Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Synopsis
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 cancelled, 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.
Review
I really enjoyed this book! Told in a duel perspective you follow Jamie and Maya on this amazing journey where friendships and beliefs are tested. These characters are beautifully written. They aren’t perfect but I found myself loving them more and more as the book went on.
I don’t tend to go for books that are quite heavy in politics, especially American politics because I don’t follow it as much considering I’m from the UK but as soon as I saw Becky Albertalli’s name I knew I had to read it. Whilst I haven’t read every book she’s ever written, I loved the ones I have read so put all my faith in her writing style to get me hooked on this book and introduce me to the writing of Aisha Saeed.
This book ticks all the boxes with LGBTQ rep, racism, mental health, sexism and diversity and is discussed in a way that opens your eyes to what issues people are facing daily. It definitely helped expand my knowledge on Jewish faith and Islam.
The reason this book is not getting a five star review is that I honestly don’t think that this is a book I will read again. Whilst I’m incredibly glad to have had the opportunity to read it and did enjoy it I don’t think it will be one I pick up again.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read about fighting for what you believe in. I do recommend giving this one a read if you’ve liked any of Becky Albertalli or Aisha Saeed’s previous work!
Rating: 4/5 stars