Razia Mirza grows up amid the wild grape vines and backyard sunflowers of Corona, Queens, alongside her best friend, Saima. When a family rift drives the girls apart, Razia’s heart is broken. She finds solace in Taslima, a new girl in her close-knit Pakistani-American community, all while trying to manage the religious and cultural expectations of her family. When Razia is accepted to a prestigious high school in Manhattan, the gulf between the person she is and the daughter her parents want her to be widens. There, she meets Angela, and is attracted to her in a way that blossoms into a new understanding. When their relationship is discovered by an aunty in the community, Razia must choose between her family and her own future.
Razia resonated with me so much. Growing up Muslim, not realizing your sexuality is even an option, then realizing it’s wrong, a sin your parents may never accept… it’s heartbreaking for a child, for anyone. Muslim communities are tight-knit, breathing truth to the “it takes a village” mentality of raising children. That community can become supportive, empowering, encouraging; a warm, soothing blanket of security. However, it can also become hot, itchy, stifling; it can keep you from recognizing who you truly are. Sometimes you need to leave that security to recognize that person—and who you want to be. Bushra Rehman has done a stunning job of conveying that sense of community while showing us the little ways Razia began feeling like an outsider among the friends and family who raised her. This is the type of book, a potential classic, that I wish was required reading—because when has a book with a Muslim, Pakistani female main character ever been considered required reading?
Raiza is a compelling, real and raw character. The story begins from her childhood, allowing us to see her grow and recognize the woman she wants to become over time. Because of that, there are some pacing issues. However, the prose is so enthralling, almost hypnotic in a sense, that it keeps you going until the end. Though I didn’t LOVE the abrupt ending, I understood why it stopped there; everything moving forward would be up to Raiza, perhaps for the first real time in her life.
Recommended for fans of Evil Eye and The Skin & Its Girl.
The Vibes
⭐Pakistani-American Main Character
⭐Muslim-American Main Character
⭐Lesbian / Queer
⭐Female Friendships
⭐Coming-of-Age Story
⭐Literary Fiction
⭐Friends to Lovers
⭐Sapphic Romance
Quotes
- I wanted to be chosen by someone.
- You can’t wait for anyone to teach you. Otherwise you’ll learn all the wrong things.
- I hate having to lie, but there’s no other way I can make them happy and still live my life.
- But the rest of us, the majority, were children of not-so-rich immigrants. We were the dreams, the ones expected to take our paper airplanes and turn them into rocket ships rising into higher orbits.
- The rumors, not the truth, were enough to destroy a girl’s reputation.
