Rep: Muslim

Hope Ablaze / Sarah Mughal Rana

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
Hope Ablaze
By: Sarah Mughal Rana, Farah Kidwai (Narrator)
Genre: YA, Magical Realism
Number of Pages: 384
Published: February 27, 2024
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Dates Read: July 10, 2025 - July 11, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

Trigger Warnings: Islamophobia, racism 

Nida is known as Mamou Abdul-Hafeedh’s niece – the poet who was wrongfully incarcerated during the war on terror. Nida’s poetry letters are her heart and sharing them with the world is not an option.

When Nida is illegally frisked at a Democratic Senatorial candidate’s political rally – a rally she wasn’t even trying to go to, she was heading to the mosque to pray – she writes a heated poem about the politician, never expecting the letter to go viral weeks later. Nida is shocked to find out the poem has won first place in a national contest, a contest she didn’t even enter. After her quiet life is upheaved Nida loses her ability to write poetry. She also struggles with the balance of the expectations of her mother, her uncle, and her Muslim community with who she truly wants to be.

As a white woman, this gave me an opportunity to see not only what hijabi wearing women go through on a daily basis, but also what they had to go through especially after 9/11. This book was also a passionate and emotional journey – Nida had anger she was carrying as well as the feeling of hopelessness, her story was both moving and eye-opening.

I was a little shocked about the magical realism of the novel, but it wasn’t anything offputting to me or anything, just wasn’t expecting it.

Overall, this is an important read that gives the perspective of what it was like to be a hijab-wearing Muslim teen in post 9/11.

*Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Huda F Wants to Know? (Huda #3) / Huda Fahmy, Weinye Chen (Colorist)

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Huda F Wants to Know? (Huda #3)
By: Huda Fahmy, Weinye Chen (Colorist)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult
Number of Pages: 224
Published: April 1, 2025
Publisher: Dial Books
Dates Read: May 7, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

In this third installment of Huda, Huda Fahmy is prepared for junior year. She’s got her “How to Kick Junior Year’s Tush” plan that includes joining all the clubs, volunteering everywhere, acing her ACTs, and writing the most amazing essays for her scholarship applications. Easy!

But then Mama and Baba announce the unthinkable: they’re getting a divorce.

Huda is devastated. As she begins to worry what the divorce means to her family and how that will affect their place in the Muslim community, her grades start to tank, she has a big fight with her best friend, and Huda feels like she has control over nothing. Will anything in her life ever feel normal again? Huda F wants to know.

As per usual, as soon as I saw Huda had a new graphic novel out, I immediately asked for a copy to read, because every book she puts out I absolutely love.

This book, though humorous at times when Huda pokes fun at herself, does deal with heavier topics: divorce and mental health. I’ve got to give Huda praise on how well both of those were handled. She showed both what she sees within the community and how her family either deals with it themselves, or how they help her. The epilogue even has information about free mental health resources, including a special hotline for young Muslims.

I will be highly recommending this (and Huda’s whole series) to those who enjoy graphic novels that can sometimes deal with tough topics, but with a dash of humor mixed within the panels. Even though Huda is going through her parents’ divorce as a young Muslim woman, this novel would still resonate with all types of readers from all types of backgrounds.

*Thank you Dial Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Huda F Cares? / Huda Fahmy

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Huda F Cares?
By: Huda Fahmy
Genre: Graphic Novel, Humor
Number of Pages: 208
Published: October 10, 2023
Publisher: Dial Books
Dates Read: March 7, 2024
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Huda and her sisters are actually taking a family vacation this summer – to Disney World! But, it’s not all going to be a walk in the park. First Huda must survive the 24-hour car ride from Michigan to Florida, crammed in the back seat with her sisters. Then, Huda can’t help but notice all the stares her family gets, especially when they’re praying in public – back home in Dearborn, their family blends right in with the large Muslim population, but in Florida, not so much.

This graphic novel is filled with force (but successful??) sisterly bonding, a possible new friendship, and some mixed feelings about exactly why Huda cares so much about what other people thought.

The sibling dynamics are so spot on – especially sisterly ones. So many scenarios where I thought, “Yep, my sisters and I have had a version of this fight ourselves”.

I love how the author was able to mix nostalgia with humor and still be very eye opening. Her family is very blessed back in Dearborn to be surrounded with a large Muslim community, but her parents know that’s not how it will be “out in the real world” and their trip to Disney World is kind of a tester for them. It takes Huda a bit to realize that, but she still comes out of the trip being proud to be Muslim.

Overall, I love Huda’s series and will definitely be recommending her books to loads of people. You don’t necessarily have to read her first graphic novel to understand this one at all. But this one is nice for those with sisters to read a story of a family road trip – cause we’ve all been there, right??

A Guide to the Dark / Meriam Metoui

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A Guide to the Dark
By: Meriam Metoui
Genre: YA, Horror
Number of Pages: 368
Published: July 18, 2023
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Dates Read: July 9, 2023 - July 15, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Trigger Warning: Mentions of death and suicide, drowning, grief

While touring colleges around the east coast and the midwest during their spring break, best friends Mira and Layla get stranded at the Wildwood Motel in Indiana after their car breaks down in a rainstorm. But something is off about their Room 9 assignment. Mira begins having haunting nightmares and visions of her dead brother, but Layla doesn’t see anything. Sure, the place is a little run down, but it’s got that small town feel Layla can’t wait to capture on her camera.

When they learn that eight people have died in that exact same room, they realize there must be something sinister going on – they just need to find the connection before Mira becomes the next.

This was a page turner for me that though I kind of knew what was happening, it was intriguing to watch the characters connect the dots. I seemed to only be a few pages ahead of them when it came to that, so it was fun to see that I was almost always on the right path. I also enjoyed the deeper dive into grief and how everyone handles it differently. 

I loved the pictures included in the novel, especially when I would find something in them. My only problem was, and it may have been just because I was reading a digital ARC and it wasn’t formatted correctly, was that sometimes the photos that would be mentioned or talked about you wouldn’t have access to until a few pages later. Wasn’t a big deal, but it would have been nice to have the comparison within a page flip.

It was also nice to read about two Arabic Muslim teenage girls as the main characters. They talk about their different dialects, the differences between their parents, how they both practice their religion, and even the differences between the Arabic pronunciation of their name versus the English pronunciation.

Overall, this is a fun, keep me near the edge of my seat, YA horror read. I will definitely be recommending this to anyone who loves YA horror, as well as those who want a bit of a spooky read some closer to Halloween.

*Thank you Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review