I liked the first half of the book significantly more than the latter part. In the first half you're learning along with Ali - about life in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia, about Islam, the role of women in these countries, about love and learning and just growing up. The second half or so goes into Ali's escape to the Netherlands (a mistranslation that they call "Holland" which is actually a region), but it also turns into a propaganda book. While it is still an autobiography, it turns into more about Ali's views on Islam and women within it. I finished the book feeling conflicted in my rating. I loved the first part - the second part made me think and had some valid points but her almost over aggression towards the subject matter made me want her to tone it down.

In general, this is a fairly approachable cookbook. She explains the spices, how to substitute and where to get them, and while there can be a lot of them, it doesn't feel overwhelming. Reasons for deducting stars are personal - nearly every savory recipe has a chili in it, so the spicy heat averse won't enjoy this cookbook. Otherwise pretty and colorful!

Dnf at 61 pages. Beautiful prose but after several chapters I couldn't find all that much of a plot, so put it down.