to fight for: proving her mom that she is capable of making the right choices. She concocts a relationship with the perfect, parent approved boyfriend. She knows the right person, but will he agree to join the scheme?

  While Pinky and Samir have great chemistry and banter, they each have a lot of personal baggage that were not fleshed out and hindered their character development. Pinky has a strenuous relationship with her mother, which was only explored at a surface level. There is a pivotal moment in which we learn bits of Pinky's mom backstory that highlights how mother and daughter share more similarities than differences, which I wished was explored much more. Samir has issues of anxiety and control which were spurned on by his mother's diagnosis of cancer when Samir was very young. Mental health continues to be a taboo topic in the South Asian community and this would have been the perfect time to address it in the book, but unfortunately it is glossed over. Instead of addressing these hard issues, the book spends more time in Pinky's and Samir's activism in trying to fight and conserve a butterfly habitat. Although it was nice to see teen activists, it didn't interest me much. 

  Overall I enjoyed 10 Things I Hate About Pinky, but I don't think it is the strongest book in the When Dimple met Rishi universe. The pacing felt uneven and I wanted more introspection from the characters. Readers who are looking for a breezy romance read may feel different. 

Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Bigelow-Thompkins: Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class.

The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad: With her new backpack and light-up shoes, Faizah knows the first day of school is going to be special. It’s the start of a brand new year and, best of all, it’s her older sister Asiya’s first day of hijab–a hijab of beautiful blue fabric, like the ocean waving to the sky. But not everyone sees hijab as beautiful, and in the face of hurtful, confusing words, Faizah will find new ways to be strong.

In My Mosque by M.O. Yusekl: a picture book celebrating the traditions and joys found in mosques around the world.

Like the Moon Loves the Sky by Hena Khan: With vibrant illustrations and prose inspired by the Quran, this charming picture book is a heartfelt and universal celebration of a parent's unconditional love.

Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian: My parents decided it would be a good idea to move house AND move me to a new school at the same time. As if I didn't have a hard enough time staying out of trouble at home, now I've also got to try and make new friends. What's worse, the class bully seems to think I'm the perfect target and has made it his mission to send me back to Pakistan. But I've never even been to Pakistan! And my cousin told me the pizza there is YUCK.
   The only good thing is that Eid's just around the corner which means a feast of all my favourite food (YAY) and presents (DOUBLE YAY). I'm really hoping I can stay in Mum and Dad's good books long enough to get loads

Amina's Song by Hena Khan: It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Amina has loved every minute of it. The food, the shops, the time she’s spent with her family—all of it holds a special place in Amina’s heart. Now that the school year is starting again, she’s sad to leave, but also excited to share the wonders of Pakistan with her friends back in Greendale. After she’s home, though, her friends don’t seem overly interested in her trip. And when she decides to do a presentation on Pakistani hero Malala Yousafzai, her classmates focus on the worst parts of the story. How can Amina share the beauty of Pakistan when no one wants to listen?

A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi: Mimi is not thrilled to be spending her summer in Karachi, Pakistan, with grandparents she’s never met. Secretly, she wishes to find her long-absent father, and plans to write to him in her beautiful new journal.
  The cook’s daughter, Sakina, still hasn’t told her parents that she’ll be accepted to school only if she can improve her English test score—but then, how could her family possibly afford to lose the money she earns working with her Abba in a rich family’s kitchen? Although the girls seem totally incompatible at first, as the summer goes on, Sakina and Mimi realize that they have plenty in common—and that they each need the other to get what they want most.

The Girl and the Ghost by Hana Alkaf: Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable. But Suraya doesn’t know that pelesits have a dark side—and when Pink’s shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive  before they are both lost to the darkness. 





Thorn by Intisar Khanani: Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.
  When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl. But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for.

All American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney: Allie Abraham has it all going for her—she's a straight-A student, with good friends and a close-knit family, and she's dating cute, popular, and sweet Wells Henderson. One problem: Wells's father is Jack Henderson, America's most famous conservative shock jock...and Allie hasn't told Wells that her family is Muslim. It's not like Allie's religion is a secret, exactly. It's just that her parents don't practice and raised her to keep her Islamic heritage to herself. But as Allie witnesses ever-growing Islamophobia in her small town and across the nation, she begins to embrace her faith—studying it, practicing it, and facing hatred and misunderstanding for it. Who is Allie, if she sheds the façade of the "perfect" all-American girl? What does it mean to be a "Good Muslim?" And can a Muslim girl in America ever truly fit in?

Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo: Nima doesn't feel understood. By her mother, who grew up far away in a different land. By her suburban town, which makes her feel too much like an outsider to fit in and not enough like an outsider to feel like that she belongs somewhere else. At least she has her childhood friend Haitham, with whom she can let her guard down and be herself.Until she doesn't.
    As the ground is pulled out from under her, Nima must grapple with the phantom of a life not chosen, the name her parents didn't give her at birth: Yasmeen. But that other name, that other girl, might just be more real than Nima knows. And more hungry.And the life Nima has, the one she keeps wishing were someone else's. . .she might have to fight for it with a fierceness she never knew she had.

I am the Night Sky and Other Reflections by Muslim American Youth: During an era characterized by both hijabi fashion models and enduring post-9/11 stereotypes, ten Muslim American teenagers came together to explore what it means to be young and Muslim in America today. These teens represent the tremendous diversity within the American Muslim community, and their book, like them, contains multitudes.

Court of Lions by Somiya Daud: After being swept up into the brutal Vathek court, Amani, the ordinary girl forced to serve as the half-Vathek princess's body double, has been forced into complete isolation. The cruel but complex princess, Maram, with whom Amani had cultivated a tenuous friendship, discovered Amani's connection to the rebellion and has forced her into silence, and if Amani crosses Maram once more, her identity - and her betrayal - will be revealed to everyone in the court.
   Amani is desperate to continue helping the rebellion, to fight for her people's freedom. But she must make a devastating decision: will she step aside, and watch her people suffer, or continue to aid them, and put herself and her family in mortal danger? And whatever she chooses, can she bear to remain separated, forever, from Maram's fiancé, Idris?

Adult

 The Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah: During a snowy Cleveland February, newlywed university students Muneer and Saeedah are expecting their first child, and he is harboring a secret: the word divorce is whispering in his ear. Soon, their marriage will end, and Muneer will return to Saudi Arabia, while Saeedah remains in Cleveland with their daughter, Hanadi. Consumed by a growing fear of losing her daughter, Saeedah disappears with the little girl, leaving Muneer to desperately search for his daughter for years. The repercussions of the abduction ripple outward, not only changing the lives of Hanadi and her parents, but also their interwoven family and friends—those who must choose sides and hide their own deeply guarded secrets.
And when Hanadi comes of age, she finds herself at the center of this conflict, torn between the world she grew up in and a family across the ocean. How can she exist between parents, between countries?

Hana Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin: Sales are slow at Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, the only halal restaurant in the close-knit Golden Crescent neighbourhood. Hana waitresses there part time, but what she really wants is to tell stories on the radio. If she can just outshine her fellow intern at the city radio station, she may have a chance at landing a job. In the meantime, Hana pours her thoughts and dreams into a podcast, where she forms a lively relationship with one of her listeners. But soon she’ll need all the support she can get: a new competing restaurant, a more upscale halal place, is about to open in the    Golden Crescent, threatening Three Sisters.
    When her mysterious aunt and her teenage cousin arrive from India for a surprise visit, they draw Hana into a long-buried family secret. A hate-motivated attack on their neighbourhood complicates the situation further, as does Hana’s growing attraction for Aydin, the young owner of the rival restaurant—who might not be a complete stranger after all. As life on the Golden Crescent unravels, Hana must learn to use her voice, draw on the strength of her community and decide what her future should be.

Empire of Gold by S.K. Chakraborty: The final chapter in the Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war.

Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood: Following two families from Pakistan and Iraq in the 1990s to San Francisco in 2016, Bad Muslim Discount is a hilarious, timely, and provocative comic novel about being Muslim immigrants in modern America.

Muslim Women are Everything by Seema Yasmin: A collection of riveting, inspiring, and stereotype-shattering stories that reveal the beauty, diversity, and strength of Muslim women both past and present.

Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar: Five years after a suspicious fire killed his mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother's ghost has begun to visit him each evening. The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria. One night, he finds the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z; whose past is intimately tied to his mother's--and his grandmother's--in ways he never could have expected. Following his mother's ghost, he uncovers the silences kept in the name of survival by his own community, his own family, and within himself, and discovers the family that was there all along.

It's Not About the Burqa edited by Mariam Khan:  In 2016, Mariam Khan read that David Cameron had linked the radicalization of Muslim men to the ‘traditional submissiveness’ of Muslim women. Mariam felt pretty sure she didn’t know a single Muslim woman who would describe herself that way. Why was she hearing about Muslim women from people who were neither Muslim, nor female? Years later the state of the national discourse has deteriorated even further, and Muslim women’s voices are still pushed to the fringes – the figures leading the discussion are white and male. 

   Taking one of the most politicized and misused words associated with Muslim women and Islamophobia, It’s Not About the Burqa is poised to change all that. Here are voices you won’t see represented in the national news headlines: seventeen Muslim women speaking frankly about the hijab and wavering faith, about love and divorce, about feminism, queer identity, sex, and the twin threats of a disapproving community and a racist country. Funny, warm, sometimes sad, and often angry, each of these essays is a passionate declaration, and each essay is calling time on the oppression, the lazy stereotyping, the misogyny and the Islamophobia. What does it mean, exactly, to be a Muslim woman in the West today? According to the media, it’s all about the burqa. Here’s what it’s really about.