I'm torn about this book. Is it (unfortunately) currently relevant, and probably about to be more so with the upcoming administration? Yes. Are these things that a lot of teens are dealing with in this very moment? Yes. However, I do wonder if it hits a little too close to home because of that. I'm not sure how many teens will want to pick up something that is currently happening all around the country.

In general, this book is well written. The characters are strong, the pacing is pretty good for the most part, and Ahmed hits the far right book banning movement head on. If you read this and think that those people are absolutely ridiculous, you're right. But there are people in real life who sound like that. I do think this is an important story, and is a good jumping off point if you want to learn more about the current state of book banning in the United States.