All My Rage

A masterpiece. Sabaa Tahir is amazing.

This book follows three POVs: Misbah, Salahudin, and Nor. Misbah's story line is happening in the past, while Salahudin and Nor's is happening in the present. Salahudin and Nor were best friends, but when Nor professed feelings for Salahudin, but Salahudin didn't reciprocate, things were awkward between them. All three of these characters are Muslim living in a small town and America, and we get to see them face the challenges that come with that. We also get to see Salahudin and Nor just try to live their lives. Nor is doing everything she can to leave this small town and go to college against her uncle's wishes, while Salahudin just wants to keep the family business alive. The ending was bittersweet, and this book was tough to read at times. Tahir's ability to effortlessly weave this story along really shows why it took her 10 years to write this book. You can feel the pain and the rage she must have also felt while writing this. I was so angry almost the entire time I was reading this book. The rage truly comes off the page.

Go into this book cautiously. It deals with some very heavy topics. But it is an incredible book.

TW: alcoholism, bullying, death, drug addiction, Islamophobia, physical abuse, racism