Salaam, with Love

 

My Thoughts:

Although Dua, the main character is older than the average middle grade protagonist, this first love, Ramadan book is appropriate for middle grades readers as well as YA readers. 

Dua, her mom and her dad spend her senior year summer in New York City with her father's brother and his family. For Dua, who is used to growing up as the only Muslim kid in her school, she has been content to spend Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, as a "sort of Muslim" who is allowed to let her faith slide to her convenience. But when her family visits her more conservative uncle, aunt and cousins, she must figure out who she is as a Muslim and what being a Muslim means for her.

The story is cute and the one month of Ramadan is eventful not only because of some unforeseen events but also because as Dua learns more about her Muslim faith, the author opens a window for non Muslims to also learn about Ramadan, the culture and the religion. There is ugliness in this book, but like the love interest, Hassan, the ugliness is tempered with patience and kindness. 

If like me, this is a new cultural experience, you may also want to have students read Once Upon an Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices, edited by S.K. Ali and Aisa Saeed. Salaam with Love shows a Pakistani American Muslim family, but in Once, the editors show how Muslims are even more diverse, so this is a great ladder book. Salaam  ends on Eid, which is the end of Ramadan's month of fasting (like Lent) and is closer to maybe a western Christmas with feasting and gifts, so again, the two books will pair well together.

From the Publisher:

Being crammed into a house in Queens with her cousins is not how Dua envisions her trip to New York City. But here she is, spending the holy month of Ramadan with extended family she hasn’t seen in years.
 
Dua struggles to find her place in the conservative household and to connect with her aloof, engaged-to-be-married cousin, Mahnoor. And as if fasting the whole day wasn’t tiring enough, she must battle her hormones whenever she sees Hassan, the cute drummer in a Muslim band who has a habit of showing up at her most awkward moments.
 
After just a month, Dua is surprised to find that she’s learning a lot more than she bargained for about her faith, relationships, her place in the world—and cute drummers. . . .

Publication date: January 4, 2022 by Underlined. Author: Sara Sharaf Beg