Genre: Religion, Bildungsroman
Key Stage: Year 9+ (explores Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, prejudice and grief)
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah (2020)
Plot: The Beauty of Your Face is the story of a Palestinian American woman: Afaf Rahman who is the principal of Nurrideen School for Girls. One morning a man, radicalised by online alt-rights, attacks the school and shoots 14 students and one teacher. As we listen to his progress, we are swept back through Afaf’s memories- from the bigotry she faced as a child, her mother’s dream to return to her precious bilad– Palestine- and the disappearance of her elder sister, Nada which tore her family apart. Afaf still has hope as she finds community and Islam which allow her to start afresh in a new life
Likes and dislikes: This is a book which I had particularly enjoyed and had reminded me of a favourite book of mine: I Am Thunder. What I had specifically loved was the relationship of Baba and Afaf after they had found Islam in their lives after hitting rock bottom. Personally, what I had disliked the most was that when there was Arabic writing, it was written from LEFT TO RIGHT- which is just wrong and was disappointing. Excluding that, this was an overall really nice book to read. But what I think would be a little confusing for other readers is the Arabic transliteration which the author used throughout the book for words like amarkan, bilad and rubbi which are used to say Americans, country and my lord.
Who I would recommend this to and what to read next: This a story is great for anyone who wants to learn, especially young Muslims about the lives of Muslim immigrants from around the world and how they turned to Islam through their suffering and hardships. A few books to read next would be I Am Thunder, Love From A to Z and Love in a Headscarf.
Reviewer: Yaminah, Year 9