Love, Hate and other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Maya Aziz is an Indian-American Muslim teen who dreams of attending film school in New York City and being free from parental expectations for their good Indian daughter.  A good portion of this book portrays Maya’s relationship with boys. Dating is not allowed in Muslim families and especially with a non-Muslim so she must keep the romance from her parents. Her parents’ protectiveness becomes even stronger when a horrific terrorist crime is attributed to a Muslim (who did not do it) with the same last name.  The community Maya has grown up in is suddenly consumed with fear, bigotry and hatred.
Islamophobia is rampant and Maya’s dreams are in danger of being crushed.  Will she find the strength to move on? “These terrorists are the antithesis of Islam. They’re not Muslim. Violence has no place in religion, and the terrorists are responsible for their own crimes, not the religion and not us.”
Read this book and be aware that many young Muslim women who reviewed this book on Goodreads were upset with the representation of Maya as a Muslim.  

Tessa's Picks
7-8th grade, Contemporary fiction, Issues fiction, Character driven
​

---