Just be sincere, work hard and Allah will take care of the rest.” – She Wore Red Trainers, Na’ima B Robert I kissed my teeth and walked out of the door, disgusted. ‘Men,’ I thought to myself as I banged Mum’s favourite teacup on the chipped enamel counter. ‘They’re all the same.’

Surprise, surprise – there isn’t much romance. Well, nothing if you compare it to an everyday romance book of today.That’s not right, is it, Tay? Malik’s milk is expensive, y’know. And he can’t drink the regular stuff. Promise me you won’t touch the soya milk again.’ No, Kareem, I really don’t think so. I mean, I appreciate the gesture but I couldn’t, I just couldn’t…’ If you're raised in a religioius atmosphere, you've probably seen the different types of preachers and leaders. There's the stuffy old ones, and there's the “cool” ones. The youth leaders, probably born and raised in the West. They appeal to you with jokes and pop culture references, acting like a siblinglike figure who listens to all your problems including taboo topics like sex, drugs, etc. But they're feeding you the same guidelines you learned from your parents and traditional preachers: never doubt, be chaste, don't wear tight clothing or fall outside the good girl mold, etc. That's what this book is like.

I also adored both Ali and Amirah’s relationships with their respective siblings. Both are quasi-parents to their younger siblings, and probably my favourite moments in the whole book were when we saw them both taking care of their younger brothers. It’s just so soft and tender, and Abdullah and Jamal have my whole heart. I love Ali and Ami together. They are so damn cute. The story isn't fluffy and cheesy. The characters are more mature considering their ages but I can understand they have become wo they were because of the situations both of them had to face from a young age. So the books is a Love story by a Muslim author and I love it! A great book to catch glimpse of lifestyle taught by Islam. all the characters in the book are babies. I absolutely loved the moments with the siblings and seeing them bond. I felt those relationships were probably the most developed. There were really tender moments with amirah and her little brother. He is deaf and they sign to each other and she tries to find activities for him to express himself and fjlkdajlkf IT’S SO WHOLESOME MY HEARTThere was a pause, then I heard Dad sigh. ‘OK, Kareem, OK. I’ll give it a try. It’s not like we have any other options at the moment, anyway.’ It hurt me to hear the defeat in my father’s voice. But then his voice lifted again, strong: ‘ Jazakallah khayran, thank you I really appreciate it.’ I could practically hear him pulling himself up by his bootstraps, straightening his shoulders. Dad never was one for self-pity. Ali’s mother had recently died, and him and his father and brothers were still coming to terms with it. There were a lot of elements in the story that tell me this could have been a book that I loved. Occasional hints of a greater story were hidden inside of this one. The Muslim representation was everything. This book is written for the Muslim gaze in the best way: (for one thing it’s published by Kube, which pretty much guarantees that its audience will be majority Muslim) but also it’s so unapologetic in its religiosity. There is a glossary for the Islamic terms, but for the most part they’re included in the main text without explanation, which makes it all feel so natural and authentic. I think there are enough context clues for it to make sense to a good-faith non-Muslim reader, but it’s not for them, and Na’ima B. Robert isn’t interested in explaining or justifying anything that might seem odd to them.