December 1, 2019
Gr 9 Up-In Lumbard's debut novel, readers are introduced to Salma Bakkioui, a Muslim teenager who is trying to cope with her best friend moving away. Soon after, there is a bombing nearby and her classmates become hostile toward Salma, her boyfriend, and both of their families. While Salma deals with her bigoted classmates, things get worse when she is questioned by the police about the local bombing. Realizing that she is being framed, she must use her hacking skills to get to the bottom of this crime before it's too late. During the searches to clear her name, Salma stumbles upon a secret society that might have a connection to this-and future-bombings. Islamophobia is a strong theme throughout the book, from Salma's classmates making ignorant comments that go ignored by teachers, to her being physically harmed in school. These scenarios are relatable and they may open the eyes of others who are not aware that these are issues many Muslim children and teenagers face regularly. VERDICT Recommended for readers who want a relatable and realistic portrayal of a Muslim teen with the twists and action of a suspenseful thriller.-Shazia Naderi, Bethpage Public Library, NY
Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 23, 2019
Lumbard’s debut, a thriller about an American Muslim teen living in Arlington, Va., lays bare the all-too-often conflicting ideas of patriotism and tolerance. High school senior Salma Bakkioui is a Muslim girl with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome; her father is a redheaded caucasian North African Berber; and her mother is a blond former WASP, now Muslim convert, from Nashville. Salma is coming to terms with the loss of her best friend, who recently moved to Dubai, when her Washington, D.C., community is rocked by a terrorist bombing ascribed to Islamic extremists. After her school receives a bomb threat, Salma is questioned by the police and begins receiving bigoted messages on her locker. She isn’t the type to hide, though, and she begins to investigate the bad luck that suddenly seems to befall Muslims in her community, uncovering revelations along the way. In addition to keeping readers guessing what will happen next, Lumbard asks questions about government overreach, cybersecurity, and what’s at stake when the reputation of an entire group is threatened. Though characters lack nuance and the pacing is leisurely until the final act, Lumbard’s novel succeeds in illuminating fundamental similarities across religions and portraying a harrowing situation that feels contemporary and plausible. Ages 14–up.
January 1, 2020
Muslim teen Salma Bakkioui, a hacker and high school senior, experiences the fallout from growing Islamophobia in her neighborhood and at school. Salma has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and lives with her mother (a white Muslim convert), father (who is North African Berber), paternal grandmother, and two younger sisters. First she must say goodbye to her best friend, Mariam Muhammad, whose family moves to Dubai because anti-Muslim sentiment makes it hard for her father to make a living in Arlington, Virginia. Then, following explosions in Washington, D.C., and a bomb threat at school, Salma and her boyfriend, Amir, become suspects. Meanwhile, new white neighbors have moved into the Muhammads' old house next door, and although they seem very nice, Salma has her suspicions. She takes on the seemingly impossible and very risky task of investigating who is framing her and Amir. York Lumbard's (The Gift of Ramadan, 2019, etc.) characters are not fully developed: Salma exhibits little growth or change over the course of the story, and Amir's lack of flaws makes him feel two dimensional. There is a lack of consistency when it comes to defining Islamic terms. While the author correctly clarifies that "Allahu akbar" is "completely nonthreatening," the assertion that it is "not always religious. Sometimes it's just the equivalent of yelling 'Awesome!' " is questionable. The novel moves slowly, with numerous digressions that are not well integrated and that pull readers away from the main storyline. A thriller that fails in cohesiveness and forward momentum. (Thriller. 13-17)
COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
November 15, 2019
Grades 9-12 In the days following a bombing in Washington, DC, Salma Bakkioui detects a tense shift in attitude toward her at school. Her mother, a white American, had converted to Islam while studying in Morocco, where she met Salma's father, a Caucasian Muslim of Berber descent. As a result, Salma is a proud but not hyperreligious Muslim who easily passes as white. She's also a computer nerd with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and a cute boyfriend, Amir. Islamophobic attacks at school and personal suspicions about her new neighbors drive Salma to the dark web, where she uncovers a nefarious plot by a white supremacist group that dramatically puts her and those she loves in danger. While the escalation of events feels heightened in this taut debut novel, the situation itself is regrettably plausible. In an author's note, Lumbard, a white American, candidly discusses her conversion to Islam as a teenager and how her experiences informed her writing. Salma's story is a page-turner that carries a message of radical love, regardless of faith.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)