Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Saints and Misfits

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali

8 reviews

fatima_ff's review against another edition

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dark emotional relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I am shifting the shame. He needs to feel it

I’ve been looking forward to reading this book for years and when my book club finally decided to read it I was over the moon.

In our streak of reading authors mostly from South Asian/Muslim diaspora SK Ali’s novels are hard to skip. From Love From A to Z and Saints and Misfits there is a common factor in both: unapologetically Muslim.

Characters, writing, narrative and setting are all catered and building to give the reader the feeling that they have stepped into a world where Muslims exist the way we feel most free and happy to exist as. We wear our hijabs and niqabs proudly and run around doing silly YouTube vlogs in our abayas not caring who looks at us weird.

We also deal with our own the way we deem fit. Sometimes not so well. As any community out there we share the same traits as all human beings do: we are not perfect nor did we ever aspire to be because God already has a job.

Saints and Misfits is a story about a non traditional but not rare Muslim family. A divorced mom a dad married to a non Muslim a son dropping out of college and a daughter who was sexually assaulted by the most ‘holy’ person in the mosque group.

<>What was most interesting was the mentions of prominent non Muslim characters such as Tatyana Sandra Mr. Ram and Jeremy. Tats was a closer friend to Jannah than Fizz. Mr. Ram was more fatherly to her than her own dad sometimes. Sandra was someone Janna saw as someone who needed help outside of her immediate life. Jeremy was by far the strongest example of someone we can become so closely entwined with we may just end up hurting them.

All in all. Loved the book.

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softgalaxy's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was a good story overall, but for me, it felt disjointed. I feel like it was rushed overall. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was longer.

I really liked Sausun as a character. She really shook things up for Janna. Tatiyana was kinda frustrating at times, but I remember being a teenager and being kinda obsessed with romance, so in case she was well written.

I’m really glad Janna got the justice she wanted.

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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Didn't love this one but didn't hate it. Loved the diversity in showing Muslims that aren't just Arab- Janna and her brother are ethnically Egyptian and Indian, which is nice as a fellow mixed kid who grew up Muslim. Also liked seeing Janna's growth and her reclaiming her power. It does mention sexual assault and instances of seeing the abuser/being constantly in the same community events/gatherings/spaces. It also mentions the abuser following Janna and taking pictures of her to use against her so be aware of that.
My main thing is I wish there were consequences for the abuser mentioned in the book. It felt like a rushed conclusion.

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