Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali

 

Publication date:  13th June 2017
Published by:  Salaam Reads
Genre: YA Contemporary

*This review may contain spoilers*

Synopsis

Jana Yusuf is a 15-year-old Muslim girl whose parents are divorced.  She lives with her mother and her father is remarried and lives with his new family.  She has an older brother who arranges to move back home, forcing Jana to give up her bedroom and share with her mother - much to her dismay.  

Jana is an A grade student who enjoys spending time with her friends and taking pictures with her camera.  She has also developed strong feelings for a (non-Muslim) boy, Jeremy, at school.  The feelings are mutual, but she is torn, knowing they are from different worlds. 

At a party, she has a horrible experience that she feels she cannot share with anyone.  Staying silent does not make the problem go away, and failure to take action could ruin her well being and peace of mind. 

My Review

First impressions:

I spotted this book on Goodreads. The synopsis got me interested and I marked it 'to read', after which, I received quite a lot of likes for doing so - suggesting it is popular and well-liked.

The upside:
I very much enjoyed the writing style of this book. It is a coming of age story that felt very real to me.    Jana is a teenage girl facing typical teenage girl problems (and some). She is going through the challenges of growing up in a society that has little understanding of what it means to be Muslim.  She is not perfect, she can be uncharitable (especially about her brother's girlfriend, who she calls Saint Sarah) and she makes mistakes - the kind I remember making at 15.  Her infallibility was endearing to me.

Spoiler alert!

The story covers the topic of sexual assault and does it in a way that is well pitched.  Sadly, Jana feels she has to keep her bad experience a secret, and, in doing so, preserves the reputation of someone (undeservedly) respected inside her community.  Although Jana has both a Muslim (Fizz) and a non-Muslim (Tatts) best friend, she doesn't feel she can tell either of them what happened to her for different reasons.  Fizz is related to and admires the perpetrator - so she can't tell her.  She fears by telling Tatts, doing so would reinforce negative stereotypes about a community that she feels she needs to protect - so she doesn't tell her.  Fortunately, the opportunity to talk to someone does present itself.  (It is true that it can be easier to reveal personal things to a total stranger - under the right circumstances and in the right environment).

Saints and Misfits offers some insight into a community many know nothing about (including me).  I got from it that this is a close community where people band together and support each other.  It was interesting to read about the relationship that Jana formed with her elderly neighbour, Mr Ram, who she often would wheel (in his wheelchair) to the local community centre so he could meet his friends.  They share a love of books and poetry and get along very well.  Mr Ram is a wise man and Jana learns interesting things from him.  I got to thinking how uncommon this is in societies such of the US and UK - i.e., young people connecting with older people in that way and the mutual benefit that can result.  She also helps out her uncle, the Imam, whose role involves being a kind of 'agony uncle' to people in the community.  They email him their problems and seek his council.  Before he sends back his replies, he sends them to Jana to edit, and so the reader gets to see the types of problems and the (compassionate and insightful) way her uncle responds to them.  

There is a sweet romance that begins to blossom - with Jeremy - but I found myself more interested in the relationship that seemed to be developing between Jana and Nuah (who is the hero in the story for me).

The downside:

For me there isn't one.

  

The verdict.

Saints and Misfits is a really good read.   As well as providing the enjoyment of a good contemporary YA story, this book may help to dispel stereotypes.