YA Book Rec

Today’s post is a Young Adult book recommendation! You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen has been my favorite new book that I’ve read for the first time over the summer. It’s absolutely incredible and I cannot recommend it enough.

I feel that it’s important for authors to create books with strong teenage female leads that young women can draw inspiration from. No matter what they’re going through, if they can find that one book that is both inspiring and relatable, that makes all the difference.

This beautiful novel is about three young Muslim women named Sabriya, Zakat, and Farah.

It starts with Sabriya, who in response to a terrorist attack, begins writing in an online journal which she titles You Truly Assumed. This journal she thought was private until she starts receiving hundreds of comments and likes. At first, she’s shocked and slightly freaked because the words that she held so close to her heart had unintentionally been put out in the open for the public to see. However, when Sabriya sees that other girls like her were able to draw hope and inspiration from it, she makes the decision to keep the journal public.

Soon, two new girls named Zakat and Farah join the You Truly Assumed admin team. Together these girls blog about their hopes and dreams for the future and about the broken feeling that came after the terrorist attack. In response, they navigate hate and racism, but when they come across even one comment that tells them that their blog brought light and hope, that’s the reason they continue.

We live in an imperfect world. I think it’s important to write books that show this but that also highlight the beauty of it and the strength and hope that new generations bring.

Content warning-

racism, online bullying, terrorism, mention of a high school pregnancy, and language (including F-words)