I’d highly recommend reading this review that goes into depth as to why this trope is so problematic: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... To boil down why this annoyed me SO much this round...it just feels like every time I read a book from a Muslim girl's perspective SHE has to be the one to change and re-orient to fit a western narrative. Are certain words okay in some settings or situations but not in others? How flexible am I with what a partner might want to call something I like calling something else? Why do I use the words for my parts that I do? Relationship Models & Choices I also just want to say that Sara is the worst friend ever. She was so horrible. It’s her fault that Maya didn’t feel like she could open up to her. And that’s all I have to say on that. For a book that was claiming to have Muslim representation, I was asking myself: WHERE IS THE REP!?!?

The coding guide for the list is below. A yes is an "I want to" or "I think I would," and a no is "I don't want to" or "I don't think I would." A maybe is an "I might," either only with certain people, at certain times, or in other specific circumstances. If there's something where you just have no idea, that's an IDK. None of these answers are a commitment to always say yes or no to anything, or a promise you'll say either: they're just assessments of how you generally feel about them. Your answers to this list may, and probably will, change over time: you may find something that's a yes now becomes a no after you try it, or that a no now is something you discover you're interested in down the road. Figure it's a snapshot of this point in time and an ever-evolving work in progress, just like you and your sexuality. We might give it our all and crash and burn.” I take a step closer to him. “But we might win. We might actually change things. And maybe that makes it still worth going for, don’t you think?” Like Jamie, I really like her as a character. She’s resilient, determined, and loves The Office. (And all of you know that’s my favorite show if you can’t tell by how many Office gifs I use 😌). The truth is, it's a weird time to be coming of age. The world is really messy right now. And it's so hard to be twelve or thirteen or fifteen or seventeen, when you're old enough to get it, but... you can't vote.” Initially I was intrigued how the book was going to handle the dichotomy between democrat vs republican but boy was I disappointed.

Study Pack

In another skipping rhyme, once the alphabet finishes, participants continue with numbers until skipper catches rope. It is natural for participants to use the letter that the skipper lost on and to use it to find someone's name following the rule of either best friend or boyfriend, depending on what is chosen in the beginning. Chinese jump rope patterns are often accompanied by chants. The diamonds pattern is accompanied by the letters which spell "diamond" ("D-I-A-M-O-N-D-S."), while the Americans pattern, as are many patterns, is accompanied by the names of the moves made while carrying out the pattern ("right, left, right, left, in, out/open, in, on."). Good for tangelos.” I tear a plastic bag off the roll. “Look. The sooner we get everything, the sooner we can leave.” Some rhymes are intended to test the agility of the jumper by turning the rope more rapidly. The key word to start turning fast is often "pepper" to indicate speed, such as: What people wear is their own business,” Jamie says. “If I want to wear a tiara every single day of the year, who is anyone to tell me I can’t? I mean . . .” He pauses. “Not that I plan to wear one, but . . .”

Jamie himself is a really sweet, soft, reasonable boy. He has a big heart and wants to help save the world and I really liked to see that but at the same time he also felt kind of one-dimensional because aside from that and blushing 25/7, he doesn’t really have anything else going for him :/ Even so, Jamie and Maya getting together at the end (not exactly a spoiler; it’s a rom-com, after all!) is far from upsetting. You’ll close the book rooting for them and the bright future they’re going to fight for, together.Some people are meant to change history. And some people are meant to change out of their vomity interview clothes." The premise of YNMS is promising; it follows Jamie, a Jewish teen, and Maya, a Muslim American with a South Asian heritage, as the two of them become canvassing volunteers for a local Democratic political campaign. Politics is heavily featured in this book and I’m unfamiliar with American politics so a lot of it was simply uninteresting for me. Through Jamie and Maya’s experiences we see how teens can get involved in making a difference even though they can’t vote. As they visit people door to door, they are faced with all types of people, from allies to downright hateful and xenophobic types. This reveals the frustrations of young people who experience harmful hate that may be completely invisible to others around them. Jamie and Maya’s story is driven by the need to create change, but unfortunately the second half was a steady downward spiral—I had to force myself to keep reading because it got so boring and cliché. Jamie as a character doesn’t have much going on for him except that he’s Jewish, struggling to write a bat mitzvah toast and is an awkward teenager with a major crush on Maya. The first half of the novel takes place during Ramadan so we see Maya as a Muslim character who is keeps fasts. I think this, ultimately, didn’t serve any value because the essence of Ramadan is swallowed up and it comes off as ritualistic rather than a holy, spiritual month. One example of this is how Maya constantly swears and doesn’t really seem to talk about anything except food when Ramadan is mentioned. It is such a stereotype when Ramadan is reduced to days of not eating food until you finally eat something. Not eating is one aspect of Ramadan. The main purpose is to reflect and try to become better people. I’m only mentioning all this because Ramadan is talked about quite a bit in the first half, but it loses its relevance as soon as Eid is done and we never really see how it impacted Maya. So it stings a bit because I feel like aspects of my religion were used to fulfil the label of Muslim but it doesn’t go beyond that in terms of how it affects the characters or the story. Now, if Maya had expressed extreme displeasure or a desire to "break free" or if it was shown that her parents are forcing their beliefs on here, then I might have thought of this differently. its really difficult to put my feelings into words because I absolutely DON’T want to discount anyone’s identity and I’m sure the authors didn’t mean to bring any harm when writing this book. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the book as it didn’t appeal to my interests and didn’t draw me in. The plot moved slowly and didn’t have enough interesting plot or character development to encourage me to continue reading. Personally, I was not entertained by this story, however, the writers’ talent was evident and the book showed great potential in places.