Moving on. Even though at first glance the story appears to be a romance through and through, it’s so much more than that. It’s also about family and dealing with different traumas and different kinds of grief. I loved the siblinghood from both the MCs sides, they were different and yet similar in a way that they both cared so very deeply for their siblings. I also loved the sense of community, how everyone got together to do something for the youth and to make their summer better. I love this one more so because of the outspoken characters, specifically the main female character. She has a past she's not proud of but she's so responsible, she's independent and living her dreams inspite of the limitations she had to face because of the so called 'rules' a girl had to follow. what I genuinely loved about the characters was how we got to see them in such a real way. Especially in amirah’s case, we got to see this well-developed personality of this teenage girl who is so proud of her religion and is educated but has seen her mother suffer so much at the hands of terrible men that she has sworn off marriage and love for herself But our route took us through the bustle of Brixton, up tree-lined roads, past a beautiful park with a country house perched on a hill, to the gates of our new home. Looking around as we drove up the driveway, I could feel my heart rate start to slow down and the dread I had been unconsciously holding onto, easing away. The houses were neat, well looked after. Good cars stood in the private driveways and the close was flanked on one side by sky-high oak trees. I love Ali and Ami together. They are so damn cute. The story isn't fluffy and cheesy. The characters are more mature considering their ages but I can understand they have become wo they were because of the situations both of them had to face from a young age.

When Ali first meets Amirah, he notices everything about herher hijab, her long eyelashes and her red trainersin the time it takes to have one look, before lowering his gaze. And, although Ali is still coming to terms with the loss of his mother and exploring his identity as a Muslim, and although Amirah has sworn never to get married, they can't stop thinking about each other. Can Ali and Amirah ever have a halal "happily ever after"? She Wore Red Trainers by Na'ima B. Robert is not like any other book I've read before and I really like it for that very reason. It's always a good thing, I think, reading books very different to our own personal beliefs. It's good to read a story with a very different perspective and to see things differently. And that's what my enjoyment of She Wore Red Trainers was about for the most part. What IS an issue is that this is never called out by the narrative as cultural rather than religious. The Prophet (saws) encouraged young people to get to know their future spouses before marriage (in a controlled setting obviously). Ali and his family have just moved to South London after his mother's death. His younger brothers aren't taking it well, and his father is oblivious to their feelings. He makes friends in the neighbourhood and that's where he sees Amirah, his friend Zayd's sister. Amirah is an art lover, who has sworn she would never marry, after seeing all that her mother had gone through. As practicing muslims, Ali and Amirah do not have dating in their mind. But after their first encounter, all they can do is think of each other. Is there a halal way around it? Would they be able to pursue their feelings while staying true to their faith at the same time? Sit down, Ali.’ He gestured towards the stool by the counter. ‘I’ve got to talk to you about something.’Some days, I thought I would literally go crazy, I was so tense and wound up. And all the girls in their summer dresses didn’t help things, trust me. Plus I was still thinking about my ex-girlfriend, Amy.

When I got home, to our house which still ached with Mum’s absence, I found Dad in the light filled kitchen, his laptop open on the marble tabletop, a cup of cold tea beside it. He was on the phone. He was always on the phone these days. I felt irritation at his extreme attachment to his smartphone and computer. They were his distractions, I felt, his way of avoiding a reality that no longer included his wife of 20 years. Now, this is a really important theme, especially when it comes to a book like this, and I think that this was explored really well. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t be rating this very highly if it didn’t have the religion aspect. But it’s still so, so rare that we get this kind of Muslim representation, and for me that made up for a lot of the other issues! she is focused on her studies and art and wants to become independent but she we also see another side of her with her siblings, where she is kindhearted and sweet. She has a great friend group that was so precious and they talk and giggle and annoy each other (and yes mayyybe it was slightly overdone and cheesy at times but hey im trying to be positive here)But human beings are amazing like that. We’re resilient. And Allah tests us with the things we love so that we can return to Him and long for His love, not the love of His creation. That was when I realized that this life isn’t meant to be perfect. It’s a place for test and examination. The true happiness, the true bliss, will be in the afterlife, Akhirah. That’s when I hope to taste pure happiness, with no loss, no tears, ever.” A feature of this book that makes it a beautifully engaging read is the fact that Ali’s and Amirah’s lives do not completely (and unrealistically) revolve around each other. They both have their own lives and their own personal battles facing them each day - Ali’s recent loss of his mother and Amirah’s heavy responsibilities at home by caring for her mother and siblings. In a way, this paints a wonderfully accurate picture of married life. Once married, it is not happily ever after. There will be obstacles, there will be battles, there will be difficult situations that make life that much more challenging. The solace is in your spouse. The beauty is finding your way towards your companion amongst the trials and disappointments of life. Life is not a fairytale, but happiness, love and contentment do exist in reality. The book is divided into chapters; every other chapter is told from the perspective of Ali or Amirah, so, for example, we start with Ali talking about his life and what is going on with him, and then in the next chapter, Amirah talks about her life from her own perspective. I like that approach, because some incidents in the book are told twice but from different perspectives, and that is exactly how some aspects of our lives get interpreted in different ways, as people look at things from their own perspectives. Another 1/2 star for the brief scenes with Amirah's deaf little brother, her best friends - one who is a white convert - and her poor mother's heartbreak. Again, what an interesting book this could've been had they been explored properly. There was something about the way he moved - strong, graceful, rippling, like a cat - that made something flutter in my stomach."