Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for a digital ARC of this book.

Sadly, I decided to DNF this one. The amount of characters and POVs was impossible to keep track of. Because of that it was really hard for me to connect and sympathize with the characters. I do feel like there is an important lesson and awareness this book is trying to raise, however I think there are many things that need to be changed so that people clearly get that message. I also was really confused throughout some of the chapters as to what was happening (chapter 4??)
I was really excited to read this book, and try something a bit out of my usual reading choices, but this just wasn’t clicking for me sadly.

First time from this author and the cover is quite unique.

I really feel this book is not for everyone because the characters are really crazy LOL. The reason i say that is because knowing they are teenagers ... it seemed they were whiney and just overall entitled, which can be very annoying.

I feel that some of the parts you have to roll your eyes and go on but i did enjoy the book.


Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Six Truths and a Lie" provides a captivating experience with its intricately crafted characters, each skillfully utilizing their backgrounds to confront pertinent issues. The narrative delves into the perceptions of Muslims and Arabs in the Western context, contributing a timely and essential dimension to the story. This makes the book a compelling and valuable read for contemporary audiences. Many thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC of this thought-provoking book.

So I had to give this a rating and I hummed around about it an awful lot. I did enjoy this book and I think the world isn't ready for this novel. However, the characters drove me insane. I don't think I really liked a single one of them. I understand that they are teenagers and I have been reading a lot more adult novels over young adult but these characters seemed entitled, whiney, or just overall younger then their ages described. This threw off my reading experience so much more than I thought it would.

If it was based off just plot this book would've been 4 star. Again, this definitely is a book that no one is ready to read. It is a book I could see in a few years being banned due to the truth in it.

A Fourth of July party goes terribly wrong for six Muslim teens as they are falsely accused of a terrorist attack when an offshore oil rig explodes as the fireworks go off. Told from the varying points of view of the accused, we see how they are played against each other to get a conviction regardless of the facts.

This was a very well-written book that kept me reading and guessing until the end. As we are seeing the story from the point of view of the six, we know what they know. I was sure they were innocent, but I didn’t know who did it and why they werre desperate to blame them until they started to figure it out. I usually sniff out any twists, but the one the author threw at me halfway through shocked me.

This is a very good look at how wasy it is for society to blame others for crimes because of their race or religion. The characters are strong and well written. I would recommend it to everyone.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Six Truths and a Lie. This book was far more heartwrenching than I anticipated. It's an important look at the way our society reacts to threats, whether real or perceived, and at how precarious all of our systems actually are. Though there were a few parts that dragged in the middle and the end felt a bit rushed, I still found this book, as my students say, "un-put-down-able."

3.75 rounded up to 4

What a joy it is to watch Shukairy grow with each book!

Six Truths and a Lie follows six Muslim teens from various ethnic backgrounds framed for a “terrorist” attack they never actually committed. Six Truths and A Lie follows these six perspectives as they become ensnared in a wider political game that seeks to capitalize on harmful and pervasive Western notions of Islam as inherently backward and violent.

It was interesting to see where race/ethnicity is leveraged to comment on America’s deeply flawed persecution system that often cuts across lines of whiteness and “America-ness” which in turn frequently capitalizes on the shock and trauma that the wider public experiences following a tragedy. This has many parallels to the reactions we’ve seen following October 7th by the mainstream media and elite state actors. To have a Palestinian main character pushed to the forefront of the persecution in the novel was equally nauseating and enlightening, forcing readers to specifically confront the harsh realities of Palestinian Muslims who receive little justice in the West when they face the Law. Shukairy does a decent job illustrating how the intersectionality of it all by drawing in concepts of age, race, and “white-passing”.

However, it’s also interesting to see where this falls flat —particularly during several moments when the characters are reduced to mouthpieces to highlight the hypocrisies of the justice system which is also a consequence of attempting to balance 6 separate perspectives alongside their character arcs and interrelationship dynamics. Attempting to balance all results in stagnated character development. It's a tough act to accomplish especially when limited by the boundaries of YA yet Shukairy does a decent enough job in the end.

Indeed, Six Truths and a Lie is stretched quite thinly across these six perspectives, often bumbling awkwardly between them until the writing finally finds its footing at around 80%. This was only exacerbated by the pacing can’t really seem to decide what speed it wants to commit to, making it (at least in my experience) difficult to push through. I also found the writing a little too saccharine at times for my tastes when it comes to contemporary novels which also hindered my enjoyment. This also seemed to be exacerbated by the romantic storylines. Side point: did not enjoy the quick introduction of multiple romantic storylines, which were at times, just as quickly forgotten.

Yet, even though the reader gets to experience the majority of character development quite literally in the last quarter of the book, it doesn’t feel like a hindrance to the novel overall. I actually think this is where some of Shukairy’s best writing comes into play, with unexpected hard-hitting emotional notes and plot twists clarifying and resolving a lot of the earlier writing that I found a bit questionable.

Anyways, regardless of the shaky execution, I do widely recommend this book and I’m super excited to see Shukairy continue to grow with each book!


P.s. — don’t think too much about how the law system was enacted in the story and how unrealistic the timeline was for the legal proceedings and the trial in this book, like, at all.

I went into this book very intrigued by the premise. The unreliable narrators were a decent way to go about the story, and helped make it more raw and realistic. I liked how this book explored the prejudices experienced by Muslim Americans while approaching with the idea that Muslims in America are not a monolith in any way. The representation of a few different cultures within the Six was a great inclusion.

However, I felt like the slang closer to the start of the book did not add any layer of relatability to the target audience. The intention was there, but the execution was shaky.

Overall, the book had an important message, and the storyline kept me reading and engaged, despite some of my aforementioned criticism.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the digital advanced copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book!

I will be giving it 3 stars on NetGalley, because I can’t leave it empty, but honestly note sure what I’d give in terms of stars.

I really liked The Next New Syrian Girl, and when I heard there was another book coming by the same author, I was excited. Six Truths and a Lie was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024 and it was unfortunately deeply disappointing. I am feeling reserved about writing a detailed review, because I have soooo much to say.

The basic premise of the book is that it follows 6 Muslim American teenagers who are falsely accused of participating in a terrorist attack of sorts.

I will keep the details to myself for now, as they’d probably involve spoilers, but a few vague thoughts:

— I liked the Muslims of different ethnicities aspect
— Plot twist was cool

Then:

— Could NOT get over the fact the male main character with Palestinian ethnicity is referred to as a fuckboi. OHMYGOD??!??!? why is spelled like that ??? why is it repeated several times??!?
— I did NOT like Samia aka @muslimsnatched 🫥 even after her whole redemption ARC.
— This book did not need romance. At all. Could’ve accept a little sure that’s fair BUT WHATS W THE PUSH OF THESE HARAM RELATIONSHIPSSSSS. And one haram relationship would’ve been fine, sure reality people do these things, but why do ALL characters have to be tangled up with some sort of haram relationship just weird.
— And the identity crisis of a certain character.

Lastly, this so unfortunately felt like a retelling of The Central Park Five.🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️I know many minorities have to deal with false accusations like duh, but the way it was written I’m not sure the focus was where it needed to be.

ONCE AGAIN. I’m very sad to not be able to give a starry review, and I’m sad I didn’t like it because I was so excited for it, but not everything goes our way :(

The description of the book seemed interesting, so I wanted to check the story out. Unfortunately, it is not working for me right now. It is nothing against the story or the author, but I couldn't get into the story/characters. I may try and find a physical copy to add the my library when it is released, though, because I think my readers could like it!

Getting close to graduation, a group of potential graduates have a wild beach party. Zamzam was not going to go because she had a final in the morning, but her friends talked her into the party. Everyone was having a great time until the explosion!

Que and Zamzam try to slip away but the police show up quickly. They are arrested.

Questioning is repeated and goes on for five straight hours. No amount of reasoning will talk the police into releasing her. Zamzam sees her full-boat scholarship to Princeton slipping away!

This book is well written and shows the futility of trying to reason with a police force that has already decided you are guilty. The narrative is an aggravating but believable tome. Enjoy! 4 stars – CE Williams

I think this story is really important to read as it highlights a lot of systemic issues with racism in the legal system. Unfortunately, this one was a bit difficult to follow with the various character POVs and some of the pacing dragged on a bit. I think younger YA readers might struggle with this one for that reason, but those who can follow would enjoy the mystery aspect of this one! Thanks so much for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for a digital ARC of this book.

While I enjoyed many aspects of this book and my attention was definitely kept. It was constantly shifting from one point of view to the next, almost too much. But to be clear this is for young readers, I'm not the target audience.

So the lack of a polished story or accurate court and lawyer representation isn't necessarily as important as the message that the author was trying to say.

It was an interesting read and I enjoyed the characters and the different ways they used their backgrounds, cultures to show how Muslims and Arab people are treated the West, which is a very relevant story to read and tell today and every day.

Okay, this book was awesome. It was a really interesting look at how fabricated and fake the legal system can be, and how racism takes part in that, I really liked the little "plot twist" too.

Six Muslim teens are falsely accused of a deadly attack in this timely and harrowing examination of America's justice system, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas and Samira Ahmed.

This is an incredibly important and timely novel. It handled its themes really well and I think everyone should read it.