Highlights:
✨Six teen MCs - The main characters in the story are all Muslims. However, as Shukairy develops the characters, she points out the diversity within their ethnicity. I enjoyed all their backstories, along with their hopes and dreams for the future. With six POVs, I suggest creating a brief reference guide with character backstories to aid in the beginning. However, by the story's midpoint, the guide will no longer be necessary as the plot pace picks up.
✨Exploration of the justice system for POC - "Wrong place, wrong time" is a familiar plotline, but Shukairy shows the unfair consequences people of color face daily. The implicit bias, racial profiling, and blatant racism make this story feel all too real.
✨The Ending: Many readers will enjoy the plot twist! I’m not saying any more. Go read the book - Six Truths and A Lie

Overall, the story is both heartbreaking and thought-provoking, making it a perfect book for high schools or book clubs to discuss islamophobia and social justice. Fans of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas or All The Rage by Sabaa Tahir will surely enjoy this one.

One of the novel's greatest strengths lies in its exploration of identity, belonging, and the complexities of teenage life. The characters face not only external pressures but also internal conflicts as they navigate the treacherous waters of adolescence while being thrust into the spotlight of suspicion and prejudice. The author deftly weaves together themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the quest for justice, keeping readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. This novel serves as a thought-provoking commentary on the pervasive influence of politics and media in shaping public perception and the dire consequences of scapegoating marginalized communities. Through its compelling storytelling, the novel challenges readers to confront their own biases and preconceptions, making it not only a gripping read but also a catalyst for meaningful conversations about social justice and equity. Overall, I really loved this book.

I’ll be honest that it was a slow start for me to get into (it didn’t help that I was in a reading slump! Which this book, when I eventually did settle into helped me start to pull myself out of!).

It follows a diverse cast of six Muslim teens that come from different walks of life and find their world turned upside when they are arrested for a crime they didn’t do. From there we follow along their experiences trying to navigate the justice system of America. Ream weaves in some great commentary on the injustices of the so-called justice system when it comes to race and religion.

As I was reading each voice felt so distinct even though their stories are interconnected. By the last 3rd of the book I was completely captivated! I read it one sitting because I was truly gripped and I just had to know what happens. Also the plot twist 😳 the tears I shed for that 😭 I honestly did not expect it. It was soooo well done!

Anyways, needless to say this is one to add to your list for 2024. And the less you know going in, the better!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for the eARC.

Ever since discovering Elizabeth Acevedo, I am a sucker for books in verse. Shukairy's work here is brutal. I found myself completed sucked in worried for these characters and hoping for a good ending. Highly recommend.

Six Muslim teenagers' lives are shattered when they are blamed for terrorist actions when they're at an innocent bonfire. Life will never be the same for any of them.

This hurt my heart. I couldn’t put it down. It goes wrong so quickly and you just dread everything that's coming because you know how this all works. You know they're not going to get a fair shake.

And when the twist happened, it felt like I was punched in the gut and my heart ACHED for these children as I sobbed for them. I had trouble catching my breath for the rest of the story. I feel for all of these characters and it’s a testament to skill that I was so emotionally invested in these fictional characters.

This should absolutely be required reading. This covers difficult topics like racism, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and generational trauma. It is gorgeous and achingly painful to watch the events in this novel unfold because it feels fated to happen because our world isn’t fair and just. It feels incredibly real and I think circumstances like these likely occur every single day in smaller, more subtle ways. We owe it to one another to try to understand that we are all human beings struggling to survive and succeed. We owe it to each other to understand different circumstances - which is why reading diverse viewpoints is so incredibly important.

Anyone who loved All my Rage by Sabaa Tahir will love this book.

This was beautiful. And it hurt. And it’s essential.

Highly recommend.

Thanks to TBR and Beyond Tours, the author, and Little, Brown and Company (Hachette) for a physical review copy. This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

As a contemporary YA thriller, I think this is a success. The characters each have a distinct voice and none of them have the information that is needed to figure out what happens with the central mystery, so you are forced along for the ride to try and piece things together. The prose starts off a little in its own head; overly purple at first and repetitive, but gets stronger and clearer as the text goes. The plot itself has twists and turns and was quite interesting, and everything is wrapped up in the end in a way that was satisfying.

What I enjoyed the most: the characters, the overall plot, the twists (!), and the fact that we finally learned what actually happened in the end (THANK you for not leaving that open).

However, it also falls short in a few areas. Obviously this is fiction, so you should not expect legal accuracy, but some of the glaring inaccuracies regarding how the (very flawed) real criminal justice system works were a distraction, particularly where how things were depicted made little sense. My biggest issues were with the cartoon-esque FBI villain; not only were her actions confusing, but I actually think they would have been more impactful if she had been less exaggeratedly evil and instead more banal. The second was the main defense attorney, whose representation throughout had me scratching my head. I really don’t understand why she, in particular, would have been in the post-trial phase at all. I also struggled with the prose in a number of places, particularly when it was trying to emphasize the dramatic nature of events or keep something from the reader for the sake of the future twist in the story. Some of that got a little over the top or convoluted.

Overall I enjoyed the twists and turns of this. If you struggle in the first few chapters, I would say it gets better (but not TOO different) as it finds its stride so it may be worth giving the book a bit more of a chance.

I recieved a copy of this book at no charge from the publisher prior to publication.

Six Truths and a Lie was an incredible narrative of how one event that can change a person's life and how they are seen by others. It also shows how this narrative can be different for a person who had a different skin colour and was not of the same religion.

The main characters points of views were amazing but the one that actually made me tear up was Quays and that is all what I am going to say.

I do feel that having as many as possible writers that are POC in the publishing industry so that their voices can be heard. For me Ream Shukairy did a fantastic job and feel strongly that everyone should read this and then have discussions.

For all the above reasons Six Truths and a Lie receives 4 stars

🧡💛~~Book Review~~💛🧡

Six Truths and a Lie by Ream Shukairy (@ream_shu)
Release date: March 12, 2024

Imagine you are at a 4th of July bonfire at the beach. All of a sudden, an oil rig in the ocean has a fatal explosion. You leave the beach with your friends, no questions asked. It isn’t that simple for 6 Muslim teenagers.

Told in 6 different points of view, we have:
Abdullah - a Sudani American boy who just wants to be an EMT.
Qays - a Palestinian American who is terrific at soccer, a lady's man, and on his way to Stanford.
Muzhda - an Afgan immigrant who is crushing on Qays and whose family has secrets.
Nasreen - a Pakistani American that attends a private Catholic school and just wants to belong.
Zamzam - a black aspiring doctor, that is always having to watch their younger brother.

Arrested for being terrorists, these six must choose to either unite as one and spill their secrets or divide individually in order to save themselves.

Six Truths and a Lie will have you checking your own biases when it comes to racism and prejudices.
Both are prevalent in the justice system, while these terrified teenagers go to court and yearn for their freedom. Accused only because of their nationalities, your heart will break for these teens as the truth unfolds one-by-one.

Thank you to @tbrbeyondtours for including me on your tour. Visit https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/ for more tour info.

#sixtruthsandalie #reamshukairy #tbrbeyondtours

Six Muslim teenagers attend a Fourth of July celebration and after an explosion on a nearby oil rig, end up arrested on suspicion of terrorism. Despite the fact the six teenagers barely know each other, the police are insistent that they were part of an organization who planned the attack and that they worked together. The teens all have their own secrets and have to decide what truths or lies to tell to keep themselves from being implicated. Overall, a fast-paced and suspenseful story of six innocent teens who are up against a system that specifically set out to frame them. At times it was difficult to keep all of the POVs straight, but the author did a good job in creating unique characters that represent a range of identities.

Six Truths And A Lie is a YA book that tackles racism, Islamophobia, and a corrupt justice system. I couldn't stop reading this heartbreaking story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was filled with dread and unease the whole time because the cards felt stacked against these six teens who were falsely accused of a terrorist attack one Fourth of July. I highly recommend this page turner!!

Whew. What a story. Intense, emotional and important story. After an explosion six Muslim teens find themselves the suspects. They are caught in a political game and trying to prove their innocence, but they have to face some hard facts about themselves along the way. This book is heavy but it's written beautifully.

This is a difficult review to write. Not because the book was bad - it was very good - but because it was hard to read! The things these children endured, for no reason, were difficult to follow.

The writing is amazing, and the characters distinct enough that I didn't have any trouble telling them apart. It was scary to read, simply because I know this is reality for far too many people. I'm very glad that I don't live in America, although of course this behaviour isn't isolated to there.

This is definitely one for school libraries - everyone should be reading this and facing up to the truths in it. Simply brilliant.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

THIS WAS SOOO INSANE ??? IM SHAKING LIKE WHAT THE FUDGEEEEE THAT PLOT TWIST ??????? I'M STILL RECOVERING OMGGG

i loved all the characters, but abdullahi and muzhda have a special place in my heart <3 and omg the suffering these kids went through ??? criminal. they did not get the justice they deserve i hope kandi farveau or whatever her name is rots in jail and then rots some more because eW.

but this was such a stellar piece of work!! i loved seeing each of the six's povs and watching the events unfurl. each character had something different that made you love them - abdullahi with his sweet, pure heart; samia with her determination; nasreen with her growth and acceptance of herself; muzhda and her joyful view on life; zamzam with her fierceness and loyalty; and qays, the golden boy who had to fight so hard to keep hold onto his colors. i love love love all of them!!

this book was amazing, and it's perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus and Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed. Definitely recommend for everyone to read!!

From the first chapter I was hooked! ix Truths and a Lie is powerful, suspenseful and to be completely honest, terrifying with how real it is! There are a few characters and at times it was a little hard to keep track but each character adds to the mystery! I do wish I could have gotten to know a little more about each of them but you are told enough to make the book come together! Overall it's a complex and complicated story that definitely gives you some edge of your seat moments! Thank you Tbr and Beyond Tours, Ream Shukairy and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for sharing this book with me!

This is a book that not everyone will be ready for.

Hits:
- I really liked how the plot was laid out. It not only took time to provide thorough context and set the scene, but also got right into the action.

- I appreciated that the author did not shy away from giving readers an extremely raw and real portrait of so many important and real life issues:

The treatment of Muslim people.

The dangerous and detrimental effects of white people controlling and having power over the narrative.

When the accused are people of color, how things always have to be taken into their own hands to seek justice.

- Reflective - for me, a book is considered a “good” one if it makes me feel something. What occurred in this story broke my heart and absolutely infuriated me, but that anger made me feel something. Also, as some of the characters were palestinian, I was able to make a connection to what has currently been happening in the world and put it into perspective. This is a book that will unapologetically force readers to sit and reflect with a lot of uncomfortable truths.

- As someone who is an inspiring Civil Rights Attorney, this book also gave me the fuel I needed to keep pushing towards my dream.

- The major realization that occurred towards the end took my breath away. The author did so well in writing it because I was left speechless. I cannot believe I didn’t put it together sooner!

Misses:
- With six POVs, this story did become a bit difficult to keep up with at times. I found myself having to take notes to keep track of everything and everyone. As a result, there were moments where I was left confused and a little lost in what was happening.

Overall, a riveting and beautifully written raw portrait of the justice system in America. This is a book that everyone may not be ready to read, but needs to. It is a story that exposes the terrifying reality of what it’s like to be black and brown in America, bringing readers a much needed level of discomfort.

Woah baby, that was a wildly fantastic ride of a read.  The very first page grabs you and makes you sit up and pay attention.  I have never been so happy to sit in a waiting room so that I could read in peace.  This 387 page book is mature YA, I was gifted the knowledge prior to reading that there is a line that is toed, possibly stepped on, but not carelessly crossed, so I will gift that knowledge on to you, so that you might enjoy the story without that anxiety. Told from numerous perspectives, a group of Muslim teens find themselves arrested for an act of terror.  Strangers from different schools, different backgrounds, and different dreams for their future, are fiction, but their stories, their secrets, the broken system that they find themselves in, all feels very real.  The plausibility and commentary from an OWN Muslim author is incredible, I do wish their was more spiritual centering, Islamic framing, or even a more Muslim conscience present. Some of the characters do discuss hijab and one does find solace in prayer, but none of them really pour their heart out to Allah swt in the isolation of their cells, and in the predicament they are placed in, and it seems like they would.  Ultimately though the writing is remarkable, it has been a long time since I was truly tempted to skip ahead and read the last few pages because my heart was racing.  There is just one storyline thread that is so overly emphasized that comes close to a haram line, that I wish was a little down played so that I, as an Islamic school librarian, could encourage younger teens to pick up the book and dive in. 

SYNOPSIS:
It is the fourth of July, and the MSA kids from the local different high schools are gathering at the beach for bonfires, fireworks, and socializing.  Everyone present will witness a crime, six teens though will be accused of committing it.  Qays, the Palestinian golden soccer boy who can charm everyone and anyone.  Nasreen, the outcast from a private Catholic school there to meet someone.  Samia the hijab wearing social media star. Muzhda the Afghan refugee with undocumented parents.  Zamzam the girl with a singular dream to be a doctor, and Abdullahi, the quiet EMT in training.  Six strangers whose histories and alibies link them to the outside world, but leave them skeptical of one another as they face charges in a world not concerned with the truth.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love that the characters are Muslim and feel so real and developed. The characters are not tropes or their families stereotypical.  They know what Islamophobia faces them from others, they know what internalized issues they are dealing with, and they are not having a religious identity crises amidst everything else they are experiencing.  The writing allows each voice to be unique and clear, which is quite impressive as there are a lot of perspectives that move the plot along.  It is really hard to write a review that doesn't spoil the book, so yes I'm being vague, and you are welcome.

FLAGS:

There are a lot of profanities not just when the stakes are high, but normalized as well throughout.  There are close relationships between boys and girls.  They take about dating.  There is weed, and the legalities of using, being in possession, and being high.  There is lying, death, incarceration, Islamophobia, some physical abuse mentioned.  There is a story line of a girl that doesn't know if she is attracted to girls, she doesn't act on it, but it is something that has tangled up her alibi and she choses not to explore it, but it keeps coming back up.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

This would be an awesome mature YA book club, just like some of the characters are being held in juvie and some being tried as adults, I think for Muslim readers a little older will benefit and be able to process, discuss, and see themselves in the book.  The book mentions that it could happen to anyone, and for a Muslim audience, to recognize and discuss that concept would be beneficial and engaging.

Wow. Wow wow wow. I was blown away by Six Truths and a Lie — it's easily in my top three reads of 2024 and I would be shocked if it somehow moved any lower than that as we continue on.

Ream Shukairy did an amazing job with such a heavy subject, navigating through our main six characters with ease, grace, and just the right amount of mystery and intrigue to keep us moving forward. I fell in love with each of the Six and was racing to finish the novel.

It's a devastating read, pulling back the curtains at our flawed legal system, the biases that run rampant in our politics, and trying to go against the Machine. There were twists that genuinely took me by surprise, but when I looked back—the pieces were all there. Exactly as a twist should be.

It's been a while since I felt so physically affected by a novel, but this one managed to leave me breathless, in tears, and feeling frantic to see what happens next. Since finishing, I've already recommended it personally to multiple people. Cannot wait to purchase a physical copy.

I'll be honest, for the first like 30% of this book I was not having a good time, for one very specific reason; I could not get past the fact that the book was seemingly ignoring the laws of interrogation and youth justice for the sake of plot. I have a criminal justice degree, so I'd like to think I have a pretty good idea of what's legal in an interrogation.

and then I remembered (about a third of the way through) that my degree is for CANADIAN criminal justice and perhaps America is not the same. So I googled it. Turns out you can interrogate a 16 year old without a legal guardian present??? After that point I spent the rest of the book absolutely horrified as I learned about the way youth justice works in America. Obviously it's not all 100% accurate, but it prompted me to research things and find out answers about how terrifying the American judicial system actually is.

As for the actual content of the book, I thought this was a very strong story. I'm not sure what I would classify it as genre wise- it had some mystery, some thriller, some contemporary. What I think it comes down to is that this is a book about six people and the way their lives change because of things they can't control. You learn about each of them, you watch them change and grow and make hard decisions. I think the character work in this book is really excellent for the most part. I think Qays in particular felt like more of a vessel for the story than a real character, but the rest of them really came through. Especially Abdullahi and Samia.

The two main problems I had with this book were
1. Favreau. She was SO cartoon villain vibes. It was honestly ridiculous. I think this book could've been so much stronger without her and her very genuinely evil intentions. The DA, the other lawyers, the police, everyone is kind of cowering to the billion dollar company and the way that the American justice system already works. This absolutely could've just been a story about the fact that even people who mean well or want to do good can and do get caught up in a corrupt system. I felt like her evilness really lessened the impact of the rest of the story. Seriously, she should've been twirling her moustache and tying a damsel to train tracks
2. I was SO SO confused for the first probably 40%. A lot of the writing in this (especially at the beginning) made no sense to me. For example, chapter 4. I had to read the chapter 4 times and I'm still not sure what happened. There were also some things I'd like to have more concrete answers on. Actually, really one thing: WAS MUZDHA A GHOST OR NOT??? We get her POV after the fourth and so many of the interactions feel real with her, so I'm inclined to believe she was an actual ghost and actually there, but also the story seems to come to the conclusion that she's not there??? Someone please tell me what was up with her.

Overall I think this is a really powerful and strong story about very pressing topics. (especially the way Qays is treated because he's Palestinian). It was engaging, heartbreaking, and taught me some very concerning things about youth justice in America.

Expected Publication Date: March 12, 2024

A Fourth of July bonfire party ends with an explosion and 6 muslin teens behind bars. A person is dead, a few others injured and the six stand accused of terrorism. The six teens are essentially strangers yet each of them carry their own secrets.

Each teen claims innocence however the police continue to question them over and over again. Will they turn against one another? In response to the six being accused of this heinous crime protests erupt making this political case all that much more true to real life.

Six Truths and a Life starts off with a bang and then slowly starts to go flat. I found myself skimming page and only slowing down to read passages that caught my attention. I almost DNF'd this book several times put pushed through as the story and message behind it was important and something that continues to happen.


* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Six Truths and a Lie by Ream Shukairy was a compelling an realistic story that was unputdownable from start to finish.
This was a really engaging, thought-provoking read—the characters were all well written and interesting, and the plot unraveled at a good pace, Shukairy did a good job holding the reader’s suspense. There are some hard topics that this books deal with but they were really sensitive and nuanced. It’s a unique and really well-written addition to YA suspense shelves.

Thank You NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!