Rating: 4 stars
Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Retelling (modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion)
CBR16 Bingo: Bollywood (set in Canada with desi protagonists)
The absolutely last place Nada Syed wants to be is the big annual Muslim convention in downtown Toronto. She is nearly 30 years old, single and lives at home with her parents and two brothers. If she goes to the convention, there is a high chance that she'll run into her old mentor, formerly her mother's best friend. She might also run into her mentor's son, her former business partner, who promised to help her launch an advice app, but stole her ideas and launched a rival app of his own shortly before the official release, making Nada's app a dud.
Now Nada's friend Haleema is getting married, and her fiancée Zayn's parents run the convention. Haleema obviously wants to introduce her future husband to her maid of honour. What no one knows, because Nada has made very sure not to tell anyone, is that while she's never met him, she knows of him from his brother Baz, who will also be at the convention. Nada hasn't seen Baz for six years, and they have a long and complicated past between them, some of it romantic. When they finally do meet again, Baz treats her like a stranger, which she can understand, but it still hurts. During the days of the convention, their paths keep crossing, and with each new meeting, Nada can't help but wonder what would have happened if she's given them a proper chance all those years ago, instead of breaking both Baz' and her own heart.
Jalaluddin's first novel, Ayesha at Last, was a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in Canada. Her second novel, Hana Khan Carries On, had a lot of elements from You've Got Mail. In this novel, Jalaluddin takes inspiration from Persuasion, and even includes some direct references to the characters and some quotes. It, therefore, shouldn't come as a surprise to the reader that Nada and Baz have a past, and that there are unresolved issues between them, as well as regret and longing colouring their current interactions.
Nada and Baz first met when they were eleven, at Sunday school. Baz was the new boy and Nada became his relentless bully, trying to gain popularity and fit in. It's pretty bold of the author to show such a negative side of Nada as early as chapter two. By the time Nada and Baz meet again, she has realised how badly she acted and apologises to Baz, who forgives her. They become friends, and later, when they are students together, romantic feelings spring up between them. But they are young and inexperienced, and Nada's parents disapprove of their relationship, so they have to date in secret. Having to lie to everyone she knows and keeping Baz secret from her friends and family is difficult, and in the end, Nada's insecurities and doubt lead to them breaking up.
While Nada's parents indirectly contribute to Nada and Baz's breakup, they are not portrayed as bad people. They care a lot about their three children, who all have challenges in different ways. Nada's elder brother got divorced and has joint custody of twin girls, but still lives in a small apartment in his parents' house. Nada is worried that he is depressed and unable to move on with his life. She takes him to a dating event during the convention to help him meet new women, and maybe get a new chance at love. Nada's younger brother has a rare genetic disease that makes him wheelchair-bound, but despite his parents' protectiveness, he clearly has ambitions and plans for the future that don't involve living at home forever.
The need to change and move forward with one's life is a major theme in the book. Nada and her brothers all need to make some changes and take steps to better their futures. Nada realises that she also has to deal with her former professional failure, and after many years of being depressed and dejected, she is finally getting new ideas and possible plans for new and useful apps to develop.
Normally I'm not a big fan of second chance romances, but as with the novel it's homaging, this was really sweet. I also liked the subplot with Baz and Zayn's Muslim boyband, and their adoring audience throwing extra hijabs on the stage to show their enthusiasm. While I wouldn't say Jalaluddin has achieved pre-order status yet, she is absolutely someone whose books I would probably pay full price for, since I've now read and really liked three of her novels. I'm already looking forward to seeing what she will do next.
Judging a book by its cover: All of Jalaluddin's covers have fairly different designs, yet each of them also features a woman with a hijab, so there's certainly no doubt that she writes about Muslims. Of the three books I've read, I think I prefer Hana Khan Carries On to this one, but they are all nice.
Crossposted on Cannonball Read
