Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga

Jude lives in her war torn city with her family, her brother Issa believes and fights to campaign for peace despite their father, their Baba being against it as Issa gets involved in fighting back.

As her and her mum must flee after Issa joins the fighters and her Baba refuses to leave his store life takes a huge change.

Arriving in America to her uncle and his wife and daughter Sarah who are all Americans and speak perfect English unlike them who have to learn. Her cousin Fatima doesn't write for a start making her feel more alone than ever away from everything she ever knew.

in American she becomes a woman starting her period and wearing a hijab as well as getting her first crush and gets to perform at her new school while her cousin seems uninterested in including her in anything.

From making new friends, joining school and discovering drama as well as a new baby sister, tension in family with Issa and Baba this book kept on giving drama which made this a thrilling read and a great one to show how hard it can be to be a muslim girl and cope with such a hard lot stacked against her. I liked the way the verse flowed and it suited this book to be written this way.

Planet Omar Book 1: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian

Omar and his family have just moved to a new house. There they have a new grumpy old neighbour and are the only Muslims in the area.

As Omar joins a new school he goes through the motions of being nervous to finding a friend in Charlie but also a bully in Daniel.

Though as his neighbour falls ill, the family celebrate Eid and a trip to London for school goes awry, drama mounts up but it may be for the better overall!

The book focuses on showing how a Muslim family lives their day to day life and how they can face prejudice and try to make people more tolerant of their beliefs and how they are just like us apart from they have to say their prayers multiple times a day really! It highlights the importance of Mali friends and not judging someone even bullies can change and aren't always big and scary and great debut I can't wait for more in Omar's series!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

We Are Not Okay by Natalia Gomes

In this book we meet Sophie, she loves her boyfriend but feels pressed to have sex with him. She's friends with Ulana. However she fixates on being the perfect weight and sends her boyfriend a risky photo he asks her to send...

Sophie admires Lucy, popular girl and recently single after secretly her boyfriend Rhys dumped her not the other way round and starts seeing Trina like she lies to her friends. She also hates the fact her dad left for a new family and her mum can't leave the house now. Only as she wishes her ex would go back to her she makes a shocking discovery that he had no idea about as he moves on unaware what has happened since their split...

Trina, Rhys new sort of girlfriend doesn't fit the stereotype of university student as she feels stuck in her town with her mum as shes in debt. She gets called a slut at school because of rumours and how she dresses.

Ulana is a new girl, a muslim in a school alone from her fellow usual students who accepted her. Her only friend seems to be Sophie now and Aidian who sticks up for her against the bullies only as the pair descend into a relationship her religious beliefs start to break their happiness despite Aidan wanting them to act like a normal couple...

The girls lives collide as they all deal with serious teen issues as describe above and further others in the book it's a relatable book as anything mentioned could happen to a teen girl or a girl of any age. I liked that the characters all had very different personalities from being shy, outgoing, self assured etc sometimes it can be hard to split characters apart in your mind but these were all unique and made the read better. This is a book perfect for showing the pressures that can be mounted on teens.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

All The Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman

Mahreen is a Muslim teen whom feels she can't compete or stand out in her family against her brother or cousin who are both high achievers and has what she call The Chaos in her mind telling her to cut and causing her depression.

Cara is a disabled wheelchair user after a car crash changed her and her mum's lives forever and she feels stifled by her mum now too.

Olivia is a girl from a rich broken family background with a sinister secret about her mum's new boyfriend and wants to escape her life.

The girls get put together after they each individually sign up to a suicide pact website, MementoMori.

Only as the girls complete the tasks and hang out more they become friends. Until things change after they stop doing the tasks set to them from the website and instead have their lives ruined by the person behind the website as they manipulate all the information about the girls as they can. As each girl hits a new low, one of them goes too far but with the girls not talking, can they come together to save each other in time?

The plot reminded me of the Hollyoaks teen self harm pact with a digital edge from the website involved in this book. It doesn't belittle mental health but shows the sinister extent teens could go to harm or end their lives. The website reminds me of the anorexia buddy websites we hear about causing harm to teens mental health and this book broke down boundaries that mental health only effects one type of person as we get the three very different girls all suffering. I particularly like Olivia telling her story in verse as she came across as a ghost in her own home forgot by her mum as she suffered abuse unnoticed. This book will make you appreciate all the good in the world, as it can be horrifically dark.

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!