What an important book (and a beautiful cover)!

In YOU TRULY ASSUMED, three Black Muslim girls find space, community, and expression in YTA, a blog created after a tragic terrorist attack and the rise of anti-Islamic sentiments.

I loved following Sabriya, Zakat, and Farah on their parallel journeys and in their combined efforts of creating YTA. Their passion and strength reminded me of the power for change I believe lies in Gen Z, especially in religious, political, and community spaces. These characters made me hopeful.

I'm glad that this book exists, and for the visibility it gives to the Black Muslim community and the struggles they face. It was beautiful -- and at times, heartbreaking -- representation handled deftly by the author.

It's no question that the content is important and thought-provoking, a debut that deserves its shine. But in looking at craft, I think the story itself and its characters were underdeveloped. What's more, the dialogue often felt unnatural, like it was the way adults THINK teens talk, or a more stilted version of it. I wanted it to flow more naturally. It would have been ever more powerful that way.

A good read that I hope more people find.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

It is a beautiful novel, the ideas were really great but it didn't click as much as it should have. I don't know if it was the changing POVs but each of the characters felt disconnected from me.

a wonderful book that tackles and discuss subject such as islamophobia and racism in a way that felt extremely real and raw. as a white atheist person I cannot speak on the representation of black muslim women, so I would suggest looking to own voices reviews! however, I recommend this book 100%, even for non black muslim people like me. Incredible book and audiobook as well. The narrator had a really soothing voice! 5 stars.

You Truly Assumed is a remarkable story of resilience with really tough themes, yet somehow still remains light and full of hope. It is the kind of book that has the potential to touch the hearts of audiences beyond its intended one, and I hope that people will be able to learn and grow from this book. Each character experiences her identity so differently, but the core running through the three of them, connecting them and guiding them, is so important. I love the solidarity and female friendship at the core of this book, the ways in which community can act as a balm in the face of the worst kinds of cruelty.

This was a fabulous book, and an even more fabulous audiobook. I highly recommend it.

loveeed this read.
amazing.
thank you laila sabreen,

- thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

cw: racism, islamophobia, cyber bullying

I really enjoyed You Truly Assumed. Multiple POVs is one of my favorite things and this really delivered in that area. I liked the friendship that three teenagers in different parts of the country were able to harbor and how they formed their own special community. This book also did a really good job at portraying just how ugly high school kids can be and how much pressure is placed upon teens. I did think the ending was a bit rushed and it felt like we really didn't get much of a conclusion to the story. Not even an epilogue. Nonetheless, for a debut this novel was extremely strong and I enjoyed it a lot! I was able to briefly meet Laila at YALLfest in November 2021 so I was very honored to receive this ARC. Can't wait for the next Sabreen novel!

I loved listening to the audiobook of this book. Each character has their own distinct narrator which helps you visualize the characters easily and adds even more depth to them.
What I loved even more is that it was all black Muslim characters. As a Muslim myself I found myself relating to them in many situations, but I also learned about the different upbringing of some Muslims and how each person practices their faith.
Sabriya, Zakat and Farah never stood back and I gained so much courage from reading their story. They stood up and fought for their beliefs and love for their religion.
This book deals with real life issues and things Muslims all around the world face till today.
Besides that I felt this book wasn't very accurate in a lot of things pertaining to Islam. A lot of the beliefs and practices were not part of the religion and the author made it seem as if it was ok to do such acts.

With my next budget, I'll purchase this for my school library. I liked how we got three different perspectives from three different Black Muslim girls. The book also depicted people who claim one thing but aren't as good as they appear. Adults, too. It also demonstrated how you can cling to someone's past mistakes even after they've matured or apologized and no longer behave in that manner.

A teen's feelings about leaving and entering a new world can be influenced by living in a safe community. That can feel constraining at first, but the internet can quickly shift perspectives. The novel also demonstrated that the internet can be a fantastic way to meet new people, as the main characters discovered through the You Truly Assumed blog. Along with that, there were the trolls and vitriol that are common online, as well as how people appear to view the internet and social media in general as bad.

The girls handled online concerns brilliantly, and I agree that bad things should not overshadow good. This book was about more than just their daily lives and problems. The family dynamics that all three characters faced struck me as realistic and relevant to teenagers in real life. This is something I'll recommend to my students.

What a incredibly powerful book, I absolutely loved reading from each of the 3 girls perspectives. The author did an amazing job making me feel so much for every character, and left me wanting to know These characters personally. Would absolutely read from this author again in a heartbeat.

The GREAT DIVERSE READS BOOK CLUB choose this book for our March book and I absolutely LOVED it. The main thing I liked was how the author made EACH girl WHOLE and UNIQUE. Many times BIPOC characters don't feel real to me because they don't seem whole (no family, no background, no interest, walking cliches, etc.) But Laila wrote an AMAZING book about 3 Black girls who feel real. They have community, culture, and real lives. Bravo sis! Bravo.

If you are looking for a dope book to read or recommend to the young girls in your life I'd say check out You Truly Assumed. An excellent book about finding and (re)claiming your agency in the face of hate. Also a touching tale about building community and how important it is for young Black girls to have as they grow up.

Thank you #Netgalley for an ARC of this audiobook.

I loved this book SO much! The voices, struggles and joys of Sabriya, Zakat and Farah were distinct and so vivid. I learned so much about their experiences as Black Muslim teens in the aftermath of a terrorist attack and the ensuing tsunami of Islamaphobia. Highly recommend!

Based on the set-up, we expect a couple of things from this book. All three main characters occupy an intersection of oppressed groups: they are Black, Muslim, and female. The world wants them to be silent and invisible and tears them down when they try to assert themselves. When they start a blog they become a target. We expect the bulk of the plot to be focused on fighting that oppression. While that is certainly a surface part of the plot, it is even more about the things that challenge our identity. Each girl is faced by significant changes in her world. Addressing the issues brought up by their blog empowers them to address their own issues as well. Family, future plans, love, betrayal. There's a universality to these issues that makes this book accessible to a wider group of readers than it might otherwise. Powerful, empathetic, and accessible. Definitely orth a read.

Some books demand your full attention and so I took my sweet time with You Truly Assumed. I ended up taking notes and tabbing scenes that I didn’t want to forget, and I really liked reading it a bit more slowly so everything could really sink in. Since the book follows three different POVs with three girls who live in different cities, don’t know each other at the beginning and live completely separate lives, it took me a couple of chapters to get into the story. My reading experience was definitely enhanced by the audiobook as every character is narrated by someone else which made it easier to keep the three main character apart. Laila Sabreen tackles many important issues - with a focus on Islamophobia and racism - while still giving the book an overall hopeful tone. I really liked how the different storylines gave us a glimpse of three different experiences of being a Black Muslim girl in the US. It had more of a slice-of-life type of story and gave the book a unique dynamic. There were a couple of aspects that could’ve used some more development and I would’ve loved to see more showing instead of telling in some instances, but I still ended up enjoying You Truly Assumed quite a lot.

Laila Sabreen’s heartfelt debut will inspire you to stand up for yourself and to unapologetically be your own true self.

First off, thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for this ARC. I absolutely loved everything about this book from the diverse characters, to the unique social and class range each of the girls came from to the emphasis of how racism and prejudice can hurt/led to misjudgment of others. There are so many critical and narrative parts that go into a novel such as this that you have to be aware of in order for the audience to understand, and while some parts of the novel were slow, I do think that the writing was executed well..

The fact that all three girls bonded of their different experiences and were able to express their feelings of anger, solitude, and frustration added a more personal feel to each character rather than having the story told from just one perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed You Truly Assumed, it's definitely one of my favorite novels for 2022!

You Truly Assumed tells the story of Sabriya, Zakat and Farah, three Black Muslim girls and how a terrorist attack in Washington DC affects their lives.

I enjoyed this book, I thought it was well written and the characters were compelling but I also felt like, quickly, nothing much happened.
I guess it didn't make a huge impression on me, and I would have liked a little more depth but overall this was still an enjoyable and original read, that still kept some very interesting elements and I will be keeping an eye out for whatever Laila Sabreen writes next.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I don't have words so I'm just gonna say: Thought provoking, insightful and as powerful as lightning, the aim landed true⚡ Loved this story about Black Muslim Women being Muslim myself!

4 stars!💖

Thank you to Recorded Books for the advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

In the aftermath of a terrorist attack Sabriya, a Black Muslim girl, starts what she assumes is a private blog for her to express her feelings on the attack. What she doesn't realize is that the blog wasn't private and she suddenly finds herself in charge of a blog that is gaining in popularity. Two other girls join, Zakat and Farah, and the blog grows. The blog called You Truly Assumed is widely celebrated as a place for Black Muslim joy but it begins to be targeted by the far right. What follows are threats against the girls and their lives and the blog.

This book thoroughly examines the hate that these girls encounter, not just on the blog but in their daily lives. The book is multi-POV and the multi-narrator so you get a glimpse into how each girl handles the comments and assumptions about their faith and their race.

However, this book is truly empowering though as you see the three girls who were virtual strangers at the beginning come together and form a tight bond and friendship. Together they stand up to those against the blog and gain additional confidence.

I really enjoyed this one and I think it provides a good look at how hateful the internet can be, but how you can overcome those against you.

!!Content warnings: islamophobia, racism, racial slurs, cyber bullying, cyber attacks, micro aggressions

CW: Racism, Anti-Muslim Hate, Online Harassment.

A must read for 2022. YA Story of three young Black Muslim American girls shatter Islamaphobia after a terrorist attack.

Sabriya, Zakat and Farah were likeable and showed that you could come from different backgrounds and work together to stop Islamaphobia. Three POV's, three backstories, three personalities but it never felt like it came together. I didn't evnjoy the westernisation of their names either, it just didn't sit well. I understood it, but that doesn't mean I had to like it.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

YOU TRULY ASSUMED (swipe for a synopsis)
this book was amazing in so many ways and it has a lot of potential. i can't really comment on how accurate the representation was, as I am not Black and while I grew up around a lot of different muslim family members, I am not muslim, so please go read the reviews of muslim people! there are many on goodreads <3 i just have to say that it was amazing seeing three Black muslim women on the cover of a YA novel!!

what i liked:
-the different povs! i loved being able to get to know zakat, sabriya and farah individually and to understand the way they think
-the audiobook- i got to listen to it and it honestly really drew me in. i loved the different narrators.
-the character growth: i feel like that in the few weeks we followed the main characters, they grew and learned so much, which was great to see and kept the story interesting
-that bri, farah and kat were so different from one another. they all had different hobbies, relationships to their loved ones, etc. but their worries connected them, as well as their love for blogging
-the way this book portrayed microaggressions. that people seemed friendly and accepting at first, but really weren't that at all
-how the internet was portrayed as exactly what it is: a hateful place, but also one that can make you feel seen and understood, where you can make friends and "enemies"

what i didn't like so much:
-the characters felt a little flat to me sometimes-> there was a lot of telling and while i believed what the author told me, i did not feel it, which might be why it didn't feel exactly emotional while reading/listening
-again, i can't really judge this, but a lot of muslims have been saying that some of the things done are wildly inaccurate, while others loved the book, so please be aware of that!

overall, this is a great book i would definitely recommend, especially the audio book version! do check the tws though :)