Appreciated the nuanced discussions on ageing, politics, culture, religion, media power, their complexities and how they all change and refract our life's trajectories. Regardless of our good intentions, the past and the future is constructed solidly on those complexities.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I really wanted to like this one, but it was a bit too introspective for me, and the timeline flipped so often that it really took me a lot of work to keep up what year/part of the story we were in. It was a DNF for me. :(

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I was eagerly anticipating this novel based on the description. Unfortunately, the pace is such a drag, as is the protagonist. While I was interested to read about cultures I know little about, I was instead mostly treated to a tale of a man who doesn't know how to communicate properly and should go to therapy...a subject most women are very familiar with. These characters could be of any nationality and the story would barely be impacted. It is dull.

This book was ok. It's a love story that alternates between the beginning, the middle, and the current status of their relationships. I enjoyed reading about the beginning, but I couldn't follow with the middle and the constant going back and forth made it hard to stay engaged in the book. I think it should have just alternated between the beginning and current. The ending was completely unsatisfying, but realistic

I really loved this story and it's depiction of Yasmina and Nur's relationship. There were some time jumps in here, but I didn't mind them. This book dealt with some difficult topics, like mental health, being an immigrant, and race.
Overall, a great read I'd recommend to anyone trying to understand others' experiences better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this complex and profound journey of Nur and Yasmina’s relationship.

I loved how Karin Ali told this story, which included a lot of difficult topics. Topics like race, mental health, and being part of an immigrant family. The time line was sometimes confusing to keep up with but it did not take away from the book.

Nur is Pakistani and Yasmina is Sudanese. They met at a mutual friend’s party and connected instantly. As their relationship progresses, Nur faces internal turmoil due to his cultural values and dating a black woman.. Nur has strong family values. It is absolutely incredible to see how close he is with his family while also trying to find his own way in the world. This begins to drive a wedge between him and his family.

On the other hand, keeping his relationship from his family is driving a wedge between him and Yasmina. This book follows that journey and the consequences of his actions, which in turn helps Nur face the racial prejudices his has within himself.

I loved this book so much because it showcased the complex lives of immigrant families and that even in BIPOC communities, racism exists. One would think that brown and black people are all on the same side but it isn’t always the case. It is a very sad truth to acknowledge but it is a necessity to face.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I would give this book 4.5 stars. There were so many things I liked about it as a South Asian diaspora reader. Several aspects of Nur's relationship with his family were realistic and relatable to me, as well as parts of the discussions he had with Yasmina, Imran, and other characters about the intersection of their identities, beliefs, and backgrounds. I think the book tackled a lot of topics well, including racism, religion, and relationships -- it was more of a social commentary than a romance, which I really appreciated. I also thought the ending was perfect, and that the emotions and prose throughout were really well written. The way the book addressed Nur's mental health and used side characters to consistently point out his flaws and mistakes was incredible, and helped develop his character (for better or worse) in the reader's eyes . Lastly, I can't remember the last novel I read that centered a heterosexual relationship from the male viewpoint, so I thought it was an interesting and refreshing perspective.

While I do love non-linear stories, I felt that the timeline bounced around a bit too much in this story and was hard to keep track of. This also caused the read to be much slower for me. Nevertheless, I really recommend this for those looking into a portrayal of interracial relationships from a South Asian perspective! I truly enjoyed the read and will be eagerly anticipating Kasim Ali's next book.

Descriptions can be misleading and that isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s intentional, and sometimes it’s more on the reader and their expectations. For Kasim Ali’s Good Intentions, it was all on me. I read the description and immediately jumped to some conclusions about how some of the novel would unfold. It took me a while to realize I’d been wrong and if I had known more about it going in, I’m not sure it would have captured my attention and interest. However, it’s also one of those books that I’m glad to have read even if it wasn’t the overall tone I’d been expecting (and hoping for) at the start. I’d expected it to pack an emotional punch, but it struck in a different place than expected and so permeated deeper and will linger longer – which, again, is not necessarily a bad thing in this case.

It has been four years since Nur met Yasmina at a party while at university. It’s been two years since he first met her parents and one since they started living together. They have so much in common – both the children of immigrant parents, both Mulim, he aims to be a writer while she’s getting her PhD in journalism ethics… And in four years, Nur hasn’t told his family about their relationship, scared of how they will react. His family is Pakistani while hers is Sudanese. Nur is very conscious of the prejudices within his community and, in many ways, he already feels like he’s disappointed his parents – going away to university, choosing to leave home and live on his own, not asking them to help him find a respectable girl from their community to settle down with. Nur is finally going to tell his family about Yasmina and, whatever their reaction, it is going to fundamentally change his relationships on all sides – something he’s still not ready for.

As I started the novel, I thought the structure would be a little more linear – scenes from the “present” interspersed among scenes from the course of Nur and Yasmina’s relationship presented chronologically. Instead, things are much more reflective of how memory works with an incident in the present triggering one memory followed by another from further back and then jumping closer but not quite to the present and so on. It creates a narrative where theme becomes the connective thread giving the story a shape rather than time or cause and effect.

It’s thoroughly appropriate for the structure to be so reflective of memory because so much of the story is preoccupied with Nur’s internalized anxieties – worst case scenarios for everything spinning out and tangling until he is caught in his own web, immobilized. Mental health in general and depression in particular appear several times through Nur’s direct experiences and those of Yasmina’s younger sister, Hawa. It’s so clear to see how and where anxiety feeds into Nur’s avoidance of confrontation with his parents but it’s also possible to see how it can also serve as an excuse, a crutch – particularly whenever he refuses to talk about what he’s feeling or seek anything like professional treatment… which also seems to tie back to some of the pressures he feels from his family and the community he grew up in and the spiraling continues. The reading experience was kind of frustrating because the characters were so well developed. It’s difficult not to have at least some sympathy for Nur and his situation but also to agree with each and every character who scolds him over the course of the novel for creating the situation in the first place.

I understand the message and the importance, the themes of acceptance and ethnic divides, but that doesn't change the fact that ultimately this book was pretty dull and hard to get through. The protagonist was hard to root for and the decisions he made didn't make sense. I just wanted to shake him on so many occasions.

I have a couple of thoughts that I want to pen down, as I think through my feedback for this book:
- It was really refreshing to read a story of a relationship through the eyes of a male author
- I would not classify this book as a romance novel but more contemporary fiction
- This book takes a poignant view on relationships, racism, colorism, religion, and culture
- I loved the ending, If I would have written the book, I would have probably chosen that outcome as well
- When I thought through the story on a deeper level, through the lens of three friends- Kasim beautifully captured three different kinds of relationships- a heterosexual love marriage/ relationship, an arranged relationship, and a gay relationship
- Told in present and past timelines
- Impressive Debut novel

This is a story about love and family.  Nur comes from a close knit British Pakistani family.  As the oldest son, he has always been the golden child of his parents and has taken significant pride, and felt significant pressure, in this status.  Somewhat surprisingly, Nur leaves his hometown to go to university.  There, he meets Yasmina.  Although their initial interactions are awkward, Nur is drawn to Yasmina.  Over several years, their relationship deepens, but Nur refuses to tell his parents about Yasmina.  He fears that his parents will reject their relationship because Yasmina is Black.

The novel begins four years after Nur and Yasmina began dating, as Nur is finally about to tell his parents about his relationship.  It then moves between Nur and Yasmina's present, as we see the outcome of Nur's confession to his family, and the years since the beginning of their relationship.  In this time, we learn how Nur and Yasmina's love develops, how they navigate life as a young couple, their engagement with their friends, and how Nur's approach to navigating his relationships with Yasmina and his family impacts the nature and contours of each one.

This is a powerful book.  The author effectively portrays the depth of Nur's feelings for Yasmina and his family and how Nur lives what he believes to his core is the conflict between the two.  As a reader, you feel just how torn Nur is, even as you see how corrosive his choices are for Yasmina, him, their relationship, and his family. I also found the author's treatment of Nur's anxiety, and how it shapes his perception of his relationships with those he is closest to, to be nuanced and thoughtful.  Another impressive feature of the book was the way it weaved in the stories of Nur's friends, particularly Imran, who is gay, and Rahat, who does not seem to pursue romantic relationships, and how those compared to Nur's experiences dating and with his family.  Most of all, I was impressed by the realism of the story and how the author does not shy away from the impacts of Nur's choices on all those in his life.  

Highly recommended!

I hated the main character of Good Intentions so much, it was difficult to root for him at all. I couldn't connect with the writing style either.

There is a reason that I read juvenile fiction: from board books to YA, but lately the "New Adult" category has really been tempting me.  Muslamic romance novels, often really need the protagonist to be looking to get married to make the plot work with some authenticity,  which means the main character usually needs to be a bit older than in their teens.  I decided to start my tiptoeing into the genre with this book, because I was intrigued at the racial and mental health themes that the blurb teased.  Sadly after reading the 288 page story, I still was waiting for more racial and mental health insight or enlightenment or perspective or deeper appreciation or anything really.  I kept reading hoping for more character growth, and to find out if the relationship worked.  I understand after finishing, that the book was intentionally more subtle and nuanced, and part of me appreciates it, but I still felt the book ultimately provided too little in either regard for me to feel satisfied or content that I had spent time with the characters.  The abruptness and harshness of the first few chapters, seemed disjointed from the dialogue filled introspective remainder of the book that showed so much potential, but left me feeling strung along for no real purpose.  The book covers mature themes of sexuality, drug use, racism, co-habitation, relationships, culture, mental health, and more.  The characters' identify as Muslim, but aside from Eid prayers, iftar, and mentioning once that they should pray more, there is nothing religious practiced, mentioned, or contained in the story.

SYNOPSIS:

Told in a variety of timelines that all follow the relationship of Nur and Yasmina, the story begins with Nur finally after four years getting up the nerve to tell his desi parents that he has a Black girlfriend, and wants to marry her.  He leaves out that they have been living together for years, and the book then flips back to how they met and bounces around filling in the gaps that bring them back to the big reveal. 

While in college, Nur had just broken up with Saara, but still goes to her fairly regular house parties.  At one such party he meets Yasmina, as a small group at the party sneak off to smoke pot, and he is immediately crushing.  His hungover broken-hearted gay friend Imran calls him out on it immediately, and his roommate Rahat chastises him for going to his ex's parties.  Nearly all the main characters are met early on, and the rest of the book focuses on Nur and Yasmina growing closer through college, after school, through their early years of jobs and grad school, and the overshadowing of the fact that Nur has yet to tell his family about Yasmina, while Yasmina's family is fully aware and fully supportive that they are living together.

All the characters are Muslim, but practice is pretty minimally detailed.  Yasmina tells Nur at their first meeting that she wishes she prayed more, and later it is mentioned that her parents were raised strict so they have raised their own children less so.  It is possible that Nur's mom wears a scarf, but not clear either way, and they don't seem to be bothered that she is living with her boyfriend.  Nur on one of his visits home goes for Eid prayers with his father, his mother and sister do not go, and it mentions that they are fasting.  Rahat does not find dating is for him, and wants to have a traditional arranged marriage, but it does not disclose if this is because of religious or cultural views.  Imran discusses his family praying and that he had to square away his sexuality with Allah swt more or less.  

Nur and Yasmina's younger sister have mental health afflictions.  Nur has anxiety attacks, and Hawa severe depression.  It does not label or identify or diagnose, this is my assumption, it does detail their experiences though, and how they affect those around them.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I actually enjoyed the writing style and the ease in which it flowed-save the beginning of the book. The beginning was a little crass, almost like the author was trying too hard to get the characters' environment to read that they were in college.  The crude talking about sex and them talking about their parents' intimacy and smoking and drinking and being vulgar, was in such contrast to the very subtle nuanced rest of the book that tried to show the layers of Nur and Yasmina's relationships and lives.  Once I got through it, I genuinely wanted to know if they could make the relationship work.  No I'm not going to spoil it, but that really is why I kept reading. 

I was disappointed that the book didn't draw mental health out in the open.   I also wanted some religious based push back on racism.  It is a big thing in our communities and the book really could have had the characters argue it and make their points, right or wrong, for the disconnect between faith and culture.  It didn't have to be preachy, or even mean that anyone changed their opinions, but it mentions numerous times, something to the effect of Nur's parents being racist, but doesn't detail why that is the suffocating presence in disclosing his relationship.  In four years I would imagine the opportunity to correct his parents way of thinking would have arisen, and he could have challenged it.  I get that might negate Yasmina's point that Nur is racist, but I think it should have been made more clear then that he didn't speak up when opportunities presented, otherwise it just seems unexplored and we, the reader, are expected to just accept the characters on face value, when the book really very easily could have nudged us, to self reflect and look inward.

FLAGS:

There is sex, and drugs, and lying, and racism, and all the other flags that adult books often have.  There is one "steamy scene" between Nur and Yasmina, but the rest of the relationship is very mild.  Nothing else is graphic in detailing their day-to-day living, or the day-to-day relationships of the other characters in the book: gay or straight.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

No. Would never, could never encourage unmarried Muslims living together, fictionally or otherwise.

It really drags A LOT in the beginning, with unnecessary character moments and flashbacks. It gets a little convoluted and even pretentious at some parts. There's unfortunately a common trope of "I'm not like other Muslims" that keeps happening in recent books. There are some interesting parts I won't spoil but tbh, I can't recommend this book. The characters aren't too interesting, the plot had potential, but I think it could use some editing. Also there were typos.

I really enjoyed this novel.A story of an interracial relationship that comes alive the characters kept me involved from beginning to the last page.Highly recommend this book and this author.#netgalley #henryholtbooks

I loved the story! I thought the story and the way good intentions examined a relationship was beautiful and honest. and Nur was a really good character! i thought the story was so complex yet still engaging. the writing style was just not for me. i’m not sure what is with this trend in millennial fiction but not every sentence needs to be a compound sentence! honestly it really grated on me at times. but that’s a personal preference and i think so many people will love good intentions!! thank you so much to henry holt for letting me read the arc!!

This book was such an amazing read. Flawed MC and fully fleshed out side characters and authentic, flowing banter throughout the story made the book so easy to read. This story provides an in depth look of an interracial relationship as it blossoms and stumbles countless times. Our MC, Nur, struggles with anxiety and seeing the person he truly is. Although he believes himself to be one way, his actions tell a different story. This story looks at different aspects of race, culture, sexuality and relationships. I appreciate that this story didn’t shy away from difficult topics and showed us the inner struggles of families. Readers see the beauty of love but also realize even love isn’t always enough. This was a beautiful novel and I recommend everyone read this story

Thank to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

CW: attempted suicide, family trauma

If you were as obsessed with "The Big Sick" as I was when it came out, this debut novel by Kasim Ali is definitely for you. "Good Intentions" chronicles the love story between Nur, a young British-Pakistani man, and Yasmina, a journalism student.
After hitting it off during university, the two characters naturally fall in love–yet not is all as it seems. Yasmina is a Black Muslim girl from Sudan. Nur decides to keep their 4-year relationship a secret from his traditional Pakistani parents. The novel unfolds between the past and present as Nur faces the consequences of his white lie and how his relationship with Yasmina came to be over the years.
Nur's neurotic temperament remains a constant throughout the novel–providing essential context for his actions and the consequences he later faces. It was a delight and a headache to watch a character make so many poor judgments throughout the story. Ali incorporates minor characters into the novel to hold Nur accountable for his actions and anxiety, making them necessary to Nur's journey of self-reflection and accountability.
Nur's family dynamics and his Muslim upbringing are rarities in the world of fiction. Few novels portray interracial relationships with such poignant and challenging clarity as "Good Intentions" does. With each complex social and racial issue unveiled, "Good Intentions" forbidden love is magnified in brilliance.
Ali's ability to effortlessly pack an emotional punch with pithy prose is spectacular to read. Initially, you pity Nur and his heartbreaking situation with Yasmina and his family. Still, as the narrative progresses and the years are peeled back from the present, Ali will make you hate Nur with the fervor of an ex-partner. The moments of self-reflection are written with care, but nevertheless, sucker punching you with heartache and yearning.
A thoughtful and sensitive examination of interracial relationships, "Good Intentions," will leave you wondering how Nur and Yasmina's relationship will be resolved.