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jess_mango's review
4.0
This book counts toward Reading Women 2019 Challenge task #11: A book featuring a religion other than your own
Maya is an American-born Indian Muslim living in an Illinois suburb. Her parents have high hopes for her future (going to college in IL, becoming a lawyer, marrying a suitable muslim boy), but that isn't really the future Maya sees for herself. She has a crush on a football player from her school and she dreams of being a film maker. She already feels "different" being the only muslim in her class.
Then there is a bombing in a nearby state. Maya and her family are suddenly subjected to anti-muslim speech and activity from some in the community.
This book was a quick read and was as cute and light as a book about an American Muslim teenage girl who deals with anti-muslim sentiment from a school mate can be. You can't help but root for Maya.
Maya is an American-born Indian Muslim living in an Illinois suburb. Her parents have high hopes for her future (going to college in IL, becoming a lawyer, marrying a suitable muslim boy), but that isn't really the future Maya sees for herself. She has a crush on a football player from her school and she dreams of being a film maker. She already feels "different" being the only muslim in her class.
Then there is a bombing in a nearby state. Maya and her family are suddenly subjected to anti-muslim speech and activity from some in the community.
This book was a quick read and was as cute and light as a book about an American Muslim teenage girl who deals with anti-muslim sentiment from a school mate can be. You can't help but root for Maya.
thepetitepunk's review
4.0
I didn't read the summary of Love, Hate, & Other Filters before starting it. This was definitely one of those books where I saw the cover, thought it was cute, and just assumed it was some cheesy romance.
However, Love, Hate, & Other Filters tackles a plethora of serious topics, from teen relationships, the college process, religious and cultural disagreements among generations, and Islamophobia. This story follows Maya, a Muslim high school senior whose dream is to make her love for filmography into a career. Although her family came from India, Maya was born and raised in America, which causes some familial controversy regarding expectations for college and relationships. Even though Maya's parents plan for her to study something practical at the close-to-home University of Chicago and maintain a relationship with a respectful, Muslim Indian boy, Maya dreams of attending New York University to study film, while also falling for a white boy named Phil.
The thing I loved about Love, Hate, & Other Filters was the careful balance of events. There were some more general"teenage issues", like discovering first loves and relationships and having issues with being able to attend one's dream college, which was realistically blended with larger, more oppressive issues, like Islamophobia, hate crimes, verbal aggression, microaggressions, etc. I think it was a very carefully executed mix of describing what it is like to grow up as a teenager who is both American and Muslim.
The only thing that kind of bothered me was Maya's relationships. She ends up kind of going out with two guys at once, one who she believes is still in a relationship. When Maya is interacting with these boys individually, I thought their relationships were sweet, but I didn't want to overlook the fact that some of Maya's and Phil's actions were a bit questionable given the other people they were still connected to.
Overall, I would highly recommend Love, Hate, & Other Filters. (Bonus points for it being an #ownvoices novel!) It's cute, frustrating, heartbreaking, and inspiring all at once.
However, Love, Hate, & Other Filters tackles a plethora of serious topics, from teen relationships, the college process, religious and cultural disagreements among generations, and Islamophobia. This story follows Maya, a Muslim high school senior whose dream is to make her love for filmography into a career. Although her family came from India, Maya was born and raised in America, which causes some familial controversy regarding expectations for college and relationships. Even though Maya's parents plan for her to study something practical at the close-to-home University of Chicago and maintain a relationship with a respectful, Muslim Indian boy, Maya dreams of attending New York University to study film, while also falling for a white boy named Phil.
The thing I loved about Love, Hate, & Other Filters was the careful balance of events. There were some more general"teenage issues", like discovering first loves and relationships and having issues with being able to attend one's dream college, which was realistically blended with larger, more oppressive issues, like Islamophobia, hate crimes, verbal aggression, microaggressions, etc. I think it was a very carefully executed mix of describing what it is like to grow up as a teenager who is both American and Muslim.
The only thing that kind of bothered me was Maya's relationships. She ends up kind of going out with two guys at once, one who she believes is still in a relationship. When Maya is interacting with these boys individually, I thought their relationships were sweet, but I didn't want to overlook the fact that some of Maya's and Phil's actions were a bit questionable given the other people they were still connected to.
Overall, I would highly recommend Love, Hate, & Other Filters. (Bonus points for it being an #ownvoices novel!) It's cute, frustrating, heartbreaking, and inspiring all at once.
kjthenerd3's review
4.0
Let me just say that overall, I really liked this book. I really liked the plot and how emotional it was (I cried). Really the only thing that made me give it four instead of five stars, is that I think it over-sympathized with the terrorist. I understand that, yes, he was human and yes, he had a backstory and a few reasons why he might be mad at the world because yes, he had an unfair life. But I personally feel like it ALMOST took away from the story. There was a lot about the terrorist and not enough mention of the victims. But overall, an amazing book that I would (and already have) recommend(ed) to friends!
jasapter's review
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia and Hate crime
nickscoby's review
3.0
This book has good moments but overall I think it's just ok. For starters, I really don't like Maya all that much. She's way too self loathing, which makes me feel uncomfortable given the subject matter. By the time we get to the second half, I started to wonder who this book is for? Unfortunately, I don't think the answer is Muslim American teens. Her parents, especially the mother, are presented in an unsympathetic one dimensional way. All that is good and right in this book is a pretty standard definition of white Americanness. And the ending is hella cheesy.
readuntilthelastpage's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
lousnewchapter's review
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book I loved the characters so much and the story was great! The book is very heartwarming but also deals with the important topics of religion and terrorism and I think it's written very well.
Maya Aziz is an Indian-American Muslim who is trying to live with the struggles of high school, longing to go to her dream college in New York and dreams about her crush who she has liked forever but is seemingly unavailable. A terrorist attack occurs in another city and this really impacted Maya and her family being the only Muslim family in their small town of Batavia.
I warmed towards Maya more and more as the story went on and loved seeing her character develop. This book is fairly short but is still such a lovely and important read and I'd highly recommend!
Maya Aziz is an Indian-American Muslim who is trying to live with the struggles of high school, longing to go to her dream college in New York and dreams about her crush who she has liked forever but is seemingly unavailable. A terrorist attack occurs in another city and this really impacted Maya and her family being the only Muslim family in their small town of Batavia.
I warmed towards Maya more and more as the story went on and loved seeing her character develop. This book is fairly short but is still such a lovely and important read and I'd highly recommend!
strapmatey's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
edshara's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Even though this book is #ownvoices, I loved how Samira Ahmed still left room for other minority’s to catch glimpses of themselves and their experiences in her characters. I may not be Indian or Muslim but some of what Maya talked about was very familiar and relatable.
The characters were all interesting even if they weren’t all likable. I liked Maya and thought she was the right amount of teen and mature. She handled her circumstances as well as she could and a lot better than I expected. Everyone NEEDS an Aunt Hina, seriously, she was the best. The right amount of wisdom and understanding.
The thing I didn’t like was how little the Muslim faith was shown throughout the book. I realize that everyone practices their faith differently, I just think when that’s the main component of the plot it would be included a little more. Details were mostly just mentioned in passing. Overall this was a great book and if the plot interests you, I’d say read it.
The characters were all interesting even if they weren’t all likable. I liked Maya and thought she was the right amount of teen and mature. She handled her circumstances as well as she could and a lot better than I expected. Everyone NEEDS an Aunt Hina, seriously, she was the best. The right amount of wisdom and understanding.
The thing I didn’t like was how little the Muslim faith was shown throughout the book. I realize that everyone practices their faith differently, I just think when that’s the main component of the plot it would be included a little more. Details were mostly just mentioned in passing. Overall this was a great book and if the plot interests you, I’d say read it.
joana_stormblessed's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! It was a really important read and I really loved it.