Welcome to Litsy!

For Razia, growing up is complicated by being Pakistani in 1980s NYC, highly religious parents, & her developing feelings for a fellow classmate @ her new high school.

Oh, but this broke my heart. My parents weren‘t as religious as Razia‘s, but her complicated friendships w/ the girls in her community, academic pressure, the feeling that you need to follow your parents‘ plan, & the fear you‘ll disappoint them, all felt familiar to me.🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

I adored this book. It is so funny/strange that two girls from different neighborhoods- I grew up in a rural area, Razia in Corona, Queens, from different cultures-I grew up in a southern Independent Baptist home, Razia in a Pakistani Muslim home had the same experiences growing up in the 80s. We both had the very controlling mother and the hyper zealousness of our religions. Reading this book reminded me of how my childhood friends saved me.

A beautifully written book about tradition and what happens when it clashes with a new generation's expectations. The author explored the contradictions without diminishing the values of the community that raised Razia.

#queerbc @PuddleJumper

I heard the audio book read the by author herself, and I was deeply impressed. I loved the insights into Razias life and how she grows up. How she finds herself between two cultures that both are a part of her. It feels to me like it deepened my understanding of Pakistani and Islam culture, at least I really hope so. But oh, the book was over way to soon! I just sat there and thought: “Oh... no... not now!“

#queerbc @PuddleJumper

Realized I never posted my March Bookspin picks
#Bookspin is any #roll100 book and #doublespin is the tagged audiobook for #QueerBC
@TheAromaofBooks @PuddleJumper

A quietly beautiful and powerful queer coming of age novel set in a 1980s Pakistani American community in the Corona neighbourhood of Queens, NY. Told in vignettes, the story follows Razia as she makes and loses friends, participates in community Muslim events, and falls in love with Angela, a classmate. Razia's eventual separation from her family, community, and only world she's ever known is heartbreaking, because you know them all so well. 💔

From debut author Maleeha Siddiqui , a modern spin on the Parent Trap trope. Funny and realistic characters and dialogue.

#ReadAway Day 11 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

Beautiful! Definitely want a hard copy for my classroom library.

I loved the character work in this book, but the storyline wasn't the best, imo. I get that it's a bildungsroman, but the plot threads seemed random at times, and the ending was way more heightened than the rest of the story. I'd say it's worth reading, but it's not my new favorite book. #comingofage #historicalfiction #lgbtqfiction

This is a novel, but it‘s almost told in vignettes. Razia is a first generation Pakistani American. The book follows her from her young childhood through her teen years, slices of her life throughout. An overriding feeling of menace from men- in her community, in NYC as a whole, pervades much of the book. Her culture is important to her, but so is being true to herself.

I really liked Razia and thought this was a great book.