Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.
GENRE:
Young Adult, Contemporary
PAGES:
448 pages
PART OF A SERIES?:
Standalone Novel
RELEASE DATE:
February 4th 2020
PUBLISHER:
Balzer + Bray
SOURCE:
e-ARC
Please note that I receive most ARCs in exchange for honest reviews but this does not have an effect on the authenticity of the review itself. Reviews on books that have not yet been released are always spoiler free. ARCs may differ from final book!
YOU CAN PRE-ORDER THE BOOK AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE/LIBRARY OR THE FOLLOWING LINKS:
Becky’s Website / Aisha’s Website
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
New York Times bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed have crafted a resonant, funny, and memorable story about the power of love and resistance.
YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.
NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.
MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.
MY REVIEW
I loved every little bit about this book. I loved how political it was. I loved how diverse it was. I loved that we get two very different points of view. I loved that it was a cute love story but it was also a lot of work too, because of the diversity of the two characters. I loved that you could each author’s voice so clearly but they melded together so well. I was blown away with Becky wrote a book with Adam Silvera and I’m blown away again at this collaboration with Aisha.
Genuinely I loved that there was such a difference in the two characters – I loved that diversity. Jamie and Maya both obviously get along but there’s obvious differences, like Jamie constantly bringing Maya things to eat and drink during Ramadan. While Jamie doesn’t mean it as a slight or anything – he’s so sweet and so kind – his ignorance is definitely something that drives Maya insane because its a HUGE holiday for her and she constantly has to remind people. They have very different personalities and very different home lives. Both of their parents are split but while Maya’s love each other and love Maya and are trying to transition as best they can, Jamie’s father is barely in the picture. I like that it was two very different people learning from each other but it wasn’t just the normal, been-there-done-that opposites attract story.
I also completely and 100% support how political it was. I thought that it was so fantastic to showcase the care that teenagers have for the political environment we are in. If you take a look around, young people care, they care a lot. There are so many jokes that Gen Z doesn’t care but its so opposite of the truth – look at the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS, look at Greta Thunberg. So I loved that Jamie and Maya started off doing campaigning because they had to but they got caught up with it because they got caught up in the policies and the issues with the opposite party and so much more. I loved it. I loved all the action and all the care. It really showcased what I find to be a reality.
Its a perfect book to be releasing in an election year and I can’t wait to preach this to everyone I know. Its a fun story and the friendship-turned-romance is fantastic but honestly the political activism of the two characters and the efforts they put in for their candidate is just so inspiring and I really think people of all age will really enjoy it.
RATING:
5 out of 5 Stars
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