I was a little angry when I saw this book. I hadn’t heard of it until it was out. What’s going on Penguin? Why wasn’t this a little more publicized? I would have jumped at reading this. I don’t even know if I ordered hardcovers for work. But I’m glad I found the e-copies. There is a gap of books that show the celebrations of Ramadan and Eid, so I’m upset that this wasn’t mentioned more, but I’m glad I found it.

Dua’s birthday is coming up and she’s excited to spend it with her best friend. But then her parents tell her that she’s on her way to Queens, NY to see her cousins in time to celebrate Ramadan. While there she thinks she won’t have a good time, but she learns so much more about her faith, her family, and even herself.

I LOVED this. There’s not too many YA books that feature Ramadan and the actual practices, so I was excited to read this. I thought it might be super like, “we do this, this, and this” but no. Not even close. Beg’s writing style made it like a movie being played out. Like I was there with them. And I really enjoyed seeing the way that Dua learned so much about her faith. Her character was re-learning her faith and I enjoyed being on the journey with her.

I also loved the family aspect. ALL of them had their own personalities and they were all so well fleshed out. From the youngest to the oldest, they were all great characters. I felt that was impressive because this book wasn’t that long. According to Goodreads, the actual book is only like 288 pages. And man, the romance was SO CUTE. I liked learning the customs and seeing Dua change into the woman who she is. And the little epilogue, it was so cute. I was glad to see that Beg included it.

This book was a surprise to me. I had no idea about it, but once I did, I jumped on the chance to read it. I’m glad to see that there is a book showcasing the Muslim culture and I’m glad that Ramadan is getting more literature written about it.

📖Summary: Dua was not expecting to spend Ramadan in New York, crammed in a house with all her cousins. As an only child, growing up in Virginia, she’s used to privacy and a more relaxed Ramadan. What she gets instead? A transformative, introspective month of prayer, family, faith, and first love.
-
-
✨Rating & Review✨: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really enjoyed the faith aspect of this book. Dua doesn’t just follow the faith of her family, or completely ignore it. She takes the month of Ramadan to truly figure out what Islam means to her and how her faith can help her in the future. I’m a big fan of teenagers exploring who they are and what they believe. This book does that. There is of course desi drama to keep you entertained and first love for all those who need some romance. But the true heart of the book is to find out who you are and what you want to do, who you want to be, and what you believe. And that, is the real spirit of faith. Thank you @netgalley and @chutneybinasamosa for giving me this opportunity to read and review this book. It was an absolute joy.
-
-
🔖
#books #bookrecommendation #blackgirlsreadbookstoo #blackgirlsread #bookstagram #blackbookstagram #yabookstagrammer #booksareagirlsbestfriend #queerreadersofinatagram #readersofinstagram #booklover #bookworm #booklover #bookcommunity #readmorebooks #avidreader #bibliophile #bookishgirl #bookreview #NetGalley #SalaamWithLove

I liked this book for the most part. I'm not sure if it was the small font that I couldn't get bigger but it seemed like parts of this book dragged.

I wish there had been more explanation of some of the topics I was unfamiliar with. I understand why this wasn't done but I think it would help the reader understand the background better.

I'm still glad I read this, though.

Dua is taken completely by surprise when her parents say they’re going to spend a month at her uncle’s house. Dua had been planning to spend the last month of summer with her best friend Kat. She feels like Kat understands her better than her family does.
Dua isn’t looking forward to spending Ramadan with the “super religious” (per Dua) part of her family. Dua feels like she kind of coasts through the occasion without making it as big of a commitment as her uncle’s family does.
She hasn’t even seen this side of the family in 5 years. She’s an only child and she’s not looking forward to being in a house with so many other people.
In addition, she’s not allowed to bring her keyboard which means she can’t practice her music. She feels like music is her calling but she hasn’t told her parents that.

When she gets to her family’s house, she wants to make her faith a bigger part of her life. She makes a list, kind of like resolutions, of things she’d like to accomplish during Ramadan. One of those plans is to commit parts of that Quran to memory. This leads to her spending more time with the 19 year old brother of her cousin’s fiancée. She feels guilty for thinking about romance during Ramadan.

I liked the characters and the storyline. I will say that Dua does not come off as someone “not religious enough”. She actually seemed incredibly committed to her religion. I’m not Muslim, I can only say this as a reader. But if this had been Christian fiction, I’d be just as quick to say that this character seems committed to her religious beliefs before going. It didn’t seem to take much at all for her adapt to her “religious relatives” ways of practicing.

I found that confusing. But here’s where I’ve landed on that, as human beings we have a tendency to think we aren’t good enough sometimes. We’re often wrong about that. We are harsh critics of ourselves. So, I think Dua’s insecurities are represented as her not feeling like a good Muslim. She doesn’t feel like she makes practicing her faith a big enough part of her life. She thinks the religious side of her family will judge her.

And ultimately this journey is about her learning to love herself, to feel adequate, to feel for family’s love and acceptance and to feel that same love and acceptance from her creator.
That’s my two cents.

I read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thanks!

Salaam with Love looked like it was going to be really cute. I read almost 30% but than felt it got very repetitive and that I wasn't in the right time for it. The writing is very good I just feel like the pacing was very slow. I would still recommend this book but I don't think that I will pick it up again.

This was a cute YA romance that explores aspects of faith, self-discovery and family. As a non muslim this book gave me a much deeper understanding of Ramadan and Islam as a whole which I found super refreshing, and has definitely peaked an interest in reading other books with Islamic stories. That being said I did find this book to be very "under polished". The characters were underdeveloped, especially the lead, and the dialogue felt very stilted and formulaic. While I do think there was a lot to improve, I found the story cute and want to see more books like this!

I was unable to read the book before the archiving date. This rating was given so as not to hurt the overall rating of the book.

⭐️4/5
This review might have some minor spoilers ahead. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for providing me with an eARC of this book!

There’s so many pros yet also a few cons you can spot in this book.

I’ll begin with the cons so we can get them over with, and end this review on a good note, because this story deserves so much love.

– Our MC, Dua, let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding at least twice, and that made me feel like completely shutting the book.

– I love what the author did with this story, and I realize I was reading an ARC, but whoever edited this should step up their editing game. There’s some hiccups on the text that could very well not have been there if an editor had looked at it.

– Hafidh and in a band? The heart that holds the Quran truly cannot hold music, and vice versa, at least from what I’ve learned.

– Boy (19) teaches girl (17) Quran when there are female teachers available? Not very ideal, not ideal at all.

– It felt like the whole MSA situation was definitely a little forced with those counselor emails.

– The uncle being mad about Asr time, when it’s usually not prayed that soon? Maybe the uncle follows a secret Madhhab.

But nonetheless, these are not MAJOR parts of the book. The majority of the book was enjoyable and had great representation! I LOVE LOVE LOVED seeing the Surahs, joy of Eid, warmth of Ramadan, it was so beautiful. The whole time I was experiencing everything good with our MC.

I’ve read a few books where MC is filled with internalized Islamophobia, but while Dua struggled with her faith in the beginning of the story, by the end she truly understood what her faith can do and how important it is. I loved seeing Dua learn and grow about and through Islam.

I didn’t have a lot of problems with the music aspect. Sometimes it was strange, sometimes I thought we could’ve left that out, but I think Nasheeds are a step towards a better direction, InshaAllah.

The romances are sooooo cute and just cheesy enough! The romances were halal (for the most part), and incredibly likable. I was mad at Mahnoor for a quick moment, but it’s ok she recovered.

The family ties are just top-tier (lol). Child-parent, relatives, MC-cousins, it’s all so wonderful! The way that they all learn and grow throughout the book is very comforting.

It’s very hard to dislike any characters, at least for me. Adam and Kat were probably some of my favorites. I can’t wait to (force) recommend my sister to read this book. It’s definitely a light-ish read that can put you out of a slump. Wrote this review very late so I hope it makes sense!

I look forward to reading more works of Sara Sharaf Beg in the future.

Salaam, With Love

Ensara Sejko < 3

This book made me feel all the emotions. I cried, laughed and had a all around good time reading this book. It is probably the best book I have ever read. Please please read this book I promise you will love it.

The #ownvoices rep is strong in this one. As far as halal YA romance goes, this book does a decent job illustrating that and the positive aspects of Islam (though it got a little preachy/overly explanatory at times). The ending is very cute too. Overall, it's great that this book was written and will be widely circulated so more YA readers will see themselves in mainstream literature--I'm a huge proponent of that.

Unfortunately, it was tough to enjoy the story because the writing feels clunky. I read some parts out loud to my husband (who is Pakistani) because sometimes it sounds like a South Asian drama. I love watching those dramas, but it doesn't translate well to the written word. There were also some strange inconsistencies and errors that will hopefully be resolves when the book is published.

I was conflicted with what to rate this because, again, just the fact that this was written is excellent; however, the writing could use some polish.

This YA novel centers on Dua, an only child growing up in one of the lone Muslim families in a small town in Virginia. Her parents decide to spend the holy month of Ramadan with family in New York. Her parents hope that it will help Dua to learn more about and appreciate Islam. Dua is not excited for the trip and would rather focus on her music. Dua feels out of place in the large, conservative Muslim family. She's not sure how to connect with her cousins, especially newly engaged Mahnoor. Dua decides to set goals for herself that will hopefully bring her closer to her family and her faith. She also begins to develop feelings for the son of close family friends.

The book is very Islam focused and a lot of times it assumes the reader knows what everything means. I appreciate that the characters were so deeply involved in their faith and I'm sure Muslim readers will appreciate that about this book. There were a lot of things that didn't make sense and were inconsistent however. The adults in the book are not that present and some of the children come off more mature than their age. There are a few instances of Islamophobia and a horrible attack as well. I wish the characters had more depth, I enjoyed the story, but I felt there could have been so much more detail added. It ended nicely but overall was missing something.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

this book was so refreshing and fun. an adorable ya romance that embraces islam and arab & south asian culture in such a beautiful way.

also incredibly well written, perfect for a teen audience'l!

Salaam with Love is a Muslim love story following Dua during Ramadan. Dua was never really all that religious and had many family members that she had not seen in a while who lived in New York. The book shows Dua's growth and exploration in faith. While she sees her family in New York she finds a young man attractive and goes through Ramadan questioning life and her relationship with him. This book follows a music plotline and I loved the romance plotline. 4.0 Stars would highly recommend it! Thank you Net Galley for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review!

I may not have been in the right frame of mind for this book. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and found that I kept jumping out of the store instead of being immersed in the plot.

A wonderful YA contemporary ownvoices story about faith, love, creativity, and religion. I have never read a novel set specifically during the time of Ramadan, and it was wonderful to see the culture and story represented!

Absolutely stinking adorable! In love with it. All of it. It's the meet-cute heard around NYC.

Dua's an only child and the only Muslim in her small town, but she's also got a killer best friend who does things like fast during Ramadan in solidarity and helps Dua look fashionable.

So it came as a very big shock when her parents said they'd be traveling to NYC to stay with Dua's Uncle and his family to celebrate Ramadan. Dua is dreading it because she hasn't seen her cousins in a long time and she's an 'average' Muslim and she knows her relatives are more of the 'perfect' kind of Muslim.

There's a mix of romance between Dua and Hassan who is a devout Muslim, a musician, a freshman in college (graphic design), and the brother of her cousin's soon-to-be husband. The sister is in a band with Hassan. Their eyes locked and it was a matter of what others saw in their budding romance to continually get and keep them together and their mutual like blossoming into something more as they encouraged and supported one another. There's also an element of social justice as a thread of anti-Muslim hatred fells one of the relatives and a few scarier incidents happen to the girls.

And so much of the story is centered around Islam and it is beautiful, refreshing, and celebratory- from the inner reflection and hard work to the fashion, get-togethers, and food it's all there positively and negatively (the struggle to fast without food and water especially in a summer month). It's adorable and fun, warm with the connections between family members, and instructive for non-Muslim readers. I can't wait to read more by Sharaf Beg.

“‘The lyrics are lovely, but I’m not sure I fully understood. What’s it about?’
‘It describes God as the painter of life. You know, filling our lives with color and purpose. That’s one thing I love about Urdu – there are so many deep, powerful things you can say that you never could in English.’” - Sara Sharaf Beg
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•
✨Please check TW/CW! (Islamophobia, violence relating to Islamophobia)
•
🧡 This book quickly became one of my favorites of 2021. Every time I picked this up, I was filled with an intense feeling of happiness and peace. I cannot express how much this book means to me. Most of my day was spent anxiously waiting until it was time for me to go to bed, so I could continue reading.
•
🧡 I loved all of the characters, but especially Dua (main character), Haya (friend goals), Hassan (the most thoughtful man ever), and little Mahdi (the sweetest and most loving lil sprout). Her pursuit of becoming a better Muslim and getting closer to her family is the main focus of this story. This story gave me a better understanding of Ramadan and the Islamic faith, which is exactly why I requested it as an ARC. I enjoyed learning about it from the perspective of a Pakistani-American Muslim teen struggling with her faith and striving to have a closer connection to her faith, God, her family, and herself.
•
🧡 Dua, makes a checklist of all the things that she wants to accomplish during the month. I wanted to join her in her goals, so I modified them to fit my very limited knowledge. Whenever she was memorizing a surah, I would listen to it on YouTube while reading what it was about. I am planning on rereading this with the audiobook this time, so I can hear how everything is supposed to be pronounced (especially the food). I’m so excited.

Salaam, with Love follows Dua who is spending Ramadan at her uncle's place and unexpectedly learns important lessons on family, faith and love. There she is introduce her to Hassan who is a part of a Muslim band. This book was incredible and it loved that it focused on Dua and her faith. This was such a cute book, I adored all the characters and I adored that it had such lovely family and friendship relationships. I recommend to everyone.

Salaam, With Love is a YA novel about Dua, a Pakistani-American teenager who spends Ramadan at her uncle's place and unexpectedly learns important lessons on family, faith and love. This was such a heart-warming book with a great Muslim representation (one of the best I have ever read tbh) 💗 My heart is so full. I am really happy that books with Muslim characters like this one are being published, especially in the YA corner of the book community.

The story turned out to be quite different than I expected it to be. It is cute and wholesome, yes, but the plot deals with some serious issues like Islamophobia as well. I loved how Dua's POV revolved around faith and how spiritually fulfilling Ramadan is in general. I wouldn't call this a romance novel because the plot doesn't focus solely on Dua and Hassan's blooming relationship. Salaam, With Love is more about a girl's journey of wholeheartedly connecting with Islam ~ and becoming a better person with her through her faith. I loved how different Surahs from the Quran were quoted throughout the book, and Dua's prayers (duas) for herself and her family were presented in the chapters too. ALSO, Dua and Hassan connected mostly because he helped her memorize verses from the Quran 🥺

I wish the issues that the book talked about, like Islamophobia and Mahnoor's concerns about her marriage ~ were more fleshed out. Those are my only complains about the book! I hope the author writes a sequel, though! Salaam, with Love has really motivated me in terms of religious aspects too. I am going to write a Ramadan Checklist every year from now onwards like the ones mentioned in the book :')

Dua is struggling with all the decisions that seem to be nagging at her based off her parents expectations and the pressure she feels from her culture as well. As Ramadan approaches and they go to New York to spend it with her uncle and his family, a lot becomes clear to her. She makes goals to help her further understand what it means to be Muslim to her and how to help others see them as people and not a threat.

This book was incredible. As a non-Muslim I absolutely loved learning so much about the religion and their family culture and how beautiful it is! This book has made me want to be a better ally and friend to those of the Islam faith. Beautiful story of humanity and the need we all feel to know who we are and how we fit into the dynamics of our families and religious beliefs.