the love and lies of rukhsana ali by sabina khan

But I agree that the journal is a good tool that opens a window on the background of women’s status in Bangladesh and the baggage Rukhsana’s mother came with. Sometimes, one wonders why the protagonist would suddenly flip through the journal at this point instead of moving on with the plot. Nicely selected passages inserted at intervals into the storytelling. Sorry, but this is the only point that seems a bit contrived. But of course, Sabina Khan needs to turn up the suspense factor by making Rukhsana plan an escape back to California during the wedding.Īt this point, we are given the grandmother’s journal. The two happily realize that agreeing to the marriage would solve both their problems. Then, (this is FICTION, so unrealistic coincidences are OK!) the one suitor who seems adequate turns out to be gay too! The protagonist is “introduced” to a slew of potential suitors –reminding me of a similar circumstance happening to my own sister almost forty years ago - whom she starts by rejecting. It is very difficult to present the parents’ actions as loving and protective to an audience of American teens who, like Rukhsana, will only view the ensuing plot as manipulative, evil, and hateful. I have to give it to Sabina Khan who manages a tour de force. Rukhsana is American-born and bred and cannot understand how her parents could “kidnap” her thus. The parents whisk Rukhsana home to Bangladesh under the pretense that her grandmother is dying and wishes to see her favorite granddaughter one last time. It turns out that this is just the turning point leading to the meat of the plot. Stop right here if you plan to read the book. Till now, everything seems predictable, and I am wondering how the author plans to wind up the story, when I realize the book is barely reaching the midway point. The plot takes us through the typical teen-sneaks-behind-parents escapades but I am now on edge, knowing what thunder and lightning are threatening behind the clouds. I felt like kicking Rukhsana’s friend/lover who is Caucasian and cannot understand why she won’t just tell her parents about them. OMG! I mentally scanned all the Bengladeshi families I personally know and realized this was a bomb waiting to explode. Very quickly, however, the readers find out that Rukhsana is actually gay. I stifled a yawn at first, hoping it was not going to go down the well-trodden dating-is-better-than-matchmaking road. This book is categorized as Young Adult, so I imagined it was probably about a Muslim teen dating and hiding it from her strict parents. I was looking for a BIPOC author and Sabina Khan definitely is one, hailing from Bangladesh ethnically and presently living in the US.

The review claims that this book “will break your heart and then piece it back together”.

The love and lies of rukhsana ali by sabina khan