🔊Song Pairing: Battle Scars - Lupe Fiasco

(Something I never knew until finishing this book is that Lupe Fiasco is a black Muslim music artist and one of my favourite rappers!)

💭What I thought would happen:

I thought the cover was gorgeous and that it would be insightful into black culture that I do not know of and it was much more than that!

📖What actually happens:

🗯Thoughts:

I have never read a book where the MC is a Black Muslim, in fact I may have never read a book with a Black Muslim character. It was thought provoking and such an absolute unique perspective. I am going to forever try to look for books about Muslim people who are also persons of colour.

The bond the 3 characters formed through their passion project made my heart so happy. The way they got to know each other and encourage one another, it’s exactly how females should uplift each other.

The struggles with racism and Islamic phobia that the characters faced was sickening, and yet (sadly) not surprising. The world is full of so much hate that was absolutely not deserved.

I appreciated this book for the perspectives it presents. I think this book can be really impactful in conversations about race and religion in the United States, especially for a young adult audience. I definitely recommend this to people who enjoy YA and/or are looking for a coming-of-age story with Black Muslim representation.

Unfortunately, I've been in an audiobook slump. It took me almost a whole month to get through this book because my mind has switched off for audiobooks recently. If I would have been able to visibly read it I could have finished it in two or three sittings and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot better. Still, I liked that they used three different narrators for the three characters this book follows and I think they all did a great job reading, I was just not in the right headspace for it.

I liked the main characters for the most part, but I do think there was still room for development. I especially think the relationship between the three girls could have been more fleshed out. This book has a lot of potential, but I think it needed a bit more work to really polish it up. This is a debut novel for the author, and I think that shows in the writing. Still, I think it was pretty good for a debut author and I'm interested to see what Sabreen does next.

Thank you, NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

~ This audiobook was provided by NetGalley in exchange of an honest review ~

You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen is a YA book that deals with heavy topics such as islamophobia, racism, anxiety and cyber hate. It's about finding people like you, somewhere where you can see yourself in, a community. Three black muslim seniors in high school and the last year before everything changes. But things changes faster than they expected.


❇ Three point of views with different narrators each;

❇ This book deals with really especific but extremely realistic and relatable situations such as:

- Being the (one of the) only black girl(s) in a certain place and be mistaken for them

-Having your family invalidate what you want to work (art, history, etc) and wanting you to do a 'more realistic' kind of job

❇ the thing where people have a racist/homophobic phase and then years later change but not knowing how people where hurt because of them and wanting to just brush it off!!!!!!;

❇ the side romance in the right dose; annoying-guy-I-know to friends to lovers and of course slow burn!!!! AND one of the protagonists already are in a relationship so there's this kind of second chance romance too??;

❇Not to mention, the love not only in a romantical way, familial love and friendship are a central point of this book;

❇ different familly backgrounds;

❇ development of the main characters AND the side characters;

❇ ONE. ONLY. thing I didn't like: strangely enough there weren't as many scenes with the three of them as I'd like.


❇ Quotes:
"Sadness fades fast because I'm no longer capable of being truly shocked. The only. residue? left behind is anger, quietly shimmering because if it boils and spills out of me, I'm afraid of what would happen."

"You truly assumed that the world would heal and stay healed while spinning constantly. A spinning driven parts by half-truths and rumors that gets *rikken*(idk what is the real word) as facts"

"Reading is the definition of adventure in my mind, who knows what worlds those readers are going to get sucked into? And who knows who they'll be after they turn the final page? Reading is its own form of magic"

"I know what is like to feel unseen and unheard, to read books or watch shows and not see yourself represented or to see yourself misrepresented in them."

"Everyone deserves to see themselves represented as the protagonist"

"You don't have to prove anyone right and you don't have to prove anyone wrong, you only have to be you for you."

"It was good to hear you laugh" My traitor's heart flutters.

"I have to keep speaking so that when other young muslins womem come after me and they speak, their voices don't only echo in isolation, but their voices and their words move mountains, create waterfalls, mend hearts and makes this world closer to what it can be"

"I'm not perfect but I'm growing and right now that's enough"

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I'm so disappointed with this book, it started with a good plot and the themes discussed here were really important mostly the point that terrorism doesn't equal Islam and Muslims, I thank the author for treating such a hard subject which I don't see a lot doing.

I have to be honest there are a lot of things that I didn't like about this book , the most important thing is that it seemed that the author might know nothing about Islam religion and also about real muslim girls, Masjids, Imams (there is no Imam woman and surely not one wearing eyeliner/make up in a masjid), there is no such a thing as bells to the call for the prayers, it's even forbidden, it's not christianity don't twist things. Also, there is two entrances for any masjids, one for men and one for women. There is no "Rose" as a name in Islam, it's christian, in Islam there is Zahra or Warda.

There are a lot of things that she wrote that she got wrong or the muslim people around her are not doing things correctly in explaining or behaving, stop imagining and writing things that are not true. Also, Hijab is not only a veil that you put on your head, it is so much more for the muslim girl, it's also about acting in a good way and so on. The only, perhaps, character that I felt have really acted as a real muslim could be Zakat but the author succeeded in using her to say some wrong things about Islam.

I really felt like the author really tried to play a double game, yeah, she is talking about Islam and that it's not related to terrorism and the growth of Islamophobia but at the same time, she is trying to normalize a lot of forbidden things in Islam about muslim girls that they would not do if they were real muslims.

Also, I would like to know why the author chose only Black muslim girls and their families being touched by that attack? I'm just curious and I'm not implying anything about the author but why only three black teenage muslim girls.
"People have to know that in Islam we don't look at your skin's color, the concept of racism doesn't exist, it is forbidden by Allah, we only see your deeds and we don't even have the right to judge you, just Allah has the right to do so."

Anyway, I respect the author's effort for her book and work but I can not not critisize her when she wrote a lot of untrue things about Islam and Muslims and making innuendos that I didn't like, it's my right as her reader to express my opinion, so respect it.

Brilliant read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my feedback.

This book made me cry (good tears).
This story is full of love and hope, despite dealing with some harder elements. The three main characters are powerful young women, who are loving and funny and full of ideas to make the world a better place.

I missed my chance to download and listen to this audiobook. It has a very quick date before it disappeared. I would have liked to listen to it.

“You Truly Assumed” is one of those rare books that is 100% young adult appropriate and covers multiple themes (spirituality, standing up for one beliefs, reaction to bullying, YA-parents relationships, many more!) in a way that is both easy to listen to and follow-up. The fact that each character has another narrator is also a big plus, as it makes it much easier to identify the character.

I’m not going to go into many details about the spiritual side of the story, but I can tell you that the passages related to faith are there to familiarise the reader/listener with basic concepts and is not pressing the audience to accept one faith in the favour of another.

All in all, it was a great listening experience and I can’t wait to hear/read what Laila Sabreen’s second novel will bring!

Special thanks to NetGalley, RB Media, and the author for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC in audiobook format and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

If you are interested in other of my book reviews, make sure to follow me on GoodReads!

#LifeLongLearning #YouTrulyAssumed #NetGalley

This was such an enjoyable and educational read. It's one of those rare times where I love all POVs equally. The message of this book is very important and I thought it was very well done. I think this is the kind of work that she would be in school libraries.

Book Review 📚You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen 📚 This is a book I will not soon forget. It was delightful and moving. It opened a window into an experience very different from my own, that of three Black Muslim young women. But it is essentially a coming of age story rife with the experiences common to us all in late high school: choosing a college, following a dream vs pragmatism, separating form parents, and love. The audiobook was excellent, and I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you @netgalley and @inkyardpress for the opportunity to listen to and review this book.

I really liked the story of this one. It’s about friendship, and coming together to create an online community and a safe space for people to connect and talk about their experiences. I loved the characters and the different points of view for the different chapters.

I had trouble with the dialogue though. I don’t know if it was how the narrators were reading it because I listened to the audiobook, but it just didn’t sound realistic? It felt so proper, and not casual. The rest of the writing was great.

Overall, I enjoyed this. It was a quick listen, and the story moved along at a good place. Each character has their own narrator if you’re listening to the audio.

This is a timely and realistic book! A must for all collections serving Teens! I loved the multiple points of view and how the stories of three complete strangers could intersect because of one terrible event.

In a Nutshell: A YA story where three young Black Muslim American girls become part of an online journal that aims to shatter Islamophobia after a terrorist attack. YA readers will enjoy this work more than adults.

Story:
Sabriya is an Abington, Virginia resident, loves ballet, and is only of only two Black dancers at her advanced ballet class. She dreams of clearing an audition for a spot at the summer intensive in a ballet theatre.
Zakat is from Lullwood, Georgia. She is a senior at a local Islamic school and loves sketching. Her parents, both of whom are engineers, want her to opt for more traditional, secure career choices.
Farah is from Inglethorne, California and is interested in programming. Her boyfriend is leaving for college in the summer and she is wondering if their relationship will work long-distance. Plus, her mom wishes her to re-establish relations with her birth father, which Farah doesn’t want to as he had abandoned them and has his own family now.
When there is a bombing at a metro station in Washington, the plans of these three teenagers are throw haywire. And when the suspect is assumed to be Muslim, things become even worse. Sabriya turns to online journaling for comfort. How this journal becomes a whole new movement, and how Zakat and Farah join her on this journey forms the rest of the story.
The story comes to us in the first person perspectives of the three teenagers.

There are YA books that speak perfectly only to their target age group, and there are YA books that transcend age barriers and speak to every reader. This book falls firmly in the first category. While it does its job remarkably well for a debut novel, it doesn’t go much beyond tropes. As an adult reader, I found the content generating a sense of déjà vu. But maybe the YA reader segment won’t feel the same.

The usual YA teen tropes that appear in this novel are romantic relationship issues, family issues, friendship problems, educational pressure and expectations, underdogs becoming self-confident, and over-the-top and perfect outcomes at the end. The inclusivity-related topics that appear in this novel are racism against Blacks, Islamophobia, gender discrimination, white supremacist attitudes, online harassment of minorities, and problems of inter-faith families. As the three main characters come from a variety of familial and social backgrounds, all these issues get distributed across the three of them pretty fairly.

The three characters have a distinct and equal role to play in the proceedings. I liked how the girls aren’t portrayed as weak or naïve, rather as using their skills and intelligence to make a change. The writing balances between their personal struggles and their combined efforts at making the online blog a success. At the same time, their success does seem sudden and exaggerated. We get to hear of numbers and responses but we get a limited view of the actual blog content. Perhaps a little more attention to the feelings expressed in the blog rather than only dwelling on its hashtag #YouTrulyAssumed would have created a greater connect. I am not a Muslim so I have no idea about the accuracy of the depiction of the Islamic faith and its followers, but it felt comprehensive and precise.

All in all, I found the book pretty decent and it would be a 3 star read for me – I liked it enough without its creating a long-term impact on me. But as the target reader would be a much younger person who is bound to find the characters more relatable than I did, I will rate it a bit higher. It’s a story that makes its way through hate and shows the power of love and unity. Definitely recommended to YA readers.

3.5 stars.

The audiobook, clocking at almost 10 hours, is narrated by Channie Waites, Tamika Katon-Donegal, and Lynette R. Freeman, each voicing one of the girls. They are pretty good and I found no flaws in their performance. Their voices sounded age-appropriate for the characters. The book is not character-intensive or with too complicated twists. As such, the audiobook is definitely a good option to try.

My thanks to RB Media, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for the ALC of “You Truly Assumed”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced audio copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

You truly assumed is the story of three Black Muslim girls who are reeling from a recent terrorist attack by an Islamic extremist. They are seeing a lot of backlash in their individual communities and hate crimes against Muslim people increasing exponentially. They no longer feel safe and feel like they've lost their identities in some way-- the intersection of Black and Muslim is a hard one.

Bri writes a private blog post expressing her thoughts about how Muslims are painted by society as a whole and how that impacts her family. There's only one problem. She accidentally didn't make that post private. She starts getting a lot of support from other Black Muslim girls who want a place where they can connect and build a community. This is where Bri meets Zakat and Farrah, two other girls who want to contribute to the blog.

The rest of the story follows each girl as she figures out how she's going to be part of "YTA" and also consider how she's going to follow her dreams.

I sincerely enjoyed this book. I learned so much and really was able to broaden my horizons by reading something written from such a different perspective. I liked seeing how each girl was committed to her faith and living it in the best way she knows how.

I do think that some of the scenarios were a bit far-fetched and that made it hard for me to suspend my disbelief. My only other complaint is that the voices of each of the girls was too similar-- not the narrators. Just the words and inner monologues of each girl. I think they needed to be a little more different in order for each girl to stand apart more.

Each of the three narrators was great and I would listen to an audiobook read by any of those narrators in the future.

✍️ One Sentence Synopsis: After another terrorist attack rattles their community, three Black Muslim girls create a shared community.

💭 Overall Thoughts:
This is a powerful, thought provoking, YA novel that should be on everyone’s reading list. I am a big proponent that reading someone’s story, even if it’s fictional, can bring greater understanding. This novel will do just that in creating a greater understanding of Islamophobia and how it interacts with racism for the Black Muslim community.

The three young women in this story are strong yet relatable. They are the role models you would want your daughter looking up for and yet they still have flaws— as any adolescent would. The characters make these concepts that much more poignant for the reader because of this balance in my opinion.

This book also just made me think about the power of words.
How hurtful they can be. How much fear they can cause.
But also, how they can create a community and representation. The more we share the words of others the greater the impact. So please, give this a read or a listen (the audio narration was awesome)— it was published Feb 8!

Highlights:
🧠 Thought provoking
🖊 Power of words
🤝 Importance of connection

⚠️ Content Warning: Racism, Islamophobia


Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen with request for review.

Alright so I am going to say right off I am not own voices for anything in this book so please go seek out those reviews first. Also I am going to keep my review short because I have absolutely no authority to talk about these subjects.
The book was very good. I found all of the characters to be very likeable and realistic. The idea of this book is so relevant to what's been going and while in places this book can be hard to read but it's so necessary. This is another book I would say should be in every classroom and library.

You Truly Assumed is a really fresh and profound novel about three young Black Muslim women facing the consequences of racism and islamophobia but still chosing to go forward and express themselves through writing, art or coding.
Sabriya, Zakat and Farah are each struggling with what to do after high school : dealing with their family, long-distance relationship or which college to chose, but it's inspiring to see them find some anchor through the blog they create together and express what it is to be a Black Muslim woman in the United States nowadays.

Being a white woman, I can mainly say that it was a beautiful story to listen to, especially, I think, for young readers, for that it is very encouraging and inspiring while underlining the aspects of islamophobia and racism against Black and Muslim people tho I thought it was maybe too candid at times (the advices given by the imam). And finally, I really like how the 3 readers embobied the characters gaving each one of the girls distinct characteristics through their narration.

4.5 stars rounded up!

This was such a powerful book. This book follows three Black Muslim teenage girls (Sabriya, Zakat, and Farah) who come together to create an online safe space for other Muslims following a terrorist that spurred an onslaught of Islamophobic sentiment.

Honestly, the audio is the way to go for this one because you have three different narrators for the POVs that really allow the reader to get immersed into each of the girls’ mindsets.

I really loved the intersectionality that is addressed in this story. As a Black female, I could easily relate to the fears that they faced as Black women, but also seeing how their Muslim faith was integrated was eye opening for me.

While the events in this story do move quickly, at no point did I feel like this couldn’t be something that happens within a marginalized community.

This was a fantastic debut, and I can’t wait to see what else this author has to offer.

I rated this book as an arab muslim. I'm not a black muslim american. So I don't relate.
I was so excited to start it 😣

Three black muslim teenagers join a blog created by one of them called You Truly Assumed after suffering the after math of a bombing in the metro, and muslims were attacked after assuming the terrorist was a muslim.
The idea of the novel was pretty good and the cover is a beautiful one. I would've gave it 3 stars. But no. The author felt obligated to give this falsified picture of Islam. And it frustrated me.

❎That Wudu that Zakat performed.. At least you could've researched how we actually do it.
❎High school students told the Imam that the two entrances and the two labels for gender attached to them didn't allow everyone to come to the masjid as they identied and alienated some muslims from attending prayers >>> This is absolute bullshit! It's just frustrating witnessing how they're trying to westernize Islam, how they're trying to bend it like they did to their Christianity.
❎The bell rung for the prayer >>> I have no idea what heck is that!! Like for real!!
❎ Farah met one girl and her girlfriend.. It's so casual and so cool.
❎ They have a woman Imam of the masjid with the perfect eyeliner. Which again there is no such a thing, the woman responsible in the masjid is called something else.

And so more .. So at least don't praise Islam then stab it in the back! And don't normalize forbidden things!

You Truly Assumed was a wonderful and thought-provoking debut from an author that I am sure will become a staple on every shelf of a YA contemporaries lover. We follow stories of three Black Muslim girls who connect through a blog, You Truly Assumed, dedicated to young Black Muslim women by sharing their stories and experiences with each other and all the readers of their blog. Sabriya, the mastermind behind the blog handles the posts, while Zakat adds the artistic element (and some writing as well), and Farah the technical, web design elements.

I loved reading about these three young women and learning about their lives - and struggles. While it took me a while to recognize each of their voices (I found Zakat to be the least distinct of the three voices in the beginning), I was 100% on board by the halfway mark and I needed to know how it would all turn out. Each of the girls deals with personal and familial issues while also battling the growing racism and Islamophobia threatening them in real life and over the blog.
I appreciated how the romantic love aspect was pushed to the side - while there were two love stories present in the book, they took the back seat both in the book itself and in the lives of the three girls. I found this refreshing since not a lot of YA books deal with love in this way (like it's not a be all end all for every teenager), and it gave the spotlight to sociopolitical issues, friendships, and girls' personal growth.

This is a must read for anyone who wants to diversify their shelves and their reading a bit since it deals with a lot of important issues (racism, Islamophobia, intersectionality, familial issues, etc.) - plus you'll root for the three girls from the get go!

I am lowkey hoping we get a sequel since this was a tiny book compared to how many big themes and important issues it covers. Fingers crossed.