All-American Muslim Girl

All-American Muslim Girl

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  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2021-09-11 08:53:32
  • Update Date:2025-09-07
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Nadine Jolie Courtney
  • ISBN:1250619912
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

When Allie Abraham starts to explore her Muslim faith, embracing her religion makes her question her own identity in All-American Muslim Girl, a timely YA story from #ownvoices author and blogger Nadine Jolie Courtney。

Allie Abraham has it all going for her—she’s a straight-A student, with good friends and a close-knit family, and she’s dating popular, sweet Wells Henderson。 One problem: Wells’s father is Jack Henderson, America’s most famous conservative shock jock, and Allie hasn’t told Wells that her family is Muslim。 It’s not like Allie’s religion is a secret。 It’s just that her parents don’t practice, and raised her to keep it to herself。

But as Allie witnesses Islamophobia in her small town and across the nation, she decides to embrace her faith—study, practice it, and even face misunderstanding for it。 Who is Allie, if she sheds the façade of the “perfect” all-American girl?

This is a relevant, relatable story of being caught between two worlds, and the struggles and hard-won joys of finding your place。

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Reviews

Sarah86_loves_books

Das Buch war ein wahrer Augenöffner。 Mein erstes dickeres Buch in Englisch und ich bin stolz auf mich, dass ich 90% davon verstanden habe。 Es ändert definitiv meine Sichtweise auf den Islam und alle Muslim:as bzw。 lässt es mich mehr verstehen als ich vorher schon verstanden habe。

Tara

Enjoyable, albeit a little preachy at times when she started to inject seemingly her own opinions on the religion。 On the other hand, it's a nice "primer" so to speak for us non-Muslims, in a lot of the basics that I never would've really known or made the effort to find out about on my own。 The boyfriend felt underdeveloped (and aside from his daddy issues seemed too unbelievably Jake Ryan perfect for my tastes), but it was extremely refreshing to have a female, adolescent protagonist so confid Enjoyable, albeit a little preachy at times when she started to inject seemingly her own opinions on the religion。 On the other hand, it's a nice "primer" so to speak for us non-Muslims, in a lot of the basics that I never would've really known or made the effort to find out about on my own。 The boyfriend felt underdeveloped (and aside from his daddy issues seemed too unbelievably Jake Ryan perfect for my tastes), but it was extremely refreshing to have a female, adolescent protagonist so confident and self-assured in herself (and with a good relationship with her parents) to make her own decisions without the be-all, end-all of peer pressure。 Very much the hallmark of a strong, Barnard woman! 3***1/2 。。。more

Bethany

Good not great。 It would probably entertain the audience it was intended for (young teen girls) abd I enjoyed that the main character didn’t conform to a boy like so many main characters in a teen relationship do。

Kinda

a little long, but super good!

Stephanie

Loved this one! The story, the characters, the writing。 I sped through this in less than two days。

Aimi Meor

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 (spoiler free of the actual plot, only mentions of characters i liked along with reasons。 no quotes or specific scenes from book。)LONG, RANT-ISH REVIEW COMING FROM ME, A MUSLIM:THIS。 IS。 A MESS。 ONE WORD: MISREPRESENTATION (at its finest!!)please don't waste your time on this。 not even to read it just to see how terrible it is。never have i regretted reading a book so much, and regretted paying for it, AND regretted forcing myself to finish it because of any shred of hope for it to get better, on (spoiler free of the actual plot, only mentions of characters i liked along with reasons。 no quotes or specific scenes from book。)LONG, RANT-ISH REVIEW COMING FROM ME, A MUSLIM:THIS。 IS。 A MESS。 ONE WORD: MISREPRESENTATION (at its finest!!)please don't waste your time on this。 not even to read it just to see how terrible it is。never have i regretted reading a book so much, and regretted paying for it, AND regretted forcing myself to finish it because of any shred of hope for it to get better, only to be disappointed so so badly。 no offense to the author, i know this must have been a lot of work and effort put in, and perhaps i could get where she was coming from or trying to do with this book, but that does not change that all it really is basically questioning "what does it mean to be a good Muslim? what is Islam, truly?" , then condemning people for saying that westernized Muslims/Muslims who are not pious are the "good Muslims" and righteous ones are terrorists/weird/oldschool, ONLY TO PRESENT THE VERY SAME ATTITUDE IN THE MAIN CHARACTERS。 THE MAIN CHARACTERS WHO ARE MUSLIM!!like, come on 😫 i was hoping some good Islamic teacher character would come swooping in to educate the others of what's really correct—at least in Aqeedah point of view as all madzhabs agree with same views, unlike Fiqh—but noooo。 the Muslims themselves wanted to change Islam!! how on earth is that supposed to be in any way good representation?? It feels so hypocritical for the author to keep saying western media is in the wrong for portraying Muslims who truly follow the religion as terrorists/Bad Muslims, that Westernised Muslims are the Good Muslims, only for her to make literally all the main Muslim characters question the same thing。 Sure, they're not *100%* bad and each of them have their own goodness- but comee onn。 Make more of flawed Muslim characters who *regret* their sins!! Not brush over them! Not those who wanna change Islam to fit their wants!! You make me wanna tear my hair out and pursue education in both writing and Islamic studies to the deepest ocean levels just so I could rewrite this mess of a book with actual good Muslim representation。 (not saying that i could do better—Allahualam on that—but i wish so badly that this were much better, that i now have the biggest biggest urge and determination to learn how to do that myself instead。。。 Islam is too precious to me for this to not piss me off。 i had high hopes because the author's grandma was Muslim i think but damn I should not have had any trust。 because when do we ever get good representation。)yes, yes, the characters in this book were realistic— but realistic does not mean good。 sure, nowadays so many things that are in truth Haram are being done and normalised by many Muslims, but that does not mean having Muslim characters who do this in a book is good representation。 like, of *all* things you could have made them to be, you just could NOT have made them a Muslim who follows the religion, and is actually。。。。*gasppp*。。。 happy with it?? orr, someone who struggles with obeying Allah, with it being more of an internal battle they have, but they persevere and repent when they slip。 because that's one of the biggest parts of being Muslim。 you slip, alright, repent- slip again? repent。 Allah is always here for us。 instead, you made characters who eventually get won over by Haram, proudly stick to it, and then question Islam/wanting to change Islam。。。 what?? Just give us a portrayal of how Islam is supposed to be。 Is that so much to ask for? give us a Muslim who is happy with their religion。 Make it so that even if sometimes they question it (which is normal in every Muslim), it is not in a way where they wanna change Islam, but instead become more determined to learn more about the religion to *understand* more, BECAUSE they love the religion and truly believe that all Allah has decreed is good, full stop。 because they want to gain peace from doubts and questions—NOT looking to change Islam to their liking。while Allie does do that, what's missing is ACTUAL 👏 GOOD👏 ANSWERS👏TO HER QUESTION! dammit 😫 instead, they have those people, her study group, who want to change Islam。 ugghh!! I am just so stressed by this book! The only character who really stuck to the religion was Dua's sister and she had like a two second appearance。 I wish the book was about her instead!! She apologised when she was in the wrong, and stuck to Islam when she learnt it was right (from *good sources*, NOT some people with biased opinions and no qualification like Allie sadly did) even though her sister and today's norm were against it。the only good thing was Teta and even she was not enough to make this book worth reading at all! just don't waste your time。 this is my most hated book of all time and that says a lot because I'm almost always neutral of books if not in liking of them 😣 hence the once-in-a-blue-moon review, haha。 。。。more

Alanoud

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 The only reason I bought it was because the cover 😭😭 but as a Muslim I liked the character dua and hated the fact that alia wouldn’t break up with that semi average mf halal dating just sounds dumb I loved her determination to pray and read the Quran but the dating was a big turn off but yeah 2 out of 5

thebooksthief_ Ania ✨

4,25⭐️/5Ta książka jest świetna!!!Uświadamiająca, ważna, refleksyjna i oczywiście niezwykle mądra。 Bohaterka jest swietne wykreowana, a w samej powieści zakochałam się od początku。 Jest wciągająca i przyciągająca。 Podoba mi się pokaźnie tutaj przez autorkę więzi rodzinnych oraz problemów nastolatki。 Znalazłam tutaj zarówno smutne jak i urocze momenty。 Jest napisana prostym językiem angielskim i polecam na początek。 Zakończenie również niesamowite

Lisa Hillmer

3。75 stars - The audio book narrated by Priya Ayyar was enjoyable。 I learned more about Ramadan and Eid。

Kimberly

I really loved this book。 It does a great job of addressing the nuances and variety of ways to worship。 Not everyone worships the same and that shouldn’t make us good or as。

Jaime K

This is a good story about how a teen named Allie learns to accept her faith and family history。 She's a sophomore and new to Georgia, having moved around a lot due to her dad's professor jobs。 It was an interesting reason for why they always moved。There's a boy she likes named Wells and of course they end up together。 Their relationship is adorable。 I miss being a sophomore in high school。 It's super odd though that at 16, Wells can drive to school。 Every school I've been/taught at never even a This is a good story about how a teen named Allie learns to accept her faith and family history。 She's a sophomore and new to Georgia, having moved around a lot due to her dad's professor jobs。 It was an interesting reason for why they always moved。There's a boy she likes named Wells and of course they end up together。 Their relationship is adorable。 I miss being a sophomore in high school。 It's super odd though that at 16, Wells can drive to school。 Every school I've been/taught at never even allowed juniors to drive in。Anyway, Allie's dad is Muslim and mom converted (though sometimes the word 'revert' is brought up, which baffles me), though neither practice。 In fact, dad has pretty much thrown away with all things religious。 Allie becomes extremely curious, mainly stemming from frustration she can't speak to her grandmother。 While mom knows, Allie hides it from dad for months, and asks mom to keep quiet too。It bothers me that mom stays silent。Mom is a white former Catholic, and with the Circassian Muslim heritage, Allie passes as very white。 This keeps her safe until she beings practicing Islam。Of course, Wells' father is the uber anti-Muslim Conservative blowhard on TV, which causes issues。 He even tries to bribe both teens into breaking up which is super inky。 Allie goes off on him more than once which is odd, but I also get her frustrations boiling over。One of these times is at prom, because the school wants to be inclusive and therefore all grades are allowed。 Even when I taught at a 7-12 school with 120 students TOTAL, prom was only for seniors。 。。。more

Trigger Warning Database

Trigger & Content WarningsIslamomisiaRacismPanic attacks

Carolyn

Very good story, plot, and character development。 And I learned so much about Muslims and the Koran。 The book shreds many myths and prejudices about Muslims。 Well worth the read。

Nicole

I really enjoyed this。 I learned a lot while reading it。 I also really liked how the majority of it was not about her boyfriend/boyfriend's father, but about her figuring out her faith, her heritage and where she belongs。 I really enjoyed this。 I learned a lot while reading it。 I also really liked how the majority of it was not about her boyfriend/boyfriend's father, but about her figuring out her faith, her heritage and where she belongs。 。。。more

Carolyn Fitzpatrick

A great YA read。 The protagonist, Allie, spends her sophomore year of high school on a spiritual journey that covers a lot of ground。 Maybe too much。 It could have been split into a trilogy easily, which would have allowed for a bit more depth。Allies father is a secular Muslim, her mom is a Catholic convert to Islam, and Allie herself in non practicing。 They have moved around a lot and Allie is used to adopting personas to better fit in with whatever new town she ends up in。 As she starts explor A great YA read。 The protagonist, Allie, spends her sophomore year of high school on a spiritual journey that covers a lot of ground。 Maybe too much。 It could have been split into a trilogy easily, which would have allowed for a bit more depth。Allies father is a secular Muslim, her mom is a Catholic convert to Islam, and Allie herself in non practicing。 They have moved around a lot and Allie is used to adopting personas to better fit in with whatever new town she ends up in。 As she starts exploring her faith she also is learning to carve out her own identity。 Throughout the book she wrestles with what it means to be a "good" Muslim, in the eyes of general ignorant nonMuslim people and Muslim friends who are either more or less conservative than her。 There is a subplot involving her boyfriends dad having some kind of anti Muslim show on talk radio。 I was much less interested in that than Allies interactions with her friends at school。 。。。more

Dana Al-Basha دانة الباشا

Sixteen-year-old Allie, aged seven when she knew her family was different and feared, struggles to claim her Muslim and Middle Eastern heritage while finding her place as an American teenager。In my teens I read a book by Meg Cabot titled All American Girl and I absolutely loved it, ate lots of burgers, and sketched many things while reading it, when I saw the title of this one I remembered how I loved Cabot's story, also I'm Muslimah so let's see how it goes。 Cute cover! Sixteen-year-old Allie, aged seven when she knew her family was different and feared, struggles to claim her Muslim and Middle Eastern heritage while finding her place as an American teenager。In my teens I read a book by Meg Cabot titled All American Girl and I absolutely loved it, ate lots of burgers, and sketched many things while reading it, when I saw the title of this one I remembered how I loved Cabot's story, also I'm Muslimah so let's see how it goes。 Cute cover! 。。。more

Sophie Breslow

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it, click here。 Truly amazing!!!!! I liked that experiencing Islamophobia both in and outside of her school motivated to Allie decide to embrace her religion, but I feel like any person who wants to should just embrace his or her religion from the start。 There’s no reason to wait until things happen, but I also kind of understand because her immediate family was not religious, although the rest of her family was, and her dad grew up that way, though her dad definitely should not have been so set on her not bein Truly amazing!!!!! I liked that experiencing Islamophobia both in and outside of her school motivated to Allie decide to embrace her religion, but I feel like any person who wants to should just embrace his or her religion from the start。 There’s no reason to wait until things happen, but I also kind of understand because her immediate family was not religious, although the rest of her family was, and her dad grew up that way, though her dad definitely should not have been so set on her not being religious just because he wasn’t, but I also understood his concerns about how putting herself out there too much like that to stand up to Islamophobia could lead to her being targeted, though I can see, in her case and in any case, how praying and really studying Islam can help relax you and decrease your stress and anxiety sometimes depending on who you are。 I definitely like that she gained both the courage and the knowledge to stand up to those around her who bashed on her religion, including her so-called friends, people outside of her school, and, of course, Wells’ dad。 I would’ve expected Wells’ dad to have reacted worse toward her at the Easter party after she told him that she was a Muslim, to have said atrocious things about her on his show, and to have done something worse to her at the prom, but he definitely didn’t, considering how much he hated Muslims。 I also liked that when she decided to embrace her religion, it revealed a completely new side of her。 She became a member of the Muslim Student Association at her school, started praying, made new friends, joining the Qu’ran study group, formed opinions and beliefs that heavily supported her religion but also some that heavily went against it, like dating, which I think was particularly interesting, and even took up learning Arabic, and heavily, too, learning both how to speak it and how to read and write it, which apparently is not something that any of her cousins who speak Arabic even know how to do, but she still kept her American side as well and still “looked” American for the most part。 I commend for deciding to try wearing a headscarf/hijab, even though she realized that it not her thing。 It took bravery to put herself (and Dua as well) out there like that, just like how she put herself out there in so many other ways after she became religious, and I like how all of the girls in the Qu’ran study group always highlighted to both each other and others that wearing isn’y something that you have to do, but that instead, it’s a choice, and that if you choose to wear it, even though people will obviously know that you’re Muslim, and it will be more likely for you to be called out for it, it only allows you to embrace the religion and who you are more。 I personally think that they are really pretty and that they are just another accessory that you can coordinate with the rest of your outfits every day。 I also liked that she decided to learn Arabic, not only because she wanted to learn, and her dad never taught her but also because she wanted to be able to converse with her Teta, which I thought was really sweet, and that Samira was willing to teach her。 Not only that, but I liked that she really took it seriously and was not only being taught how to speak it but that she was being taught how to read and write it as well, which apparently is something that not even any of her cousins who speak Arabic know how to do。 I also thought that it was interesting that because of that choice, only some of the girls in the Qu’ran study group wore it, and some didn’t。 I also liked how hers and Wells’ relationship intertwined with her religion, whether it be with Wells’ dad or with dating being forbidden, and I like that although they had some angry and uncomfortable moments and hit some road blocks, they really tried to make it work as best as they could, trying halal dating eventually and everything, and I think it worked out for the best because it helped both Allie and Wells learn to stand up to people, like Wells’ dad and also some of their friends in school。 Wells’ panic attack especially really showed how much his dad was weighing on him, and that didn’t even have anything to do with Allie or his hatred of Muslims because it was before Allie told him。 It was just him being his famous politician self。 I also liked the concept of halal dating and how it is about the connection between the two people in the relationship as opposed to their physical attractiveness to one another。 I thought that the differences in opinion among the Qu’ran study group girls were very interesting as well, particularly with men and women praying in two different areas of mosques, dating, and the inclusion of the LBGTQ+ community, and how Dua was first opposed to dating, but Allie kind of changed her mind a little bit, and how Shamsah was a lesbian, confided in Allie about it after she confided in her about dating Wells, eventually told her mom, who accepted her, and was now working her way up to tell the girls。 I also thought that it was cool that they all went to a mosque together and that they mostly prayed at home and barely went to mosques in the first place。 I also thought that it was interesting that her relationship with her dad became strained because of her decision to embrace her religion and just to see their relationship change and evolve throughout the book, which then caused both of her parents to have a little fight about it。 I like that she felt comfortable confiding in her mom about everything, especially since her mom was a revert and knew about as much as she did about Islam, which I thought was interesting as well, and because of that, it kind of made sense that she would understand, but I definitely wish that she had felt comfortable telling her dad at first, too, instead of him finding out the way he did, but I understand why he was as strict as he was, too。 I also appreciated that after that and after Teta passed away, which, although she got to see her extended family whom she rarely sees often, and they all came together, was very upsetting, especially because she was originally ok, but I was glad that Allie got to show her that she learned Arabic, both of her parents started to accept Allie being religious, even though they weren’t, and truly support her, which included fasting with her for the last few days of Ramadan, which I appreciated that she did in the first place, and throwing a party to celebrate Eid。 Overall, I loved the book, it really opened my eyes more to the religion of Islam, as well as the discrimination that sometimes comes with it, and I’m excited to read similar ones in the future!!!!! 。。。more

Zaina

3。5 stars—after an icky first half, this book managed to pull itself together quiet nicely!

tween & teen books

This book was really good! I loved the main character’s emotional journey, and I feel like she really had a good character arc。 I also learned a lot about Islam。

Jeni Enjaian

I really wanted to enjoy this book。 I found the premise fascinating although the blurb misleads the reader as to the driving conflict of the book。 That conflict plays a part for sure, however, not the primary part。 I have a hard time putting my finger on why I did not connect with the main character but something felt slightly off, out of focus, and I could never grab on。 That makes reading less enjoyable。 Additionally, while many of the stereotypes talked about in the book occur in real life, s I really wanted to enjoy this book。 I found the premise fascinating although the blurb misleads the reader as to the driving conflict of the book。 That conflict plays a part for sure, however, not the primary part。 I have a hard time putting my finger on why I did not connect with the main character but something felt slightly off, out of focus, and I could never grab on。 That makes reading less enjoyable。 Additionally, while many of the stereotypes talked about in the book occur in real life, something about Courtney's presentation felt far too cliché, too storybook to find believable。 It's a complicated subject which needs addressing but Courtney's work leaves a lot to be desired。 。。。more

Kels R

Wow this book is so well written and thought out。 I wanted to read this book for a good young adult read but honestly I had no idea the impact it was going to have on me。 I didn’t know much about the religion of Islam and what it means to be a Muslim。 Reading this novel really gave some perspective。 I have grown up and heard the conversation on banning Muslims from the US and how they’re evil。 I have heard people share this viewpoint and make fun of what they believe。 I don’t agree with them but Wow this book is so well written and thought out。 I wanted to read this book for a good young adult read but honestly I had no idea the impact it was going to have on me。 I didn’t know much about the religion of Islam and what it means to be a Muslim。 Reading this novel really gave some perspective。 I have grown up and heard the conversation on banning Muslims from the US and how they’re evil。 I have heard people share this viewpoint and make fun of what they believe。 I don’t agree with them but I realized that I am apart of the problem being complicit and not speaking up for these communities in these spaces。 I want to change that and learn how to be better and speak up for these communities。 It really makes me sad that people like Jack Henderson still believe this horrific thoughts about people who are just trying to practice what they believe。 This book has been incredibly eye opening and encourages me to become a better ally。 。。。more

Clare Lund

16-year-old Allie discovers herself by getting in touch with her faith, but that can sure make high school challenging。 I wish I was so strong at that age about speaking my mind。 Great read for ages 12 and up。

Lisa

It was so so refreshing to have positive exposure to religion。 Nowadays religion is taboo - especially in books。 This story has a girl embrace spirituality and explores the variety of views within Islam。 That being said, it did get a bit … preachy at times。 It wasn’t very subtle and some of the characters were reeaaally cliche。 None of the characters have intense depth, but I still appreciated an alternate viewpoint and a respectful discussion of religion。 It should also be noted that many have It was so so refreshing to have positive exposure to religion。 Nowadays religion is taboo - especially in books。 This story has a girl embrace spirituality and explores the variety of views within Islam。 That being said, it did get a bit … preachy at times。 It wasn’t very subtle and some of the characters were reeaaally cliche。 None of the characters have intense depth, but I still appreciated an alternate viewpoint and a respectful discussion of religion。 It should also be noted that many have some critique about the representation and religious conversations around Islam; there seem to be some misinformed or oversimplified Islamic views that aren’t totally the orthodox view of Islam。 But this is just based on what I’ve read from others。 。。。more

Wally West

The state of Muslim rep is。。。 abysmal, but this book did a fantastic job。 Instead of a girl feeling trapped by her religion, it's about a girl finding comfort in it, and learning to embrace it。 And what's more, it has such diverse Muslim viewpoints, and actively engages with the conversations that are occurring within the Muslim community itself。 They discuss the idea of a "good Muslim" and dissect it。 They talk about the hijab, intersectional feminism, dating, the culture vs religion clash, con The state of Muslim rep is。。。 abysmal, but this book did a fantastic job。 Instead of a girl feeling trapped by her religion, it's about a girl finding comfort in it, and learning to embrace it。 And what's more, it has such diverse Muslim viewpoints, and actively engages with the conversations that are occurring within the Muslim community itself。 They discuss the idea of a "good Muslim" and dissect it。 They talk about the hijab, intersectional feminism, dating, the culture vs religion clash, conservative and progressive talking points within the faith, and are able to actually come to a satisfying conclusion regarding all of that and what a Muslim is supposed to look and act like。 。。。more

Andrea

Really interesting story about Muslim culture。 I liked the ending

layla :)

4。5 starsstill crying :D ive heard some mixed reviews of this book but i personally found it an incredibly important story of findng your faith, since many of the muslim mc books ive read have characters born into a muslim family, and you don't hear much about the "faith finding" aspect of religion a lot。 also shamsahs story was SOOOO NECESSARY IM CRYING THE REP i felt so seen thank you mrs courtney<33 as a queer muslim it was almost too much for my heart to handle to see Shamsah's story。 theres 4。5 starsstill crying :D ive heard some mixed reviews of this book but i personally found it an incredibly important story of findng your faith, since many of the muslim mc books ive read have characters born into a muslim family, and you don't hear much about the "faith finding" aspect of religion a lot。 also shamsahs story was SOOOO NECESSARY IM CRYING THE REP i felt so seen thank you mrs courtney<33 as a queer muslim it was almost too much for my heart to handle to see Shamsah's story。 theres so much more i could say, but i dont have the time lol so yeah read it :) 。。。more

Charlene

This book captured me in the first chapter。 The middle was a little slow, but overall, I really enjoyed the read。

Sarah

i didnt really enjoy the representation in this book。 it was a DNF for me。 the fact that MC kinda seems ashamed at her culture most of the time is really weird and not what i expected whrn i read the blurb/ title of this book。

Lindsay C-T

Really smart, interesting, & enlightening read。

Shaddia

I've never related to a book more and I loved it! It made me feel less alone in my own struggles of not fitting in with either of my cultures (being too much of one, not enough of the other, and vice versa)。 Would definitely recommend! I've never related to a book more and I loved it! It made me feel less alone in my own struggles of not fitting in with either of my cultures (being too much of one, not enough of the other, and vice versa)。 Would definitely recommend! 。。。more