Yes no maybe so – A book review

Yes no maybe so – A book review

What turns a book good to great? I would love reading a predictable story if it has awesome, well developed characters. Is that what happened with Yes no maybe so? I am not hinting anything! Read on to find out more.

What turns a book good to great? I would love reading a predictable story if it has awesome, well developed characters. Is that what happened with Yes no maybe so? I am not hinting anything! Read on to find out more. Click To Tweet

About the book

YES NO MAYBE so cover

Book Name: Yes no maybe so

Author: Becky Albertalli, Aisha Saeed

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Jamie and Sophie Goldberg, Maya Rehman, Sara, Gabe.

Setting: Atlanta, GeorgiaThe United States of America

The plot

Jamie is a shy, awkward teen who wants to do everything in his might to help his favorite congressman win. He has aspirations to be a politician himself one day, if he can survive his toast at his sister’s bat mitzvah. To make things worse, his mom is pushing him to try out door to door canvassing.

Maya is a Pakistani-American Muslim who is not having the best summer. Her parents are splitting up and her best friend is moving away and has been too busy to hang out lately. When her parents offer to buy her a car in return for canvassing for Rossum, she is not thrilled. 

By luck and their mothers’ will, Jamie and Maya begin their canvassing with different goals in their mind. But a bill that was passed recently targeting Muslims and anti Semitic against Rossum’s supporters get them both rallied up.

Will the slow burn chemistry between them derail them from their political campaigns? Or is it the opposite? You might have to read Yes no maybe so to know more. 

My initial thoughts

Yes no maybe so is a cute YA contemporary romance with a liberal dose of politics. It takes a strong stand on their political leaning towards a particular side. So if you had strong opinions about it or that will stop you from enjoying this YA romance, you might have to watch out.

Even as someone who is not from the USA, I am not totally devoid of any opinions about it and such a law against covering the head would be against personal freedom, something that the USA boasts of quite often.

The one thing that did not sit right with me Maya’s sudden change of opinion towards kissing Jamie, given that she was not allowed to date non Muslim guys or to be physically intimate with a buy before marriage. Sure she was missing him and in love with him, but kissing (or any kinda physical intimacy) was explicitly forbidden. What made her make that leap?

This might sound too weird for others, but “no physical intimacy before marriage” is a real thing with desi families, and I am sure it would have been more strict in a Muslim household. #RepresentationMatters.

I loved Jamie’s cool grandmother and Sophie was a diva. I would love to read a spin off or fan fiction with them as main characters. It has been a while since I loved the sub plots so  much. 

Things that worked for me

  • I loved the fact that the romance takes a back seat (for a tiny bit) for family and politics.
  • Jamie was perfect. His awkwardness and mishaps kept me laughing!
  • The side characters were extremely well developed and I loved Sophie, especially.
  • And Yes no maybe so is based on a true story!

Things that didn’t work for me

  • We could have seen a bit more of Maya’s faith and her community.
  • Maya changing her belief and value for a white guy, may come off as a “white savior” thing to some.
  • And yes, the book takes a political stand. If you don’t like politics mixing with pleasure reading, that might be turn off for you.

Bottom-line

Yes no maybe so is cute and perfect for a summer read, or you know, for just staying in due to the lock down. It has well developed and likeable characters and takes a political stand. 

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Let us chat

Have you read Yes No Maybe So? What makes a good book great for you? What do you think about contemporary books that take a stand on social issues? Let us talk.

Yes no maybe so – A book review

Review Shots: It is all about family and friendships

It has been a while since I posted these review shots but here I am. I will be posting these mini reviews on the first Monday of every month, as per my old schedule. And I have a huge review backlog so I will utilizing this chance perfectly. 

This week I have three books that everyone, well almost everyone, I know has read already and everything that is to be said about them has been said. So I am gonna make them short and quick, a.k.a bite sized mine reviews. 


elgeewrites Review Shots: It is all about family and friendships SImon

Book Name: Simon and the homo sapiens agenda

Series: Creekwood #1

Author:  Becky Albertalli

Genre: Fiction – Romance, LGBTQAYoung Adult

Characters: Simon Spier, Martin Addison, Abby Suso, Nick Eisner, Leah Burke

Setting: Shady Creek, Georgia, The USA

This book put a smile on my face. I started to read the book just before I watched the movie, as per my usual rule. And I didn’t want to end at all.

Every character was freaking adorable and well adorable. It is a simple boy meets boy story with a hint of mystery angle in it. The writing was so perfect that I read another one of the author’s books. Everyone should read this one. 

I loved that the book asked the correct questions about LGBTQA, without being too preachy about it. It also spoke about friendship and family support.


elgeewrites Review Shots: It is all about family and friendships TAtbilb

Book Name: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Series: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han

Genre: Fiction – Romance, Young Adult

Characters: Lara Jean, Peter Kavinsky, Kitty, Margot, Josh

Setting: Charlottesville, Virginia, The USA

I will be reviewing the whole series than each book, as I read them in one shot without stopping between them. I usually don’t love book series but this one bowled me over.

The story revolves around Lara Jean, an introvert who writes letters to her crushes to get it out of her system. Unexpectedly those get delivered to all those boys and hilarity ensues. The leads are so relatable and again family relationships and friendships form a big role in the series. 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a a cute story that was converted to a Netflix film just a while ago due to the hype it created. And I assure you the film does not disappoint as well.


elgeewrites Review Shots: It is all about family and friendships Nordic king

Book Name: Nordic King

Author: Karina Halle

Genre: Fiction – Romance, Contemporary

Characters: Aurora, King Askel, Clara and Freja

Setting: Copenhagen, Denmark

Aurora is selected to be the new nanny for the Nordic royal family. She is from the Australian outbacks and is no way considered fit to be teaching the royal princess or to be the King’s new girl friend – or is she? 

Even though the plot is kinda predictable I enjoyed reading this one. I liked the family dynamics and the friendship between the kids and their nanny. Perfect for a cold afternoon read with cup of coffee. 

So how did you like these books? Do you do mini reviews on your blog? Do you like reading them? Let us talk about it.

Family

Yes no maybe so – A book review

One with the ‘No Internet’ Holiday: Spotlight Sunday #04

I am back from Georgia after the holidays and I am so glad I took it. I never felt like I needed a holiday until I took it. AND I SAW the SNOWFLAKES FALLING and even tried to ski. Of course, the country has much more than just snow and it wouldn’t suffice to say I loved Georgia, the country.

Holiday
It is the country, not the US state, peeps.

I think I should make a post on my trip instead of hogging this post, right? But I am gonna be sharing some irrelevant pictures from my trip anyway. Just Cuz I Can.

Around the blogosphere

I have only a few links to share this week from the blogsphere since I was out of internet all week. Lets get right on to it.

1) It is true that I am over enthused to talk about my recent trip to Europe but do you know what else I am thrilled about? Meghan Markle is marrying the Prince. I loved her from Suits and if you are like and can’t get enough of them, you should catch upon these books on royals from Bustle.

2) I got to read this excellent post from Avalinahsbooks on getting more comments on your blog with Shruti from This is lit and I loved it. I know I keep sharing lots of Eva’s posts week after week but what can I do she does so many of these awesome posts under #NewBloggers101

Holiday
Not just snow!

3) Fanna offered her two cents on the status of book bloggers in the current publishing scenario. I loved it and it was definitely much needed morale boost.

4) While we are on the topic of the loving blogging community, Lara talks about why she loves blogging. I can’t agree with her enough on the reasons why I love blogging – books, the wonderful bookish community, more books and talking about books.

Holiday
The Quintessential Europe!

5) I might be the last one to try these Hogwarts sorting hats but I finally did it, it was quite fun. You should try them too.

6) If you are like me binging on Fanfics over the internet between the books, then you should relate with the pain of having to read 10 bad ones to find a gem. Cat on the shelf tells us how she finds the best one in Fanfiction.net.

elgeewrites One with the 'No Internet' Holiday: Spotlight Sunday #04 IMG 2488
Straight out of a spooky movie, right? Boo!

On my blog

On Monday’s review section we had Camino Island by John Grisham.

Holiday

And the Flyaway Friday had a Q & A from Marie of Drizzles and hurricane giving us an insider view about living in France.

Holiday

I did catch up on a bit of reading on the flight and ticking off my status on the A-Z Reading challenge as well.

I will be linking today’s post with Caffeinated reviewer’s Sunday post Meme.

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Holiday

Let us talk

Thats all from my side, folks. I am gonna have to hit my bed after almost a week’s time and hopefully I will dream of snow. Let me know how your week was and gossips at your end. I will be replying each one of you, I swear.