I devoured this novel. I’m absolutely obsessed with the accurate desi representation!!! And! The gorgeous, page turning, writing. This story followed Sara, a 15 year old girl going through her parents divorce, and the struggles of growing up. The important messages in this story really struck me, and Sara’s perspective on the situation was incredibly well represented.

Her growth as a character was impressive as well, and it was set at an enjoyable pace that made sense with the book. She went from being a character that I started off despising, into someone who was learning, changing, and becoming understandable. I loved how her relationships were portrayed throughout the story, and how her complicated emotions led to unexpected, gripping, interactions.

Plot wise, I couldn’t stop reading. Well, I had to pause at times to just process everything that’d just happened (and rant about it to myself) because it was wonderfully done?! The story is gripping, and keeps you wanting more until the last page. It really brings “ghosts of the past” into an entirely new light, and the bittersweet ending was beautiful. It left me with a sense of warmth overall, but the hopelessness at some points was portrayed perfectly and truly made you think.

Ok. I adored the relationships in this, and they fit so well with the theme of things changing?!!! I love how accurate it was in how it showed that people change as they grow up, and since their circumstances change with them, they won’t be the same people. Even with people you’ve known forever, been with forever, it won’t be the same. It can drive some people apart, and bring others together. This was shown so strongly in the book, and it stunningly contributed to the messages and the storyline.

I fell in love with the synopsis and the GORGEOUS!! Cover art before I’d even read the novel, along with the fact that it’s by an Asian author and has DESI REP!! Which is always wonderful. Overall, I loved this book and would most definitely recommend it!!

In the acknowledgments, Deeba likens writing this book to a fever dream, and reading it feels the same. This is an intense yet quiet story about family secrets and who we are without memories of who we were. This feels like an exploration of the pieces that create a person, and how memory is fallible. Honestly, reading this feels almost like a dream where holding onto solid details is difficult but the feeling remains. I don’t really have coherent thoughts, but I think I enjoyed this book. I definitely had trouble putting it down because I needed to know what happened to Malika and the other secrets hiding in the Amani family. This is a spooky yet compelling story that I’m glad exists and I look forward to seeing what Deeba will write in the future.

I interviewed Deeba for Salaam Reads’ 5 year anniversary article on pop culturalist and got an advanced reader’s copy of it. As of today I turned in my two week’s notice for pop culturalist as I will be be busy with my master’s program and want to focus on getting authors for my podcast. So far I’ve interviewed Annika Sharma, Priyanka Taslim, and Intisar Khanani. House of Yesterday is a contemporary ya debut that incorporates Deeba’s own background. This book also tackles divorce and it’s an important book for young readers.

This book is undoubtedly gorgeous. The prose is lovely and it grapples with difficult but meaningful topics. But also, I was pretty confused for most of the book. The speculative aspect is really cool, but between that and Sara's flashes into the past made the story really difficult to follow.

Additionally, Sara was such an unlikable character for the middle third of the book. At first I got it, she's a hurt kid, her family is falling apart, but then she kept doubling down on being awful when everyone in her life was trying to support and help her and have honest conversations with her. There was some turn around at the end, but I really wanted more time with the Sara who had grown, not just the last few pages of the book.

I also couldn't help but feel like the secret left a huge plot hole. Like not a single person out of ten remembers? It was never talked about? They didn't notice this happening? I *think* the idea was that the house literally made them forget, but I needed more explanation to buy into that.

Overall, 3/5. The rep is great and feels so authetnic, the premise is really cool, and the prose is beautiful. Bogged down a bit by details and unlikable characters. I'm looking forward to see what Zargarpur does next and will likely pick it up.

House of yesterday is a story of a fifteen year old whose parents are going through a divorce and she is losing her grandmother to dementia. But she comes upon her grandmother’s memories from the past and that changes how she sees everything.

This was such a beautiful book. I lost my grandmother at the same age Sara is in this book. Back then I didn’t want to hear her stories about growing up, but now I would give anything for that.

I started this book slowly because I know very little of the Muslim or Afghan-Uzbek heritage and I wanted to make sure I picked up on all of that. But once I got past the first couple chapters I couldn’t stop myself & I ended up reading the whole thing in a day.

I do have to warn you that tissues are needed for this book, both while you’re reading it & after you’ve finished.

This book needs to be on every high school reading list because there is so much to that teens today can take from it.

5/5 stars, truly an amazing book.

Spoiler-free review.
Easily one of the best new releases I’ve read in a while. I read the entire thing in one sitting (something I haven’t done in years).
The main character – Sara – was a particular highlight. A rebellious teenager who feels guilty over her instincts to push back against her family’s tight-lipped ways, Sara struggles to find the pieces of herself that remain in the fallout of everything that’s happened through her family’s history.
The intricate way that her family’s true story weaves into the fairy tale they’ve passed down through the generation had me in tears at several points. Her unwavering tenacity as she tries to piece together the truth of what really happened to her Bibi Jan decades earlier had me glued to the pages.
The way her family pushes back against her attempts to uncover the truth they didn’t know existed… it was certainly something that I feel will be incredibly relatable to a lot of people from similar families.
I loved the way that Zargarpur used fairytale structures to delineate the stories from each generation and how it made things seem fantastical.
I loved how you could feel that – despite the hurt and the walls Sara puts up – she desperately loves her family. The way she lashed out at them when she was frustrated felt very true to the teenage experience, especially when she uses it as a defense from having to think about difficult things.
There is cultural life breathed into every chapter of this book, from the food to the clothing to the jewelry to the family structure, and it gives the book a unique identity that is not often seen in trad publishing.
Overall, the book was a heart-wrenching, nail-biting read. If you like ghost stories that deal with both literal and physical ghosts, you’ll enjoy this book.
Personally, I can’t wait to read more from Deeba Zargarpur.

A beautiful book on the ghosts of the past and how they can affect the future.

Genre: Speculative/Contemporary Fiction
Ages: YA (15ish and up)
Available: preorder before November 29 2022 Release date

Screening: a few minor cuss words, but I would consider it clean, esp for the age group.

Sara Khan is a teenager of Uzbek-Afghan heritage living in America. When her grandmother Bibi starts to forget those around her due to dementia, Sara starts to mourn the relationship she once had with her. Add onto it her parents divorce and Sara’s own role in it, Sara feels like her life is unraveling. She shuts out her best friend Sam, her cousins, her parents, and even her own emotions. But during a visit to a house her mother is flipping, Sara comes upon the ghost of her grandmother, and in trying to figure out the stories of the past, Sara might get so sucked in that she will forget the present and future.

I was really sucked in the story surrounding the MC family and wanted to finish the book and see what happened!

This book is definitely written from the heart, and I could feel the author’s emotions as I read the words on the pages. It rang true, as a child of immigrant myself, I understood the main character’s struggles of fitting in, of trying to remember her heritage and stories and find her way in the world.

I am really intrigued to read a story with a Muslim main character of Afghan-Uzbek heritage, as I have not read stories with this unique blend of cultures, and I always appreciate seeing more diversity in Muslim stories!

I loved the little touches of culture and Islam in the book and they all shaped the characters life, and were a part of her identity. I loved the wholesome family feel and the loving nature of everyone in Sara’s life and how they were supportive of her healing process.

I think it is also super important to read stories on divorce and how it can affect children and teens, and I was glad Sara found her way through it and was able to reach a place of healing.

By the end of the story, I truly felt the message that preserving the stories of the past is important but it is also important to be able to move on to improve the future.

A stunning exploration about a girl dealing with grief and identity. Written in hauntingly beautiful prose, Zargarpur captures the struggle of a diaspora girl grappling with how her family's identity clashes with who she thinks she wants to be. A gorgeous debut!