Happy to include this title in my recent round-up highlighting spring’s top new Asian Heritage Month reads for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

Land of No Regrets by Sadi Muktadir is a coming-of-age novel centring around Nabil, a teenaged boy transferring to a Madrasa from a public school. Set in Northumberland County Ontario, Nabil navigates his new life with his three new friends: Nawaaz, Maaz, and Farid. After a bit of time, the boys discover a diary from a girl, Cynthia, who went to their school when it was an all-girls Catholic school in the 1970s. Unbeknownst to them, the discovery of the diary would change their lives forever.

I was completely swept away by this novel. Muktadir does a fantastic job of weaving together the problems of teenaged boys with more complex themes such as religion, politics, and class. With the inclusion of the diary the boys found, the novel also becomes a conversation with time, and differing religions.

I would highly recommend Land of No Regrets to anyone who loves coming-of-age novels. I think that the themes of religion, politics, and friendship make this a novel everyone should pick up. I was captivated by the writing and following along the journey of Nabil and his friends. Although there are many serious and sad moments in the novel, there is also humour and kindness. The ending was unexpected for me, so I may need 3-5 days to process it.

Land of No Regrets comes out on May 21, 2024!

Thank you to @harpercollinsca and @sadi_muktadir for my advanced ecopy of the novel in exchange for an honest opinion.

Land of No Regrets is a unique coming of age story. The plot centers around Nabil, a young Canadian teenager whose parents send him to an Islamic religious school (Madrasa) after he ventures too far from their strict rules. This move away from secular culture into religious training takes Nabil away from having freedom, fun and adventure. Nabil does make fast friends with like-minded students at his new school, but their rebellious nature, as a group, spells trouble for their time at this harshly run Madrasa.

Sadi Muktadir is a talented writer and he made this story feel very authentic and heartfelt. I really appreciated that this book opened my eyes to a world I knew very little about (I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t even know what a Madrasa was prior to reading this book). More generally, I am glad books like this are being published - stories that capture a broader range of Canadian experiences.