This was an interesting, unique, and somehow funny take on a serious situation - I really enjoyed it! Nadia made some questionable choices that bothered me at times but overall she redeemed herself, and the other characters were super fun to read about as well.

Fundamentally was a super interesting read. I loved the character study and the writing felt propulsive. I'd read more from the author.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Nussaibah Younis’ Fundamentally is a debut novel that detonates expectations with a wicked grin and a bulletproof vest. It’s a razor-edged comedy of errors wrapped around one of the most volatile questions of our time: can ideology be unlearned—and who gets to do the teaching?

At the center is Nadia Amin, a British-Iraqi academic whose PhD on deradicalization lands her a job with the UN, leading a rehabilitation program for ISIS-affiliated women in Iraq. But Nadia isn’t a savior—she’s a mess. Nursing a broken heart, estranged from her mother, and armed with more theory than field experience, she stumbles into a geopolitical minefield with little more than sarcasm and a suitcase full of assumptions.

Younis, herself a peacebuilding expert, writes with the kind of authority that makes the satire sting. The novel skewers NGO bureaucracy, Western liberal guilt, and the performative politics of “helping” with biting humor and emotional precision. Nadia’s team—earnest Sherri, jaded Pierre, and the unforgettable Sara, a foul-mouthed East Londoner radicalized at fifteen—are not just foils, but mirrors reflecting Nadia’s own contradictions.

What makes Fundamentally sing is its tonal tightrope walk. It’s laugh-out-loud funny one moment, then gut-punch serious the next. Younis doesn’t flinch from the moral murk of her subject matter—she dives into it, asking whether redemption is possible, and whether it’s ethical to try. Nadia’s journey from academic detachment to personal reckoning is as much about dismantling her own illusions as it is about saving anyone else.

This is Bridget Jones meets The Reluctant Fundamentalist by way of Catch-22—a novel that’s as fearless as it is funny, and as intellectually provocative as it is emotionally raw. Fundamentally doesn’t offer easy answers. It offers something better: the discomfort of asking the right questions.

What a genuinely unique book, I loved it. I can see how some would like this to be a more serious story, with the subject matter at hand - but I think that would be an entirely different story. The pacing is great, the characters are fleshed out, and the plot is very compelling.

Final rating 3.25

Premise seemed really unique, interesting, and thought-provoking. Unfortunately, the story itself ended up falling short.

I don't mind the attempt at taking something very heavy, deradicalizing women who were involved in and married to men involved in a terrorist organization, and writing about it with a comedic flair/relief through the main character. However, I found most attempts at comedy to be cringe, and frankly, I would've preferred the story told simply.

The author is an expert on Iraq, but not much of the commentary in the book reflects that.

I did enjoy the few moments where we got glimpses into what it was like for the women who were being "deradicalized." I wanted to hear more about what brought them to join ISIS and what it was like once they got there,etc etc. I thought this would have a host of women characters and disalogue with them, but it ended up just being about the main character and sara.

Ultimately, I ended up wanting more of the very kind of story it seemed the author tried to avoid and indifferent to the one we did get.

Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis is a humorous critique of the systems in place that make international aid such a challenging task. Younis writes with a very straightforward humor, and clearly is quite knowledgeable about the difficulties of working through the red tape of the UN. I appreciated her level of detail!

Dr. Nadia Amin arrives in Iraq to pioneer a program meant to rehabilitate former ISIS brides with the intention of helping them rejoin society. Nadia is pretty inept, though has good intentions. I found her a little annoying, and sort of wished to see a more competent character. She was brave enough to leave her life in England and take on this massive task in Iraq - it seemed weird to me how immature she came across.

I also wish this book had a slightly more serious tone. I love humor in a book with serious themes, but it has to be done well. The humor in this book sometimes took me entirely out of the (quite serious) plot. This is Younis’s debut novel, so I think some of that may be growing pains as a writer.

Overall, I did enjoy this and actually learned a lot about the challenges faced by women formerly associated with ISIS. I didn’t really know anything about this topic, and I’m glad this book exists to bring more attention to it. I will definitely pick up the next book Younis writes.

Thanks to the publisher for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had to go looking for this one from the library after it archived. Thankfully our library did get this book, even if they did not get some of the others nominated for the Women's Prize. Of the longlisted books for that prize this year, this was one of my top 3 books. The writing is easy to get into and Younis's storytelling manages to be actually funny, not just funny in a strange literary-fiction way that is uncomfortable to read. The humor offsets the serious bits to craft a well-balanced novel that explores identity, women's experiences in a non-governmental charity organization and all sorts of serious topics. I hope this author continues writing so we can read more from her.

truly a one of a kind read - given a serious topic of de radicalizing women to return them to their home countries but also make it absolutely hilarious, a little crude and wildly relatable..? Idk how she did it, but she did and it deserves all the praise because 🤯

I went into this one preparing for a serious subject matter, but it was actually freaking hilarious. It is unlike anything I've ever read before. I can't quite explain the vibe of this book other than a hell yeah kinda high five for our female main character.

Thanks to Tiny Reparations and Netgalley for this advance copy.

Fundamentally is an interesting novel about a woman who believes she is doing good, but starts to learn the complex web of international aide and helping people is not so much a straight path but a winding road. I really appreciated how Younis guided Nadia through an understanding of what happens when well-meaning people start to dabble in international affairs, how that path can veer off course, and how people are just trying to a little good on a micro-scale.

Nadia as a character is a mess and Younis does such a great job of showing how Nadia continues to make bad choices, learn from them, and then make OTHER bad choices. Her involvement with Sara, an ISIS bride from Britain, is such a great example of saviorism and how we help people who do not necessarily want our brand of help.

Overall this was a great book and a fantastic satire.

Smart, thoughtful, important, and above all hilarious. I loved it. We get an inside peek at the functioning of both the local Iraqi government and the UN when Nadia, recent PhD, gets the opportunity to rehabilitate ISIS brides through a pilot eradication program. The whole thing is ridiculous but completely engaging!

Got 20% in and never found myself reaching to find out more from the story. I didn’t pick it back up for a couple months and didn’t want to finish the end.

really good mystery. Kept me on my toes and loved all of the characters and what they went through on this journey. Loved that they a happy ending happened.

Effortlessly combines devastatingly sharp and dry comedy with poignant socially, politically, and culturally aware storytelling.

This is another 100-page attempt on my part before giving up. This novel was trying to be two things at once. It should have picked a path: deprecating comedy of errors or serious analysis of the political situation.

I really wanted to enjoy Fundamentally—the premise was promising and I was curious to see how Nussaibah Younis would balance deeper themes with humor. But after getting about halfway through, I found it hard to stay engaged. The story didn’t quite pull me in, and the comedic tone didn’t land for me—it felt a bit forced at times rather than natural or genuinely funny.

That said, I can see how this might resonate with other readers who connect more with the style or characters. It just wasn’t the right fit for me, and that’s okay. Sometimes a book and a reader just don’t click.

Hilarious and eye opening novel about Nadia, an academic who flees her from her past lover and her overbearing mother to take on a job with the UN in Iraq. Having landed a lecturer spot by writing an article about repatriating ISIS brides, the UN sought her out to implement the program in real life. But it’s not what it seems. Crawling through bureaucratic red tape, the story downright makes you laugh with Nadia’s dry wit and sense of humor.

Is the UN really this dysfunctional or how much is hyperbole, I need to know!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

This book is a lot. And I mean that in the best, most chaotic, emotionally-drenched, thought-provoking way possible.

Fundamentally introduces us to Nadia—emotionally raw, intellectually sharp, and spiraling from a breakup that blurs the lines between platonic and romantic. In a move that feels both brave and reckless, she takes a sabbatical to Iraq with the goal of helping British ISIS wives return home. It's a morally thorny mission, one that the UN system seems to be pretending to support while doing the opposite. Nadia, already grappling with imposter syndrome and loneliness, becomes deeply entangled with one woman in particular—Sara, a British ISIS wife whose story tugs on something primal in Nadia. What follows is a descent into emotional entanglement, desperation, and a total unravelling of Nadia’s sense of right, wrong, and everything in between.

This book doesn’t try to tie things up neatly. The relationships are fraught and painfully real. The characters are maddening, sympathetic, and deeply layered. Nadia’s voice—dry, biting, British—narrates the madness with a kind of deadpan wit that makes the chaos all the more gripping.

Younis writes like an academic with a soul—analytical, yes, but also deeply emotive. The story feels urgent and important, but also deeply personal. And while some moments felt so uncomfortably messy I wanted to look away, I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

This is not a book for passive reading. It's one that deserves reflection, discussion, maybe even a second read. It asks big questions about identity, loyalty, trauma, and the systems that fail us—and it never pretends to have all the answers.

Pure, brilliant chaos. And it kind of broke my heart.

“Your mother doesn’t want you, the love of your life doesn’t want you, well… how about a random failed state? Is it possible you belong here?”

Nadia, after her first queer heartbreak, decides to work for a possibly morally-corrupt UN program attempting to deradicalize ISIS brides. She moves to Iraq. She connects with a funny, audacious young girl named Sara, who she sees her younger self in. Nadia becomes dedicated to getting Sara out of the camp and reunited with her young daughter, no matter the cost or consequences. This leads to her making some very, very fucked-up and bad decisions and totally spiraling. This book is focused on radicalization, mommy issues, and faith and its difference sub-sects. Can you save someone who doesn’t realize they’re in danger from the people they believe in?

Fundamentally is a witty, laugh-out-loud story that taps all the emotions. This thought-provoking story grips you from the beginning and you won’t be able to put it down. This book of friendship and faith is original and important. I highly recommend Fundamentally! I look forward to reading Nussaibah Younis’s next book.