A lovely book about navigating life as a second generation Indian Muslim in terror-filled America. First dates, first loves, defying parents, Maya has her senior year cut out for her.

This is a beautiful story with really great and interesting characters. Maya was so easy to like and get interested in. I enjoyed her funny interactions with both the boys she dated, her friend and her aunt. I wanted so much for her to get to go to film school and get what she wanted.

The racism and terroism attack made it really interesting, especially with the bomber sharing Maya's last name, showing an important glance into what it's like to be Muslim after an attack. It showed the way that people are quick to take "revenge" on the Muslims in their community, taking out their anger on innocent people.

I enjoyed every twist and turn of this book, watching Maya struggle to free herself from the overprotectiveness of her parents and chase her dreams of filmaking. I would definitely read more from this author.

3,5 stars / 5 | 16/20.

Love, Hate & Other Filters is more than a story about racism, islamophobia and white supremacist. It's not a story about Hate -well, not only. It's a story about Love, and Hope, and Family, and Friends.

Of course, Samira Ahmed talks about all these topics that matters and that are a major problem in our society nowadays. But she talks more about Maya and everything she is and wants for herself. And when we meet Maya, we meet a sweet teenager with dreams all over her head, a fierce passion for film-making, important Indian roots, and a loving family and supportive friends.

I love all the characters in this story (except Brian, we all agree on this). Maya's parents who love her in their own way. Hina, her aunt, who supports her no matter what. Violet, the caring best friend who always has her back. Kareem, sweet Kareem, who is very understanding and listen to Maya with a great heart. And Phil, a good guy who tries his best and accept Maya for who she truly is.

This is a story I called "Happy/Sad". It's kind of a feel-good story and it's not at the same time. It is, because Maya is a brave girl loved by her close friends, who dream about freedom and future, who aspire to be herself and seize the day. It is not, because ordinary racism is part of her life and people can be rude to her -like people are rude everyday in real life with Muslim people and POC, and this is a reality we can't even escape in fiction.

In conclusion, I recommend this book for this deep Happy/Sad feeling and for the characters. Even if I had higher exceptations at the beginning, I still truly enjoyed this reading.

Maya Aziz wants to go to NYU and study film. The only problem is that's not the dream her parents see for her. Her parents want her to go to school close to home and study something more practical. Maya is in a constant battle with herself to be the girl who her parents want her to be and the girl her heart wants her to be. To break away from the traditions set for her by her culture and what's expected of her by her family. Everything gets even more complicated when a terrorist attack happens in her state, and the suspected perpetrator shares her last name.

This book was fantastic I loved the writing and seeing inside Maya's cinematic mind. I enjoyed how she saw the beauty in moments we often overlook. I loved the romance in the story and how it started as a friendship and a crush and built into so much more.

From the synopsis, I thought this book would offer a unique and insightful story on terrorism from a Muslim-American’s perspective. I think its fantastic that the topic of Islamophobia is mentioned and awareness is being raised. However, I wish this was the centre of the story. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of a run-of-the-mill preteen romance novel, with Islamophobia and terrorist attack becoming the background plot. I was extremely disappointed. The problems and issues that arose from the terrorist attack were very easily taken care of when they should have been complicated. Maya also never talks about what she thinks about her religion. She clearly has different thoughts and ideas than those her parents have on everything, but this is not even touched-upon.

Furthermore, I enjoyed very much the cultural tensions Maya’s choices caused for her. One thing I think is pretty universal is how difficult it is for children to clash with their parents’ expectations for them. Maya was not in an easy position, caught between pursuing the life she wanted at the possible expense of her family connections and preserving family ties at the expense of her own professional happiness. That is no small thing to deal with, and I found this aspect of the novel engrossing. However, Maya was extremely unfair to her parents in certain situations. Sometimes she had the right to be a little annoyed, but other times she acted exasperated by them when they were being totally reasonable.

Writing all this is uncomfortable for me, because I am not a person of color, and it’s hard for me to critique how someone who is chooses to write about a character’s experiences of her world. For me, this book was a let-down because I wasn’t getting out of it what I hoped to get. If the author had dug a little deeper, it could’ve been a masterpiece, but it was just fluffy, and not everything in it was supposed to be fluffy.

To start with I have to shout about how great it is to have more Muslim representation in books!  YA is doing so well recently with representing all kinds of characters, it is a great time to be reading!

Now that I've done that, onto the book!

Love, Hate and Other Filters focuses on Maya, a Muslim Indian-American girl who dreams of being a film-maker, but is torn between the expectations put on her by her parents, and the life she wants to lead.

The supporting cast in this was great!  Maya's best friend, Violet, is pretty badass and is always standing up for Maya and supporting her.  I would like to have seen more of her.  But my real stand-out secondary character has got to be Maya's aunt, Hina.  As an unmarried graphic designer, she embodies what Maya wants to be, rather than getting married, having children and giving up on her dream of being a film-maker.

I was surprised by the focus on romance in this story.  It really wasn't the focus that I was expecting it to take given that the blurb sells it as the story of the fall out on a young Muslim girl following a terrorist attack.  Having said that, the romantic plot is very sweet and fluffy and makes you feel kinda warm inside so I didn't have a problem with the romantic aspect.

Surrounding this romantic plot is a serious look at racism and the way that it can effect the lives of individuals.  I think that this is definitely something that needs to be talked about it and it was great to see it in this book, but I really felt that it played a secondary plot point to the romance which I was disappointed by.  I thought that there was so much more that could be said and explored that wasn't even touched upon.  This particular point of the story felt a bit rushed when really it needed more time on the page.

I liked the way that at the beginning of every chapter you get a small insight into the thoughts of the terrorist.  It really built up the tension before the attack and provided a different perspective, eventually challenging the reader's perceptions.

There is a lot of exploring of Indian culture in this book as Maya tries to work out her identity as a Muslim Indian-American.  As someone who is neither Muslim, nor Indian, I can't comment on the accuracy of the representation of these cultures, but I really enjoy reading books that are set in cultures different to my own.  There was so much talk about delicious sounding food that it made me hungry just reading about it!

There is a lot to like about this book, but it definitely wasn't what I thought it was going to be!  I think that unfortunately that has shaped my opinion of it and led to me being a bit disappointed it wasn't the book I thought it would be.  Don't let this put you off though!  It is still a well written and enjoyable book that touches on important issues and still manage to give you warm fuzzy feelings.

I adored Ahmed's fresh take on things in Love, Hate and Other Filters, I liked it more because it's a real reality that so many individuals like Maya have to face day to day, they just want to get on with their lives and go to college, but then when attacks like suicide bombers happen, everyone just wants to lump everyone together based on their colour or even surname without even taking the time to get to know the person. And I really did feel for Maya, she just about convinced her parents to let he go to New York, and then this happened and I could understand her parents being worried and changing their minds about letting her go. It was a fierce reality for someone like Maya to deal with, when she hadn't done anything wrong. Despite it being a difficult read at times, I enjoyed taking on this journey with Maya, her trying to figure out her place in the world and discovering love. Love, Hate and Other Filters was not only an eye opening read with the harsh realities that people have to deal with, but also a poignant read.

A sweet romance story. I liked Maya - mostly. I did think she was sometimes a little whiny. She reminded me a little of Marilyn from In Search of Us with her habit of framing everything as a movie scene. It was a good way to get the descriptions across without spending a lot of time on it.
The things that happened to Maya and her family were awful. I hate that this is reality for a lot of people nowadays. I devoutly hope that one day people will read this and talk about how unrealistic it is.
Like a lot of reviewers, I thought it was strange in a novel that was about Muslimophobia that Maya's faith was basically non-existent. However, for all I know that's extremely accurate for teenagers raised in America.
A great read, and hopefully not the last one by Samira.

Receiving an ARC did not alter my review in any way.

Being a teenager is hard. I’m 34 and work in a school and I do not envy my students youth one bit. If they are going through even half of what the protagonist of Love Hate & Other Filters is going through then they have things pretty tough; you wouldn’t get me going back to that age for a big clock!

Maya is a young, talented, pretty girl. She is ambitious. She wants to study film in New York and she wants to kiss a boy. Ok that last one doesn’t seem like the biggest ambition but to Maya who has lived a cosseted life due to her strict Indian upbringing it is something that she would like to try.

Alas, Maya seems to be struggling against most things such as liking a boy, snarky people in her school and general teenage life worries. Throw in the added extra of seriously overprotective and intrusive parents and - as you can imagine – Maya’s life is just that extra bit difficult. Many of the readers of Love, Hate & Other Filters will be able to relate.

I really enjoyed this young adult fiction novel and the reason I liked it is because I wasn’t reading in a passive manner. There were times when I was reading Love, Hate and Other Filters that I felt the same feeling of claustrophobia that Maya felt. Ahmed has so accurately and positively described that feeling that I found myself getting frustrated at her parents as if they were mine.

Besides normal teen angst, Love, Hate & Other Filters deals with hate crime and racism in a powerful way. It leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Love, Hate & Other Filters is one of the best books that I have read in the Young Adult genre.

Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed is available now.

For more information regarding Samira Ahmed (@sam_aye_ahm) please visit www.samiraahmed.com.

For more information regarding Hot Key Books (@HotKeyBooks) please visit www.hotkeybooks.com.

Basic Keywords and Intro:

- Own Voices: Muslim debut Novel
- YA Contemporary
- First Person Point of View + 3rd person interludes
- A Coming of Age Novel
- Maya, an Indian-American Muslim teen, faces Islamophobia after a horrific terror attack occurs.
- Maya is also torn apart between being a good girl & doing everything her parents expect of her, and following her dreams & maybe dating a guy whom I won’t say his name.
- The switch between fluffy moments and some twisted real life current events, is done so well.

“I’m scared for the hijabi girls I know getting their scarves pulled off while they’re walking down a sidewalk—or worse. I’m scared of being the object of fear and loathing and suspicion again. Always.”

Points to address:

1. Indian Muslim Teen Protagonist.

- Own Voices
- I love how this book isn’t a 100% depiction of what being a Muslim or/and Indian is.
- The line between what the Indian culture or/ and what Islam is, is very clear and obvious.
- This is what books need to be doing.
- Some people loved the Rep, while others disliked it.
- This proves the following quote to be true.” Don’t confuse the message with the messenger.
- Honestly, I strongly believe that we need to have stories from all messengers.

2. Writing Style

- Very easy and fast to read.
- Samira is going to treat you to a feast that will satisfy your senses.
- The third person interludes…………

3. Balancing themes

- When I started reading the book, it was so cute and fluffy that I forgot the book’s blurb.
- When the terror attack happened, I was like nooooooo!
- Why can’t we have a nice fluffy story with a Muslim Protagonist.
- However, it was unfortunately very accurate when it came to representing the current world that we live in.
- The author managed to swiftly cover both topics adequately.

4. Other characters

- From bigotry driven characters, to friendship goals, this book bears it all.
- Fictional characters that I need in my very un-fictional, very realistic life would be Violet and Hina.
- If I need to pick one of them, then I definitely need Hina in my life
- Both of those characters were very supportive whenever Maya needed them.

5. College vs thy dream career

- I really loved how the book covered this topic.
- Maya is into filmography.
- Her love for filming is more than just a hobby; it is who she is.
- Of course, her parents want her to get a degree in something that will guarantee a secured, well payed job when she graduates.
-This aspect on its own managed to touch my soul, and woke up 17 years old me.

“Everyone at the party was telling me you’re so thin,” she adds. There is no acceptable in-between for Hyderabadi moms. You’re either too skinny or a little too chubby.

Things I liked:

- How this book isn’t a 100% depiction of what being a Muslim or/and Indian is.
- The third person interludes.
- Mixing the fluff with the ugly truth.
- HINA!!!!!
- The “ following my dream vs Parent’s opinion” theme.
- LHAOF is a brilliant, own voices debut novel!!!



Things I didn’t like:

- I didn’t get to see Maya’s thoughts on her religion.
- We get to see her parents talking about it.
- We get to see Kareem mention it, but nothing from Maya.


I received an eARC in exchange with an honest review.

Love, Hate & Other Filters is really a book of two halves. It begins as a high school romance, with Maya trying to make the choice between Kareem, who her parents like and who understands what it is to be an American child of Indian parents, and Phil, who she has known forever and who her parents would never approve of for their daughter. It begins as the story of a girl who sees filmmaking as her life and her passion and whose parents see it as a nice hobby for her to have while she trains to be a doctor. It's a coming of age story, with Maya trying to make her own path and go after the life she wants and the person she wants to be, even against her parents' wishes.

Then the terrorist attack happens and, just as these things do in real life, it completely changes the story out of nowhere. This is no longer a story about a girl trying to choose between two boys, it's now a story about a girl facing abuse for her religion and ethnicity from a boy at school who thinks that she deserves to be prosecuted for the actions of others. It's now about Maya's parents refusing to let her go to New York, not because they don't approve of her passions, but because they fear for her safety. The second half of Love, Hate & Other Filters is a heartbreaking story of prejudice and fear.

The switch between these two halves is sudden and jarring. The reader sees some of the lead up to the attack but it still feels like a shock when it happens, and the fallout that Maya and her parents experience is truly upsetting. Maya's entire life is thrown out of balance because of the reaction of one boy at her school to this attack and it's hard and important to read about.

It's easy to see that the jarring nature of the switch in tone makes a point about how these things come from nowhere, but at the same time, the message of this story may have been stronger if more time had been dedicated to the events after the attack, rather than spending quite so many pages on Maya's love triangle. It feels like a slightly missed opportunity that she has already pretty much made her choice between the two boys before this huge change happens in her life, although, of course the events after the attack do still have some bearing on the ultimate outcome. Nevertheless this is most definitely a timely novel, which makes some extremely important observations, and I would certainly recommend it.

I did not finish this book. It was full of instalove and I felt it gave into a lot of sterotypes. Both boys were sleezy and Maya didn't seem to acknowledge this in any way. Very disappointing.

There’s a shooter. No, it’s a suicide bomber. A plane is missing. There are dozens of victims. Wrong. Hundreds are dead. It’s a truck bomb. It’s poison gas. The building was leveled. The National Guard is being called up. The army has been deployed. The president has moved to an undisclosed location. All schools and government buildings are on lockdown. No one is allowed in or out. Parents are at the school doors demanding to get their kids. Police are stationed at the entrances of the high school. There’s a steady flow of news and innuendo, and it’s hard to discern the truth. I’m frozen. My fingers curl tightly around my phone. The entire room is in chaos, but I see the action as if through the blades of a whirring fan. Disjointed and surreal. My stomach lurches. A terrorist attack. Another tragedy. Is there no end? Is this how life will always be? I want to know more, but there is one piece of information I absolutely hope I don’t hear. I whisper a prayer to the universe. “Please, please let everyone be okay. Please don’t let it be a Muslim.” I know I’m not the only one hoping for this. I know millions of American Muslims— both religious and secular— are echoing these very same words at this very same moment. I know I’m not a very good Muslim, but I hope my prayers are heard. Prayers for the dead and wounded. Prayers for ourselves. Prayers for peace, hoping that no more lives are lost to hate. I’m scared. I’m not just scared that somehow I’ll be next; it’s a quieter fear and more insidious. I’m scared of the next Muslim ban . I’m scared of my dad getting pulled into Secondary Security Screening at the airport for “random” questioning. I’m scared for the hijabi girls I know getting their scarves pulled off while they’re walking down a sidewalk—or worse. I’m scared of being the object of fear and loathing and suspicion again. Always.

Wanted to read this as soon as I heard of it – I am always looking for more diverse books, especially ‘own voice’ books as I believe one of the most important things we can do is widen our own worldview by looking at it from another perspective. In many ways, fiction can do this much more effectively and emotionally than news reports or textbooks although those also play a role in learning about the world.

I thought Maya was a very realistic character and I liked how she spoke passionately about her dream and took steps to make it a reality. I especially liked the character of her aunt as she seemed independent and happy, even without a man in her life (I would like this kind of character regardless of religion or nationality, but it is even more important to have positive representations of Asian women as they are sometimes lacking in popular media). Unfortunately, a lot of her film references were lost on me as I have seen embarrassingly-few movies, but I plan to check out a few mentioned in the book now!

The other characters were also interesting though would have liked to see her mum as more fleshed-out than that standard stereotype of a mum pushing her daughter to be the perfect wife. I also loved the description of the oasis of peace where Maya can withdraw and be herself, and found her dilemma over following her dream versus keeping her family happy interesting to read. Her camera forms a barrier, a shield , a mirror and a filter through which she frames her experiences. Maya’s challenges facing the stereotypes of those around her after a supposed terrorist attack also make for heart-rending reading.

Carnage leaps, bleeding, from the television screen. Over and over on the news, it’s the same image: the massive neoclassical building that used to take up an entire city block. One-third of it has been sheared off by the strength of the bomb. It looks like a giant meteor crashed through the roof, obliterating stone into dust. Bent steel beams and the pulpy ends of impossibly twisted floors are all that remain. I sit on the edge of the sofa, my fingers digging into the fabric. Waves of nausea prevent me from eating anything but saltines and ginger ale. Death is everywhere. And the pit in my stomach grows and grows. The ten o’clock nightly news confirms my quiet worry. The FBI holds a press conference at the site, corroborating hearsay that a passport found at the crater belonged to Kamal Aziz, an Egyptian national. They believe he is the suicide bomber.

It’s selfish and horrible, but in this terrible moment, all I want is to be a plain old American teenager. Who can simply mourn without fear. Who doesn’t share last names with a suicide bomber. Who goes to dances and can talk to her parents about anything and can walk around without always being anxious. And who isn’t a presumed terrorist first and an American second.

What I liked: This is such an important and timely book – we need more ‘own voices’ in publishing and we need to encourage everyone to read more widely to appreciate the world from other points of view.

Even better if: I would have liked to hear more from the main character about her faith and how her religion had an impact on her daily life – I feel like we heard a lot about her culture and what it is like to be a second-generation immigrant with parents who still have expectations from their home country, but not so much about Islam.

How you could use it in your classroom: Buy a few copies for your class library, pass a few out to readers who might enjoy it or, even more importantly, to those who might not enjoy it but need to read it to widen their worldview.
See this review and others on my blog: https://chrikarublog.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/book-review-love-hate-and-other-filters/

An enjoyable read and definitely an important book for its Muslim and Indian representation but the book also focused too much on romance, a romance I did not feel at all. The author tackled the issue of islamophobia and its effects really well and I wish she'd delved into that topic a bit more.

I also struggled with Maya as the protagonist. While I love how passionate she is about film and how she wants to pursue that dream with no stopping her, but I felt that she relies too much on boys to define her happiness. Moreover, I couldn't get behind Maya and Phil as a couple. I felt no chemistry at all between them and I never warmed up to Phil, I don't even know why.

The secondary characters were awesome, though, Violet, Hina and Kareem captured my heart so fast, I love them! And all the food mentioned throughout this book made me so hungry and my mouth water!

This is a solid debut novel and I definitely want to check out more of her work in the future.

Love, Hate & Other Filters was a lovable, relatable, and moving read. Romance is not my genre, and I tend to avoid it if I can help it, but the promise of an #OwnVoices look at an Indian-American Muslim teen facing Islamaphobia drew me in, and the rest of the novel refused to let me go.

The story is about Maya, a seventeen year old girl struggling to balance the life her parents hope for her to have with the life she wants for herself. The relationship between Maya and her parents, as well as her aunt Hina, was such an interesting dynamic. Maya clearly wants to make her parents happy, but her passion about film making and living with two cultures means that she doesn't always do as they expect or desire. 

For the first half of the book, the story is almost entirely a romance. I was kind of nervous about this, because romance books aren't normally my thing. But I adored this love story! I loved how Kareem became a brother to Maya despite them meeting on different terms. And Phil was actually the sweetest. Even though he seems like the typical unattainable jock guy, he and Maya have such a strong connection. Often I find when romance is the main plot, everything else in the story feels written around that. But this didn't read like a love story with college and family and movie references thrown in. It felt real, and the connection between the characters felt real. Their relationship was fluffy and made me smile.

The way that Samira Ahmed deals with Islamaphobia in the novel is powerful and very genuine. The sections at the end of every chapter leading up to the terror attack were haunting, and the treatment Maya's family faces due to their religion was terrifying. It wasn't quite to the level of political and social discussion as The Hate U Give, which was the impression I got from the blurb, but it was a very real experience. The thoughts on this were so profound, and the author definitely did it justice. 

I would have liked to have seen more of how Islam is a part of Maya's life. She identifies as a Muslim, but I would have been interested to see more of what that meant to her. I also I kind of hoped that there would be a stronger sense of Maya finding a balance between her home life and her love/social/school/college life rather than them being utterly separate. I am from a Muslim family and I know that finding that balance between cultures isn't easy, but it is possible for them to coexist. Yet I feel like in this book they were kept mostly as two separate worlds. Having said this, the final chapters end on a hopeful note, and this open ending was filled with possibility.

Love, Hate & Other Filters is ultimately a romance novel with a deeply personal look at family, cultural disconnect, and Islamaphobia. The protagonist's experiences are relatable, and the story is filled with movie references and brilliant cinematic framing that pulls you straight into the story.

"The wind blows off my old, scorched feathers, and my new wings let me soar."

Following Maya, an Indian-Muslim, American teenager about to head to university/college, this story was full of several twists and turns. Desperate to live her dream and study Film at NYU, Maya knows her parents won't approve, and not to mention her crush on childhood friend Phil, a white American jock who definitely doesn't fit her parents ideals for her. Struggling to live the life she wants, and trying her hardest not to upset her strict parents, the last thing she needs is the world to turn against her. But that is exactly what happens, when one afternoon a terrorist attack happens in the city.

Maya knows what this will mean for her, being born to a Muslim family has never been easy, but with each new terrorist attack, life just gets harder.
This book was incredibly thought provoking, giving an insight not only to the Indian-Muslim culture, but also the implications that things such as terrorist attacks have on everyday people, who just so happen to be a certain race or practice a certain religion.

As a white female, I cannot say that I completely understand any of what Maya goes through, especially concerning religion, so anything I say is not necessarily set in stone. I don't want, nor intend, to imply that I know exactly how it feels, and understand why some people may be offended by this book, but given that the author is also Indian-Muslim, I trust that she knows what comes with the 'label'.



For me, this story was very 'fluffy' in places, but when it came down to it, the focus on race and the aftermath of a terrorist attack was extremely well written. Maya was a very strong character, with a plan to move to NYU and study what she wanted instead of the Law degree her parents wanted her to do. Her crush on Phil was well developed, and somewhat justified, but ultimately I think I preferred Kareem, despite the almost insta-love plot line.

Samira does a fantastic job of expressing the conflict between Maya and her parents in the first chapter alone. A modern, American teenager, Maya has dreams to pursue her hobby, but her parents want her to stay close to home and study Law. The relationships in this book were great, the conflict, the love, the friendships, every little thing felt real, and this is despite the instalove and the gooeyness. But there were times that I felt like the characters were a bit cliché, especially Maya and Phil, and some of Mayas actions made me question her.

The thing with Maya was I loved her independence, her ability to take things in her stride and not let the world know it was getting her down, but I also thought sometimes she could be extremely spoiled and childish. She was flawed, and I tend to love that in characters, but for example, one minute she's gushing over Kareem, and the next she's suddenly not interested because her mother thinks they'd be a perfect match. It was like she was that focused on rebelling that she didn't care too much about hurting other peoples feelings.

And Phil really did annoy me at times. He's got an on-again off-again girlfriend, as jocks often do in YA, but he never clarifies whether he's in a relationship to Maya. He clearly likes Maya and makes several moves on her, even defending her several times, but he pretty much leaves her in the dark, and when things get difficult, he suddenly disappears. There was a chunk of the book where Maya is really struggling, and instead of being there for her, he seems to take a massive step back and disappear off the map altogether. But ultimately I found myself liking Phil. He stands up for Maya when no one else will, and his affection for her is incredibly clear. The fact he takes her to his safe haven was a lovely point during the story, and quite important. Yes, the guy has his faults, but he's also got a soft side and you can really tell he cares.

The side characters were well written, with Maya's parents being what I would assume to be traditional Indian parents, her aunt being the quirky 'rebel', her best friend being a stereotypical popular girl, and Kareem being the 'boy next door who is more like a brother'. I honestly loved all of them, and could imagine them being real people I could know in the real world.

In terms of plot, I fell in love with the writing. For each chapter we see a different perspective at the end, that of the terrorist, or a friend or colleague. It added something to the book I don't think would have been there if we'd only seen Maya's perspective. The fluidity of the writing really took me by surprise. About half way through the book when 'the big event' happens I found myself unable to put the book down, unable to wait for the inevitable plot twist (there's always a plot twist), and I raced through, loving every sentence. Up until that point, it had read just like every other YA contemporary I'd ever read, but the turning point really made this stand out. Samira did a really good job with both the aftermath and the plot twist, and you wouldn't believe this was a debut novel with the clarity she writes with.

This is definitely worth a read. If you want to read diverse, if you want to see things from another perspective, but you don't want to read something too serious and difficult, this is perfect. The mixture of contemporary romance and hard hitting subjects really makes this stand out from the crowd, and I can't wait to see what Samira writes next, because I just know I'll be picking it up.

It’s an #OwnVoices novel told from the perspective of an American-born Muslim teen, and for any YA reader picking up more and more diverse books, this one is pretty special. In terms of writing style, it uses the first person and the present tense, which can put anyone right in the moments and straight into Maya’s head. The story itself has many layers that, when peeled one by one, can both be eye-opening and relevant even to those not from an Asian cultural background, an Islamic upbringing, or an nth-generation immigrant family. I loved how Maya’s coming-of-age, including her pursuit for passion and for romance (there’s a love triangle, if you’re into that; also, the swoon between Maya and Phil can get real)—two things that anybody in the world can relate to, was embedded in timely issues such as Islamophobia, terrorism and racism—three things everybody in the world should learn more about.

This was a quick light read and I would say more romance focused than focused on the topic of Islamaphobia. That part was perhaps brief and then sorted out swiftly, although it did show racism and prejudice, from just one character though.

I was glad to read a book, however, that is written by a Muslim woman and whose main character is Muslim. (Being a Muslim myself it's definitely something I get behind). Although it's true that it won't be relateable to all Muslims which is understandable. Maya Aziz is an Indian Muslim so her family follow along with that culture, their speech, food, values all reflect that. Myself, for example, am a half Arab and my upbringing was something although not entirely different but that just teaches you to not put all Muslims in the same box. Don't expect to read about a character like yourself.

Maya is a cute character and I can understand her reasons for disobeying her parents especially when your dream is stamped upon and they won't stand by you in it. I get that. I also get falling for a non-Muslim boy rather than a seemingly devout Muslim boy. I had plenty of non-Muslim crushes myself and Maya is still young, she's still learning, to find herself and her place in the world among other things especially when your parents are traditional and the old generation sort. Some things they just don't understand believe me.

I felt sorry for Maya following the terrorist attack supposedly and assumed to be committed by a Muslim, having to deal with how people view you after that is hard and can be scary. There's a lot you can glean from this actually in terms of what a Muslim (particularly girls) can go through and the expectations that are required of them. It's hard not to rebel sometimes. You just have to do that's right for you and that's what Maya does.

I also loved her aunt Hina, a single, childless, unmarried woman in her forties, and how supportive she was of Maya. Women like Hina should not be made to feel ashamed because they haven't "achieved" those expected things of them in life.

Overall, a good decent read.

Here is the review I will be posting to my blog on Tuesday 16th January 2108. I will also be posting it to goodreads and amazon on this date.:

Love, Hate and Other Filters follows Maya as she deals with cute boys, her future and then a terrorist attack happens and the main suspect shares Maya's last name. This causes Islamophobia to be directed towards Maya and her family. 

I enjoyed this book. It was a cute, quick read with swoon-worthy characters, gorgeous scenery and an important message. Throughout the book it tackles what it is like to be a Muslim in today's america. I loved how the author took Maya's hobby of film-making and used the theme of filters and cinematography to express how Maya was feeling.

Maya begins her story with the phrase 'destiny sucks' and this is a theme throughout the book. This theme is also shown through a mantra one of the characters continuously uses, 'carpe diem'. Maya uses this phrase in times when her future seems destined and out of her control to try and make things go how she wants them to go. I enjoyed how the author used the first sentence of the story to be a theme that follows throughout the book. 

This book is also told from two points of view. Maya's and the bombers. Maya's is told in first person which connects you to her. It makes you more invested in her story and who she is. The bombers point of view, it told in third person, which makes you feel more distanced from this character. This was done very cleverly on the authors part, as it influenced how you related to the protagonists of the two stories. 

Another great thing about this book is how it introduced me to Indian culture. I don't think I've ever read a book with an Indian main character before so this one really was an eye opener on what it is like to grow up in an Indian family and I loved it.

One thing that dissapointed me about this book is that I felt it concentrated more on the romance and less on the Islamophobia and although this book was impactful I wanted more of it. I have also read that people felt like the protagonists religion was only brought up when someone else brought it up through things like a hate crime. I am not Muslim and I know this book is own voices so I'm not going to judge this aspect too much as I know it is coming from personal experience. However, I will link an own voices review that discusses this.

Another negative about this book is that Maya's friends, Justin, Monica and Mike, seemed to pop up randomly towards the end of the book. Violet was an amazing companion who I loved all the way through this book, however, I would have liked more from these other friends and their relationship with Maya. 

Overall, this book was a great read. I was continuously wishing things to go the right way for our main characters and when they didn't I was left heartbroken. It holds an important message about 'love not hate' and sticking together as one through times of hardship and that is why I gave this book four out of five stars.

Trigger Warning: Terrorist attack and Islamophobia.

I've wanted to read Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed ever since taking part in the Ramadan Readathon last year, where it was highlighted as a book featuring a Muslim character yet to be released, and I was ecstatic when I discovered it was also being published in the UK. I expected it to be hard-hitting and horrible, and while it is at times, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was also cute and funny at times, too.

You could almost split the book into two parts, before the suicide bomber changes everything, and after. The first half was just brilliant. It felt a lot like Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik meets Jenny Han's YA novels; a sweet, Summery romance, but where our main character is a Muslim, who has parents who have certain expectations for the life of their Indian-American Muslim daughter. The only difference between the parents expectations in this book and in Sofia Khan is Not Obliged is that Sofia's parents behaviour and reactions are met with affectionate exasperation, and provide a fair amount of the comedy, but Maya's parents are deadly serious. They don't seem to understand why Maya would not want the life they expect her to lead; to marry a suitable Muslim boy, and become a lawyer or doctor, when she would rather make her own choices over who she dates, seeing as she is really into the white football captain at school, Phil, and go to NYU to study filmmaking, which is her passion. Their relationship becomes more strained as the story goes on, after the terrorist attack, but the first half of the book is actually really lovely, such a cute romance, and you're rooting for Maya and Phil. Even so, though, there is a sense of foreboding; as the reader, we know there's going to be a suicide attack, and every chapter ends with a few paragraphs from the terrorist's point of view,or a memory of his, as he's preparing to do the unthinkable. So all the while, while you're reading about Maya's everyday life, her arguments with her parents about which college she goes to, and the will-they-won't-they during Maya's swimming lessons with Phil, you know something terrible is coming that is going to shatter Maya's world.

And then it's here. And, my god. Whenever I hear about a terrorist attack on the news, no matter where in the world it's happened, I am engulfed by a wave of fear and sorrow. 2017 saw quite a few take place in the UK, and that fear would trigger my anxiety. Only last month there was a false alarm of a terror attack taking place ten minutes from where I work, while I was at work, and it was absolutely terrifying. The world we live in now, that fear is hard to escape. And Ahmed captured that feeling so brilliantly as Maya and the other students at school are in lockdown just after the attack happens. When they're locked in and they don't know why. When the texts come piling in, when various news outlets are saying different things about what happened, yet all in agreement on terrorist attack. The fear Maya feels - the fear they all feel - in that moment is palpable. And even though this is a book, and even though I knew it was coming, I was right there with them all, engulfed in that fear. I don't write fiction, but I can imagine how difficult it is to write a feeling that is almost beyond words, but Ahmed writes it perfectly.

But Maya's fear is different from mine, because her fear isn't just in reaction to the news of a terrorist attack, her fear is also very specific fear of what this will mean for her and other Muslims.

'I'm scared. I'm not just scared that somehow I'll be next; it's a quieter fear, and more insidious. I'm scared of the next Muslim ban. I'm scared of my dad getting pulled into Secondary Security Screening at the airport for "random" questioning. I'm scared for the hijabi girls I know getting their scarves pulled off while they're walking down the sidewalk--or worse. I'm scared of being the object of fear and loathing and suspicion again. Always.' (p140)*

Reading it, it was... shocking. And I was ashamed that it was eye-opening. I think it's part privilege and part being a decent human being who doesn't automatically think that all Muslims are to blame for all terrorist attacks, where the terrorist is - supposedly - a Muslim. I wasn't shocked by the things Maya was scared of happening, I watch the news, I go on Twitter, I carry a spare scarf in my bag, I know what happens. I was shocked that this fear, fear of what the backlash from the terrorist attack would mean for Muslims, is automatic. Of course it would be, when we have scumbags in the world who make the lives of Muslims hell when atrocities like this happen, committing atrocities of their own.

And we get to see some of those atrocities as Maya and her parents experience Islamophobia in the days and weeks following the terrorist attack, verbal and physical. It's disgusting, it's upsetting, it's scary. Maya may be Muslim, but really, she's no different from me, and it's so very easy to put myself in her shoes - especially as a woman - when she is being attacked, when her family is being attacked. It made me feel sick, it made me feel scared, and it made me dread what was to come. And again, I was smacked in the face with the awareness of my privilege, because I don't have to fear what might happen to me when I step outside my house every day in the wake of a terrorist attack, not because of my faith or my skin colour. It's really harrowing to read.

I have to say I loved the conversation Maya had with her parents about the terrorist attack, and how it's nothing to do with Muslim. It's the kind of thing you hear on the news, when someone high up in the Muslim community is interviewed for the news after a terrorist attack, condemning what happened. But it's also a teachable moment for those who maybe don't watch the news, or don't pay any attention.

'My father picks up where my mother leaves off. "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.""Then why is there so much fighting in the Middle East, and why are so many suicide bombers Muslim?""Terrorism has no religion. Think of Dylann Roof and that church in Charleston or the attack on the Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin. Terrorists have their own ideaology. Who knows what hatred compels them? They're desperate and unthinking and followers--"I interrupt my mother. "Too bad none of that matters. We all get painted like we're un-American, and terrorist sympathizers, no matter how loudly we condemn terrorism and say it's un-Islamic. It's guilt by association."' (p148)*

I have to say I also really loved the sections at the end of every chapter, leading up to and after the terrorist attack, first from the terrorist's point of view, and then from the media, as they discover more about the attack and the terrorist himself. It was so very, very clever. And it was interesting getting to find out about the terrorist's background, from interviews with people who knew him, and from memories of his, even though he's now dead. Terrorists do such horrific things, I think we tend to forget that they're human, too. That they're people. And while what we read is absolutely no excuse for what he did, because it's unforgivable, it does give an insight into what may have led him down this road. It's actually quite sad, and I found myself feeling sorry for him. Which just seems appalling. But I do think it was very clever of Ahmed to give us this guy's background, to show us his humanity. I also think it's pretty wonderful, too, that Ahmed would do this, for this fictional terrorist, when real terrorists commit such unspeakable crimes, to make us think that they are people too, that we don't know what they've been through. It's not forgiveness, it's not, but it's something other than hatred for this person. And I think it's really telling that Ahmed can think about the terrorists' humanity when they've done such terrible things, when bigots jump straight to hatred of those who have done absolutely nothing wrong, who are, as Maya puts it, guilty by association. And I really, really admire Ahmed for giving this terrorist his humanity, and his story.

I do have a few quibbles with Love, Hate and Other Filters, though. It's so, so short, and the terrorist attack doesn't happen until the half-way point. Which works well, it's an even balance between the normal, the everyday, the cute, sweet romance, and the horrific things that follow. But, as it's short at 272 pages as a physical book, there isn't really a huge amount of either. That sounds like I want more Islamophobia,and I really don't; what they Azizs experience is too much as it is. However, a lot of time goes by in this book, though, to be honest, I only really knew that because Maya would think something like she hasn't smiled properly like this in months, and then I know quite a bit of time has gone by, when I thought it was only a few days, so the passing of time isn't made very clear. But months go by after the terrorist attack, the longer lasting affects of Islamophobia aren't shown, exactly. There are specific affects that are specific to Maya and her parents' disagreements about her future, but there's not really anything about the affects to her parents' dental practice over time, for example. There is an attack on the practice, so how does that affect their business? Do patients stop coming, for fear of being hurt during another possible attack, or because they themselves are scumbags who no longer want to be around Muslims? Do they lose money? Do they start to struggle financially? I don't know, because it's not covered. And that's what I mean about there not being a huge amount of before and, more specifically after the attack. I do wish the book was longer, and we got more of the sweet side of things, and more of the affects of Islamophobia.

But all in all, Love, Hate & Other Filters is such an incredible book - and not only incredible, but so very important. It's powerful, and it's needed. I absolutely loved it, and I look forward to reading what Ahmed writes in the future - whether sweet, cute stories, or hard-hitting, powerful stories, or more of both.

*All quotes have been checked against a final copy of the book.

Thank you to Hot Key Books via NetGalley for the eProof.