I went into this cautiously optimistic and was pleasantly surprised! As a Muslim reader it's always a little difficult to read books with Muslims that might practice faith differently than I do which generally sets me up for disappointment. That being said, the only real thing that makes me not like the representation is if the book contributes to the rhetoric that Muslims who practice differently (or stricter) aren't great or if it fits into the whole "I'm not like other Muslims" trope.

So this book passed that test because this book really explored GROWTH in faith. This is one of the rare non hijabi books that shows that the hijab isn't what makes a woman more Muslim than another. I loved seeing Dua strive to grow in her faith and get closer to her family and her passions. I absolutely adored seeing bits and pieces of the Quran or hadith in the book. It was so seamless and natural and unapologetic!

My actual rating would probably be 4.5 just because there were moments that took me out of the story like the fact that they would listen to music during Ramadan. And while I know every Muslim practices differently, it felt strange to have it brought up so many times, especially because music isn't really allowed in Islam (and while I still struggle with that aspect of my faith I do tend to try and avoid it especially during Ramadan). However, the band name Sheikh Rattle and Roll was iconic and I think it was really cool to see Muslim kids sing nasheeds! So that specific portion is just a me thing and not something that would deter me from recommending the book, really.

I also think the romance aspect was so well done especially because it wasn't really a traditional romance at all. We actually got to see two types of romance in the book, and they were both halal. I loved that the book discussed interracial marriages as well! This book also had such lovely family and friendship relationships! The dynamics between the individual characters were really well done and by the end of it it almost felt like I was a part of the big family too!

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it! Content warnings for racism and Islamophobia, and gun violence!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's/Underlined for allowing me to read and review this title! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I truly adore the diversity in this book and the importance of writing more cultures into YA stories. Underlined always has such cute stories to offer teens and this one is not an exception. I really liked Dua's character development and thought her awkward moments were relatable for her age. Meeting up with family members you haven't seen in a long time is always awkward, stressful but also fun to read about. I liked Hassan's character and thought his and Dua's moments were really sweet.

This book is definitely worth checking out especially for teens 14-17 years old as I think they will relate with Dua's struggles and first love antics.

3.5 stars

This was definitely a cute children’s romance. I DNF’d the title because it was hard for me to be invested in the main character’s life. I think this is because she is a teenager and I’m 31 😅.

I really liked how much Islamic knowledge was integrated into the book. It was similar to the Matzah Ball in that regards where there was a lot of education on Judaism dispersed throughout.

I didn’t like how her older cousin was a plain B*** the whole time and that was apparently okay because she’s a “devout Muslim”. To be fair I didn’t finish the book so hopefully that changed but it was really getting on my nerves. I also didn’t like how Dua’s parents went around her back and voluntold her to start a Muslim Student Association when she’s the only Muslim at her school. I get it because most of my life I’ve been the only hijabi and at times only Muslim at school, but that should make them more cautious for her safety and feelings.

What I was neutral on was the focus on her feelings for Hassan while she was trying to focus her energy during Ramadan on prayer, etc. On the one hand it seems sacrilegious. On the other hand we are all humans 😂 So I don’t know. I guess I don’t like the message of “let’s focus all of our prayers on this one guy” but that may be the feminist me🙃

I think this book would be perfect for middle schoolers and high schoolers to be honest. So keep that in mind when I say I DNF’d.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhousechildrens for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Random House Children's, Netgalley, and Sara Sharaf Beg for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I was happy to be approved for this ARC as I came across it on Netgalley. I was excited to come across a new south Asian author, with Islam at the center of the story.
This story follows Dua, an eighteen-year-old only child who loves music. isn't religious, and lives in a small town that is not diverse. Her parents decide that they will be spending the month of Ramadan in New York at her uncle's house. Needless to say, Dua is not happy about this and very apprehensive about leaving her comfort zone and how she will adapt to living with her extended family for a month! The story follows her journey this month and how she evolves and grows as an individual, her relationships with her family and friends, and a love interest.
This story is centered around family, friends, South Asian culture, Ramadan, Islam, and relationships. My favorite part of this book was how Dua comes to learn more about herself through Ramadan. I would like to call out a trigger warning: Islamophobia and Gun violence.

Overall, although I did feel a little old while reading this one, I enjoyed the book and look forward to more of Sara's work in the future.

Salaam, with Love, is a YA Contemporary about a girl learning that the meaning of Ramadan goes beyond fasting. It is a heartfelt story that focuses on faith, family, self-discovery, and a touch of romance.

There were so many enjoyable elements of this book and my favorite was watching Dua learn the true meaning of Ramadan. I personally knew nothing about Ramadan going into this book so I went in with an open mind and hoping to learn everything I possibly could. I loved following Dua on her journey because I was learning and growing right by her side. On top of the faith element, this felt like a coming-of-age story because Dua was also trying to figure out who she is, and what she wants to do for college and her career. I love coming-of-age stories, especially for the YA genre because I feel like it's something readers can relate to.

One of the first things I noticed about this book was Dua's large family. It was such an interesting dynamic to watch them interact with each other. I struggles at the beginning to keep all the family members straight because there were so many but by the end of the story I ended up loving them all for different reasons. Another thing I noticed was that even though I went into this book expecting the romance to be at the forefront and religion to be sprinkled in the background, it was actually the other way around. Even though that wasn't what I expected I think I enjoyed the story a lot more with it having a focus on religion and culture.

That being said there was still a romance but it was very subtle and didn't have any form of physical intimacy (holding hands, hugs, etc.) which surprised me. Maybe that is how most Muslim relationships progress I am not sure but I enjoyed that we could see the characters having a connection deeper than that.

Overall, this was a heartfelt contemporary packed with family, faith, and love. This is perfect for anyone looking for a sweet and meaningful contemporary, especially those who want to learn more about Ramadan.

This slow-paced, slice-of-life book was not what I expected. In what I read, not much happened—there was no real conflict to shape the story. DNF at 24%

Salaam, with Love is an adorable YA contemporary romance story following Dua, a Pakistani-American teenager who is suddenly forced to spend a month with her extended family during Ramadan. Dua struggles with feeling like she's not the "perfect" Muslim girl, and she goes through a relatable journey of trying to discover what her faith means to her. As a non-Muslim, this book gave a great, deeper look into Ramadan and other traditions from Islam in a way I haven't seen in a lot of fiction. I think readers, regardless of their own background, will find Dua very relatable. She's also an incredibly sweet character and this story is really about her learning to appreciate herself, her faith, and her family more. The romance in the story is sweet and adorable, and it balances nicely with the other themes in the story rather than taking over the plot. There is some depiction of Islamophobia and mild violence, which the story handles well. I think this is a great book for young teen readers who want a relatable contemporary romance story.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
In Salaam, with Love, Dua is told by her parents that they are going to spend the full month of Ramadan with her cousins in Queens, NY. Dua is not happy about this plan, she doesn’t feel a close connection to her cousins and she’s bummed to leave her best friend who she made a bunch of fun summer plans with.

When she arrives, it starts off bumpy, her cousin Mahnoor seems standoffish and Dua feels like an imperfect Muslim compared to her, but soon enough, Dua wholeheartedly embraces her time there while getting to know her cousins. Dua focuses on what she wants to improve on herself during Ramadan, which includes ways to becoming “a better Muslim” and being a better “relative, friend, and daughter.”

Through her cousins, Dua also gets to meet Hassan who is part of a Muslim band her family is in. She is instantly enamored by him and they form a sweet friendship that perhaps will lead to more?

I enjoyed Dua’s cute humor and her clutsy moments that were timed just right. I loved learning more about Ramadan and the Muslim culture in general through this story. Dua’s pursuit of becoming a better Muslim and closer to her family seemed to be the central focus of this story. This story, I think, gave me a better understanding about Ramadan and the Islamic faith than I ever had before. 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, and her family.

I would not typically read a book with a religious theme but I enjoyed learning about this culture in the form of a sweet YA book. I enjoyed the friendships Dua made and watching her form a closer bond with her family. Some parts did read slow for me but overall I thought it was lovely. I enjoyed the “halal” romance she had with Hassan and loved the ending.

*TW for Islamophobia including with violence.

Minus a couple of parts (see *TW), this story was so sweet and adorable. Very wholesome book for teenagers and great for anyone wanting to learn about another culture in the context of sweet, coming of age story. It’s also awesome that Muslim youth can get some representation through this book.

Salaam, with Love follows Dua, a Muslim teenager whose family is unexpectedly spending the month of Ramadan with extended family. She ends up deepening her faith and falling in love. It's a sweet, very clean story that was extremely educational. I truly appreciated this OwnVoices story and have learned so much about Islam.

At times, I found the plot to be a bit monotone and I would have liked the characters to have been more fleshed out. I also found that the book could have used a bit more editing, as many of the details didn't line up very well.

Overall, this was very enjoyable and I would very much recommend it to YA audiences.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Loved this contemporary story of a young woman learning about what Ramadan is all about, beyond the fasting.

I’m not sure if I would call this book romance, because although there is a romance in this story, it might not be recognized by most readers that are used to more physical filtering and intimacy.

Dua has to go to Queens, New York, to spend Ramadan with her cousins, and share a room with Mahnoor, who is very grumpy and not talkable. She has always celebrated at her home in Virginia, where she is the only muslim in the school, and her family the only muslims in town, and she is a bit overwhelmed by all the family and friends that drop in for the whole month.

And this is where the sweet romance comes in. Dua decides to memorize some verses of the Quran, but needs help, and so her future in-laws, as her cousin is engaged to one of their sons, introduce her to Hassan, who has memories the whole of the holy book. It is this intimacy, and yet study, that gets them close, without actually getting physical.

The author makes sure to give context to all the words and phrases, and food, and clothing mentioned in the book, by naming it, and then describing it. I never had to look up much of anything.

Very sweet story, and I raced to finish it, because I really wanted to know how it turned out. Highly recommend it.

Will be published January 4th, 2022.

Warning, there are some anti-mulsim protesters, including a physical attack.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. </em>

#netgalleyarc I really enjoyed this book. The characters were great and very relatable. Dua is your average teenager, trying to enjoy life, trying to see where she fits in and trying to make her parents proud—things ,any teens feel and go through. I really enjoyed following her and her experiences during Ramadan. I will definitely be buying this for my high school library.

I found this one a little slow for my tastes, and whilst there is one very dramatic event in the middle, the rest of the story was largely not much happening. I know a few friends who will be thrilled to see actual muslim rep in a book, as opposed to merely stating that a character is muslim, and then not actually delving into what that might actually mean.

The romance felt a little thrown in there for the sake of it, and I just didn't click with that at all. The families relationship with each other was just lovely to read, but it wasn't enough for me to truly enjoy the book sadly. This one wasn't for me, but I know there are others out there that are really going to love it.

I've never read a YA book with religion as a central theme. It was really interesting to learn about Dua's culture and religion within the context of her extended family's observance of Ramadan. I wish we could see how that interfaces with her life in a small town.

I felt some of the characters didn't sound quite their age, especially Adam, who at 12 is over 6 feet tall and speaks like an adult. Kids are a little more distractable than he was portrayed. Dua's voice was a little more mature than what I'd expect from a YA too. I don't think a teenager interested in music would come up with the bouts of prose that appear throughout.

It didn't feel written like an instruction manual for people not familiar with Islam, in that things were not overexplained. As someone who is not Muslim, I still found it very accessible.

I absolutely thoroughly enjoyed reading this new release (if you like my review, make sure to preorder- it helps authors/publishers make more Muslim fiction!!!)

Dua is taken by her parents to NYC to spend Ramadan with the family of her Dad’s brother. Dua is resistant at first, but actually enjoys herself. She meets handsome Hassan, the brother of her cousins fiancee, makes friends, and enjoys listening to the Islamic band. But after Mahnoor’s broken engagement and an Islamaphobic attack on Adam, the family is left reeling. Read to find out how Duaa navigates it all…and still finds love (halal of course!)❤️

Dua seems to struggle with her Muslim identity at first and find Islam difficult…but by the end, she is a more confident and proud Muslim! I liked the way the book explored what its like to be a Muslim teen and deal life and love!

I also really appreciated that ISLAM was CENTRAL to the book. I don’t think I have ever read a YA book that contains this much Islam in it and I FULLY APPRECIATED it and my heart was warmed! So many details about Ramadan, Laylatul Qadr, Salah, Wudu, details about Quran and the importance of reciting it, duaas and seeking Allah’s mercy, mentions of the life of Prophet Muhammad (a peace be upon him was mentioned EACH time), and constant remembrance of Allah!

I did feel like the book needed a little more editing, and there were inconsistencies in certain scenes, wudu in one seemed to imply mouth rinsing as a last step, but to be honest, the story was engaging and I found myself flipping quickly to finish it at the end and smiling/tearing up in certain parts. I enjoyed the main character’s voice and felt it authentic to an average Muslim teenager’s thoughts. I really connected with her clumsiness (I tripped on my way up to my graduation stage lol) and her inner drive to be a better Muslim was INSPIRING to see!

Def a recommendation from me!

Dua is reluctant when her parents tell her they will be spending Ramadan with relatives in New York. While there, Dua discovers the meaning of family, faith and relationships.⁣
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You guys, this was the cutest YA contemporary romance! I loved hearing about the different cultures (Pakistani and Lebanese) and the romance element was so sweet and clean. If you enjoy books by S.K. Ali or like learning about religions, this would definitely be a book you would enjoy. Look out for this one, releasing early January!

I love that this book was multicultural, and that it taught me A LOT about Muslim religion. I think that was my favorite part of the book. Otherwise, it was a little lackluster. The writing was a little stilted and elementary, and I just wasn't excited to read the book.

I liked the voice of the protagonist, but it felt forced and just not natural.

I do wish I had enjoyed this more than I had. Like others have said, it has a lot of potential but seems unpolished. I think this is true especially in the dialogue, which feels really unnatural from the start and seems to age up certain characters. But I love how unapologetically Muslim this book is, and the family relationships being at the forefront of the book brought me a lot of joy.
Aside from what she's experiencing, I had no idea what Dua's character was. I couldn't get a read on her at all. There were points in her narration that I took issue with--a line about Y chromosomes rather than just saying she likes men, or saying "flawless English" in comparison to someone speaking with an Indian/Pakistani accent--and she seemed really fixated on height? But her Ramadan goals and how she went about achieving them were really motivating.
The romance, although it was a little excessive on the descriptions of her heart beating every time she looked at him, was really sweet and I loved the way the book ended for their relationship.
The strongest part was the cousin relationships--I related to it being hard to find common ground with your cousins, and loving the toddler of the family who wants to sit in your lap, and the friendships that they all managed to develop. I also loved Dua's friendship with Haya. All of these sweet relationships were wonderful to read about and enhanced the experience of this book.
[spoilers below]
I think there was more work to be done on Mahnoor/Azhar's relationship. The implications of not wanting to marry outside of one's ethnicity are big, and I think we needed more discussion of the potential bigotry of that notion.
I also believe the big twist of what happens to Adam needed more time and care given to it. Adam seems fully recovered at the end and even using it as motivation to live the life he wants, but what happened was traumatic and I felt that it was kind of glossed over by everyone once he was okay, except for one section where Dua thinks they should go to therapy.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This is multicultural romance that also deals with themes of identify, religion and racism. I really enjoyed that this book teaches people about Ramadan and Islam and how it branch’s to things not often seen in books. I thought it was a sweet book and enjoyed it so much.

I had a hard time getting into this one. I saw that some other people loved it but I just didn't really connect with the characters and wasn't sure what to think about Dua.
I liked the look into the Islamic culture and how different some things involved in romance and weddings are done.
Overall a good look into cultural differences and how they and our family shape us, but needs a little work.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I have some mixed feelings about Salaam, with Love. I liked the plot and thought that was interesting to learn about this culture more. The book was hard to get into a little bit and I thought it could have actually done without the romance. The romance just was more like a second thought.

This definitely did have potiential and I give it three stars. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for chance to read and review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.