An adorable love story that meets the excellence of other Adiba Jaigirbar romances. The characters felt so real, and there were enough twists and turns in this YA romance for me to constantly keep reading. This book has a lot to say about identity, family, religion, and race--and does so in a really honest and easy-to-comprehend way. Jaigirbar is a now an auto-read fo rme!

At this point it doesn’t matter what Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé has her name on, I’m going to read it. And with no qualms. And although this was so much different than her others, (I’m guessing because it was co-written) I still really enjoyed this.

Starting with the romance, I thought it was very cute. I knew it was going to be a miscommunication plot, but I let them make it because they were both teens. Those jokers can hold grudges like no one’s business, so at least for teens the trope is still believable. Other than that it also had some enemies to lovers. And again, this is believable, but that didn’t mean I liked it lol I am just not a fan of enemies to lovers, but I know that’s a me thing. There was nothing wrong with how they wrote it.

What I didn’t care for about this? That they didn’t go in-depth into anything about the plot. It was very character oriented. So much so it was like a mosque was burned down and instead of them telling them what a mosque is and why it hurt so much, etc, they just glossed over it. I just wanted more. Not saying they had to teach the kids, but it would have been nice to show them the importance of what they were doing and why they were so hurt. They can of course use the context clues, but just using those didn’t actually seem to give enough feeling behind it. (And no I’m not saying it had to teach us about racism for it to be good. But one of the main plot points is trying to save the mosque after its been burned down. Why wouldn’t they talk more about this?)

Because this is character oriented, I figured I should talk about them. I LOVED the main characters. The sister, I knew she was annoying from the beginning. And the way she like basically kept throwing them together, I knew something was sus. But Tiwa was a very special character. She reminded me of myself actually. She was very into saving something she cared about and believed in and she was the only one that wasn’t giving up. Said was also a bit like me, with his quiet, artistic nature. I guess that’s why I loved them so much. They were forced together when their beloved librarian passes away. (Of COURSE I was emotional about this lmao) She leaves them behind some things, one of which they have to take care of together. I have to say, I REALLY think she did this on purpose and I loved her for it lol Even she knew they had some things to work out and I’m glad she had a part in them finding their way back to each other.

The writing style was bomb tho lol As a fan of both of these authors, I knew I was going to enjoy this going in to it. I had a good time reading this. They worked very well together. If I didn’t see that there were two different names on the cover, Idk that I would have known that there were two different authors. Their words flowed very seamless together.

This book had a lot going on, but it still completely delivered on most of those things. The romance was so sweet, but I was kind of left wanting more. All in all it was an easy read. I hope y’all try it out!

This was a super cute and wholesome read! I really enjoyed the premise of a community coming together thanks to two proactive teens determined to save their Islamic Center.

Said and Tiwa’s journey back to each other as friends was sweet, albeit I felt a bit frustrated by how easily this could’ve been resolved by some basic communication. YEARS of misunderstanding because they couldn’t say anything to each other outside of letters???

The romantic aspect almost felt forced, especially since it’s so subtle throughout the entirety of the book until the end. So I'm not sure how I feel about that, I think this would've been just fine if they remained friends instead. The friendship chemistry between them was sparkling!

I always love a good get together, and I loved them in this book! I loved Jaigirdar and Abike-Iymide’s writings I need to read more from them!

I loved this story! This is a great story to either relate to or expand students’ worlds. The characters had so much emotion and I loved seeing the relationships develop over the course of the story. There were enough plot surprises to keep you interested. Great work!

Childhood friends to enemies to lovers is a TOP TIER trope!!

Both Said and Tiwa were phenomenal characters and jumped off the page. Even the side characters were strong and could stand on their own. The Muslim feature of this story made it so enjoyable.
I did feel like the plot points needed to flow together a little bit better and show more of a ripple effect throughout the book.

Overall this is a really wholesome and fun read that I think anyone could enjoy!

4.5 stars
C 7
A 8
W 8
P 8
I 9
L 7
E 9

I will read anything from Faridah always. This was the cutest little romance. Four Eids & a Funeral follows Said and Tiwa. Said and Tiwa were quick childhood friends whose friendship falls apart when Said moves away to boarding school. The lost of their mentor & the burning of their town's mosque leads them to forced proximity, as they work to co-own a cat and rebuild the mosque. I really enjoyed the intentionality with how Islamic culture and race were interwoven in this story. I loved seeing how Said came into his own as an artist. I also found Tiwa's story to be moving and devastating in the best and worst ways.

My only complaint was that the end felt a little rushed. I only say this because the conflict resolution did not feel realistic to me, especially given that these are teenagers/young adults. That said, I have not read anything from Adiba Jaigirdar before, but feel this did not seem disjointed at all. I love when multiple authors come together seamlessly.

This book! This book…what can I say? This book was so cute and engaging. It’s one of the best young adult romcoms I have read lately, and now one of my favorite romcoms ever, this was the perfect read to start my summer.

While it wasn’’t my first book by Adiba Jaigirdar it was my first byFaridah Àbíké-Íyímídé but TRUST me, it won’t be the last, now I want to read all their backlist titles. This book had everything, great characters, some angst and great characters. I was intrigued to know how they went from friends to rivals and how it was going to develop. When I tell you, the slowburn was slowburning.

It was so effortlessly funny and had so many comical, funny and enchanting moments, that along with the simple writing made it so visual and had me feeling like I was watching a romcom instead of reading one.

I loved that it was dual POV and also combined flashbacks so that we could see them falling from each other’s perspectives and what led them to their fallout.

I would to see this as a movie, and hopefully someday it gets tuned into one. If you, like me are a lover of romcoms that give old classical romcom vibes this is the book for you.

I’m a bit late but thank you to NetGalley and Faridah & Adiba for the opportunity to read this ARC that was published on June 4th! This was such a pleasure to read, and I appreciated learning and seeing representation of the Muslim community including different ethnic cultures and backgrounds. I found the characters lovable and especially the push and pull personalities between Said and Tiwa were a joy, especially while they were bantering.

The relationships between the characters and their families also made me happy and is one of my favorite things about this book. I enjoyed seeing how even after Tiwa and Said’s relationship at the start was distant and tense, it blossomed over time through their shared love for the Muslim community and family. I appreciate how sensitive topics were also discussed such as dealing with grief after death, discrimination, divorce. Every part and piece went into the development of the characters perfectly and built the story beautifully. Overall, this is a fun YA enemies-to-lovers whilst including realistic topics that Muslims and POC face often. Thank you again to NetGalley, Macmillan Publishing Group, and Faridah & Adiba for this charming book.

Four Eids and a Funeral is a sweet romance about community and being true to yourself.

At the center of the story are Said and Tiwa. The two were best friends until Said left for boarding school. Now, they can barely stand to be in the same room with each other. Both characters are strong in their own right and their interplay works well.

The writing by by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar feels cohesive and comfortable. They have a lot going on but manage to keep everything flowing instead of becoming a jumbled mess.

The book’s strongest asset is the strong representation of South Asian cultures within a Muslim community. This is what grounds Four Eids and a Funeral. The authors have expertly written a book that speaks to a specific audience but is also accessible to readers who don’t have much background.

Four Eids and a Funeral is a fairly fast read that has a wholesome feel to it.

I really hyped up this book in my mind because I’ve loved all of the books by the authors I’ve previously read, and I’m so happy that it exceeded my already high expectations. How adorable! How fun! I loved Said and Tiwa’s banter and watching them reconcile, and I was so inspired by their determination to save the Islamic Center. Lovely story—I really hope Faridah and Adiba collaborate again.

I love this book. Although I’m not Muslim, my family is and I’m Arab, and I just loved a lot of the culture and references in this book. It’s not the same as my own, but there’s so many nuisances and similarities… this was adorable and sweet!! Love.

As a Muslim, I felt like this book was carved for me. I’m so happy to see more Muslim rep in books and the best part was it was also a cute young adult romance. Especially with the celebration of Eid it was so enjoyable since the holiday itself is just around the corner.

This read is perfect for Muslims looking for a romcom, clean story, and works perfectly for non Muslims to even learn a bit about Islam too.

This book follows two former friends as they work to save their Islamic Center from demolition after a fire puts it at risk of being torn down for good. I wanted to love this but it was only okay for me. I didn't love it but I will still recommend it. It felt like too much was going on. There was the funeral, the feud, the fire, family issues, and more. This also had a friends to enemies to friends to lovers romance and the feud felt fairly forced. It also felt like everything ended too neat and tidy. I'm all for a happy ending but all of the issues were suddenly solved.

I really enjoyed this story. I believe the enemies to lover trope was done well here for a contemporary YA romance. Both characters had an actual reason to dislike each other, even if it was a due to a misunderstanding that wasn't even their fault lol. I think the slow burn of this story was also appropriate becaus there was so much time between so they couldn't fall in love, or in this case admit to their feelings too quick. I like that helping to preserve something that meant so much to both of them and their community is what brought them closer together.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for this e-ARC!

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé; Adiba Jaigirdar is a wonderful YA story!
This book was one of those warm heartfelt stories that make you smile all the way through.
I adore this author's accessible writing voice so much and the story was just so great. 

Thank You NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book was super cute omg! The conflict basically in the book is miscommunication. Like that’s the thing. Miscommunication with siblings, with parents, and friends. The mayor sucked honestly. I really do wish they went more into detail with the racism and Tiwa’s grief. But the book is super cute. I was really excited to read it. Oh and cats…it features a cat so that great in my book lol

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Honestly, this was such a fun mash up by two authors I love (Adiba Jaigirdar + Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. I was so glad I received both an e-ARC and an ALC. The audio narration is amazing all three narrators added a little something to each character. I definitely recommend listening!

Plot wise, I really enjoyed Tiwa and Said's childhood friends to haters to friends to lovers romance. They each know each other so well and it makes their past heartbreak all the more emotional for it. It also takes time for them to grow comfortable with each other again... which I loved because it gave me the moments of learning each other again.

An ode to Muslim communities, Tiwa and Said join forces to help rebuild their local Islamic center after it gets damaged in a fire. I am a huge fan of YA stories with political elements because teens are so powerful! AJ + FAI capture teenage struggles amidst so much other happenings for the characters so so well.

The commentary on anti-Blackness within the Muslim community is so so important. I hope this book gets into the hands of teenagers everywhere!

What a beautiful YA story with such strong representation of diversity of South Asian cultures. Community was the strongest theme of this book, with unity in the Muslim community of a small town in the states. I loved that Said’s family added his Bangladesh culture and Tiwa’s family added her Nigerian background to the story. I think YA readers are going to adore the queer dating and underlying romance of this book. It was just light enough while also incorporating coming of age topics like grief, family issues, and friendship.

What an eye-catching title and beautiful book cover. I was drawn in and this book did not disappoint! If you're a fan of the friends to enemies to friends again to loving couple trope, this book is for you! I loved the diversity of the characters' cultures, religions, and relationships. The community vibes drew me in. I don't know a whole ton about the Muslim community, but this book pushed me to research along the way as I read about certain things happening within the community and any terms that were unfamiliar to me I looked up. The balance of humor and emotional storylines was brilliant. Grief was a strong concept throughout the story, but it didn't weigh me down because of the intertwining of humor and lightness. There wasn't a character that I hated. Sure, some of the teenage antics from the main characters Tiwa and Said were a bit annoying, but I realized it was part of the charm of this book. I could connect with these characters despite not being Muslim. This was just the best feel-good story all around.