#AmReading YA - All Abroad!

In this installment of #AmReading, I am delighted to share two books set outside the US - one set in London, the other in Doha. 

How to Be Luminous
Harriet Reuter Hapgood
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Grief and Loss
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

When seventeen-year-old Minnie Sloe's mother disappears, so does her ability to see color. How can young artist Minnie create when all she sees is black-and-white?

Middle child Minnie and her two sisters have always been able to get through anything together: growing up without fathers, living the eccentric artist lifestyle, and riding out their mother's mental highs and lows. But when they lose their mother, Minnie wonders if she could lose everything: her family, her future, her first love . . . and maybe even her mind.

All the color disappeared from her world along with her mother. While trying to remedy the situation, Minnie worries that she might have inherited more than her mother's artistic ability.

My love for grief and loss books was really satisfied by How to Be Luminous. This book was beautiful, heartbreaking, and poignant. Hapgood's exploration of grief was well executed, and she did a beautiful job capturing the different ways people deal with great losses.

The story was told from the point of view of Minnie, the middle Sloe daughter, but her sisters also played a big role in the story. The three young women were dealing with their mother's disappearance in vastly different ways, and I always appreciate, when the complexities of people's sorrow is shown from different perspectives, because grief is not a one-size-fits-all thing. Hapgood show the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of mourning, and was really able to convey the emotions attached with this process.

The Sloe sisters had put their mother on a pedestal, and would explain away her moods as "starlight and sinkholes". After much soul-searching, and the discovery of a box of prescription drugs, they realized that there was an explanation for their mother's behavior. It was sad to see the girls finally accept that their mother's highs and lows were symptoms of her mental illness, and I felt their pain and anguish with having to admit it to themselves. This conflicted with their vision of who their mother was, and it was obvious how difficult it was for the teens to comes to terms with it.

Throughout the story, Minnie was trying to deal with her emotions, her monochromatism, and the ghost of her mother. By examining the past and making some poor decisions, Minnie was able to process her grief as she discovered new things about herself.

In addition to grief and loss, I love stories with siblings, and this was one interesting trio. Each sister was dealing with the loss of their mother, but there were also some old wounds to contend with. Things were touch and go with the sisters for a while, but in the end, they were there for each other, and I was really pleased with the way Hapgood handled their situation.

Overall: This was a beautifully written book about how people grieve and struggle to come to terms with their loss.

Minnie often recalls her mother's love for music, but her quirk - she only ever played Beatles music. This song was featured at one point in the book, and it's one of my favorites.

Love From A to Z
S.K. Ali
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Salaam Reads
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

A marvel: something you find amazing. Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom used to make together.

An oddity: whatever gives you pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims are.

But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.

When she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.

Fueled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.

Then her path crosses with Adam’s.

Since he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things. Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.

Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.

Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.

Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…

Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

I automatically wanted to read this book, because Ali had won my heart with her debut, Saints and Misfits, but she had me all in with the opening sentence:

This is a love story. You've been warned. 

I am here to say, Ali more than delivered on that promise.

From their meet-cute to their serendipitous re-meetings, I loved the dynamic between Zayneb and Adam, and I found myself very invested in Zayneb, Adam, and Zayneb+Adam. I also liked the way Ali wove their worlds together so tightly. They almost seemed destined from the way all the pieces snapped into place, and I enjoyed that a sort of fate surrounded their union.

Zayneb was described as angry, but I saw past that reactionary anger to the passion underneath. She believed in justice for all, and I liked that there were people on her side to guide her and help her harness her passion in order to bring about change.

I so adored Adam, and when he revealed his diagnosis, my heart ached and crumbled for him. Part of that pain is personal, because I have been watching MS rob my uncle of his motor skills for years, but also, because Adam saw this disease take his mother too soon, and how it devastating it must be for a young person to have to come to terms with the same diagnosis. My solace came in the form of Adam's wonderful family and friends, who were amazing and supportive and bursting with love for him.

One thing I love about Ali's books is how much of herself she shares with us. It was easy to see how personal many parts of this book were, and that was why the negative things experienced by Zayneb were so infuriating and heartbreaking. But, it's not just what she shares, but how she shares it that make it all so meaningful for me.

I like that books like this exist. It's important to have positive and honest representation out there. I live and grew up in diverse areas, but there are still a lot of very homogenous places in this world. The media tends to highlight the negatives, and never present the full picture of any group of people. Thus, books like this are necessary to combat those negative stereotypes and educate people.

I smiled and cried my way through this book, but I think I cheered during the epilogue. Everyone knows the way to my heart is through a great epilogue, and this one was perfection for me. I'm getting all verklempt thinking about it now. Ali just gave me what I needed in order to let Zayneb and Adam ride off into the sunset, and I am grateful for that.

Overall: A beautiful story of love, family, friendship, and justice for all.

Zayneb's aunt was a fan of 70s music, and one song, that came up over the course of the story was "Seasons in the Sun". I hadn't heard the song in many years, but it was often "performed" by me, my  sister, and the above mentioned uncle for our pretend variety show. Therefore, I fondly leave this video for your listening pleasure, and only wish I could perform my choreographed dance for you.

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

What is your favorite book set outside the US?

Let us know in the comments!