Land of No Regrets

by Sadi Muktadir

A heart-wrenching story of four students who find hope and kinship amidst the challenges of growing up at a harrowing Madrasa in rural Ontario

Nabil, freshly plucked from middle school in Scarborough, is struggling to find his place at Al Haque Islamic Academy. Between the intense religious studies and new rules, he still longs for his past life of baseball, video games, comic books and girls. When he stumbles upon Maaz and Nawaaz doing something they shouldn't be doing, he quickly falls into their company and joins them in their misdeeds. And together with the new transfer student and unruly class clown Farid, the group executes their rebellion.

One day, while exploring the Madrasa at night, the boys discover the diary of a student who lived on the grounds when it was an all-girls Catholic school. Cynthia Lewis' words connect them to a bygone era and inspires them to hatch a plot to escape. They form a pact, and together, their ultimate decision sends them hurtling down a path that changes their lives forever.

Strikingly original, and as poignant as it is humorous, Land of No Regrets is a vibrant, compassionate exploration of faith, friendship, identity, and the true value of freedom.

Genres: Dark Academia, Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, Religion, Canada, Literary Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2024

Reviews

[Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best book I’ve read so far this year. Mid-pace, thought-provoking and total page turner!

I really really loved the parallels that were made between the main characters’ experiences and that of the girl in the diary. There was something really beautiful about the tension between the guilt of reading a forbidden text and the relief and confusion of seeing yourself and your anxieties reflected in those very words.

It was also really refreshing to read a coming of age story about masculinity that didn’t lean into violence and portray it as a normal part of growing up. Instead, the characters are critical of it, and come together and protect each other from pain through vulnerability and hope, while also showing in real-time the ways that masculinity demands us to erase the soft parts of ourselves that show love and tenderness to others and to ourselves.

Such an easy five stars.

[Asiya (lavenderdecaflatte)]

It’s so unfair that someone else wrote a book about an Islamic boarding school for an English speaking audience before me

[Michelle Leung · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Land of No Regrets" captures the struggles of young Nabil and his transition to the fictional Al Haque Islamic Academy while yearning for his previous life of normalcy and freedom. The book quickly introduces the reader to a cast of compelling characters - Maaz, Nawaaz, and Farid (to name a few) - who form an unlikely bond amidst the strict environment. One day, the boys discover an old diary from a girl named Cynthia who used to live on the grounds when Al Haque was an all-girls Catholic school. This discovery triggers a journey of self-discovery and rebellion, ultimately leading them to confront the limitations imposed upon them. Some of my favorite passages from the book were the diary entries, and the commentary from the boys, who were hooked from the first page! It turns out the struggles of a religious upbringing can be universal regardless of the faith.

I thought this novel blended a lot of humor, heart, and hope while delving into complex themes of religion, friendship, and identity. The dialogue felt visceral and real, drawing me into the boys' experience with boyhood while wrestling with their commitment to their faith. I felt that Sadi successfully infused the narrative with authentic experiences and perspectives, shedding light on a lesser-explored facet of Canadian literature. Personally, it really opened my eyes to new experiences, so I'm glad stories like this are being published.

[Zaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is fire. I didn't realize it took place in the GTA until the torontomans slang showed up. It was that much more immersive or special or something. I can't quite identify what the feeling is, when very specific vocabulary and cultural norms and expectations and physical locations which you recognize or connect with, because you grew up alongside them, seen? two twos I need to read more books by brown authors, still.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley & Hanover Square Press for an eARC ♥️

Ah, the joys and pains of growing up! 'The Land of No Regrets' transported me back to my own teenage years, navigating identity, friendship, and the quest for independence. I couldn't help but root for Nabil, Maaz, Nawaaz, and Farid as they formed an unbreakable bond amidst the strict rules of their madrasa. Their discovery of Cynthia Morgan's diary sparks a journey that resonated deep within me - the desire to break free from expectations and forge our own paths.

I love how this book tackles complex themes with humor, heart, and hope. It's a reminder that our experiences, though unique, share a common humanity. I found myself reflecting on my own regrets and triumphs, and the friendships that shaped me. 'The Land of No Regrets' is a testament to the power of storytelling and the resilience of youth. It's a book that will stay with me, inspiring me to embrace life's ups and downs with courage and compassion.♥️

[Ahsan Kureshi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The reviews down here on this book’s page makes me lose faith in Goodreads.
I’ll confess, I only read 40% of this. I’d insist that act was more cumbersome than running a marathon. It’s a bad, bad book. Hollow characters, fleeting story, and immature writing.
I only picked this up because I’m a fan of the agent for this book. This book kind of ruins my impression of her. Yes, it’s that bad.

[Samantha // fictionfigurine · Rating 5 out of 5]

YOU GUYS 💔

[Sydney Corcoran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ruined me 🫶🏻

[Kenzie Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story is about friendship; my Jaw DROPED in the last chapter of this one. I learned a lot about Islam+ I liked that this book was Canadian (all took place in the gta)

[Stacy40pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Land of No Regrets by Sadi Muktadir. Thanks to @htpbooks @htp_hive for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Four students are growing up at the Al Haque Islamic Academy. When they find an old diary from a girl who lived there when it was an all-girls Catholic school, it changes their perspective and lives forever.

This was a great coming of age story that I was not expecting to like as much as I did. The main character was hilarious at times and I loved watching him come into his own, his friendships, and his identity. The pacing was back and forth for me. At times I was super into it and other times I found it dragging a bit. It was unexpected but a great story.

“That’s what Al Haque’s victims did: rose and lived eternal. But we weren’t victims. We were interested in living a life of the dying, clinging to middle school passions as they were beat out of us one by one at the slowest pace known to humanity. Until we were villains.”

Land of No Regrets comes out 5/21.

[Nadia Masood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a heartfelt exploration of faith, friendship, and the true meaning of freedom. I was surprised by how deeply it moved me—perhaps because I share the same culture and religion as the characters?

The essence of adolescence, friendship, and the quest for identity within the confines of a strict religious setting is beautifully captured in this book. Muktadir’s writing is both tender and witty.

This type of story was a new experience for me. While I knew that madrasas were strict in terms of discipline, I was curious about the daily lives of the students.

I enjoyed reading about how the boys formed their friendships, their daring adventures laced with the thrill (and fear) of getting caught, their reflections on life and religion, and the discovery of a girl’s diary that ultimately changes everything for them.

I must admit that the pacing of the story occasionally falters, with some sections feeling a bit drawn out.

The ending left me heartbroken. It’s a book that leaves us reflecting on our own journeys and the bonds that shape them.

This novel is highly recommended for readers who enjoy heartfelt stories of friendship and identity, particularly those interested in diverse cultural settings.

[ness · Rating 3 out of 5]

never did i think i would ever see a published book taking place at a madrasa (islamic boarding school)...

✅ unapologetically muslim. i'm so thankful the author trusts his readers to know islamic terms/words without feeling the need to explain everything

✅ the story explores themes such as questioning religion yet the main characters don't lose faith which i truly appreciated

✅ the parallel between islamic school and catholic school was interesting

✅ we need to have an open discussion on how a lot of children are, to put it bluntly, physically and verbally abused by people in positions of authority (parents, teachers, religious leaders, etc) and how it's normalized in our communities because older generations dealt with that and pass down their trauma

❌ some of the dialogue felt kind of weird/off

❌ i'm sorry but i really did not enjoy the ending 😭😭😭

❌ about 2/3 way thru it felt like i was reading trauma p0rn. it was one bad thing after another after another. i feel like every book with muslim characters always has something extreme occur to them in the story. why can't we simply exist or get a happy ending 😭😭😭

[janna ✭ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never want to read the words "chopped a shordie" ever again.

Surprised at how high the ratings for this book are, considering the second half is just trauma porn à la A Little Life

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just terrible. I don’t buy that teenage boys would care at all about the diary of a Catholic school girl from 40 years before. I was totally turned off by how foul-mouthed these kids were and all the ridiculous slang.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm rounding this up to 3 stars, as I do recognize the talent on display, but all I can do is admire it. The story it tells, and the characters within that story, fail to connect with me. What I was hoping for, and only receive a trace of, is the story of the original generation of immigrants -- trying and perhaps failing to assert their view of the world on the next generation born in Canada. That story was the one that whet my appetitie...but I didn't get it in this novel. But I will say that I appreciated this new voice & perspective in CanLit's examination of the immigrant experience.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. I'm glad I listened to it as an audio book to get proper pronunciation of words I've never heard.

Most of the story is from the main characters point of view, but each of the four have a short chapter from theirs as well.

[Nikki Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh what a great read— super introspective and beautifully written. Not normally one I’d pick up so grateful to the Goodreads’ badge for recommending. Loved this book even though it also broke my heart

[Victoria Fontaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

la fin????? je comprends pas comment les ratings sont si haut. tellement de potentiel, mais j’ai vraiment été déçue, surtout par la fin. je pense que j’étais zéro le public cible pour ce livre, c’était full problématique sur pleins de points, je suis pas impressionnée.

[Enid Wray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another title I read recently - Pearly Everlasting by Tammy Armstrong - found itself in the last half, whereas this title lost itself in the last half.

I really wanted to love this title - and indeed I enjoyed this up until about the halfway point where it just started to go on and on and on - endlessly on…

The whole tenor of the book changed.

All the business with the teenaged boys with hormones going wild, phone sex, homophobia, and then the quest - to find Cynthia - just didn’t work - appeal? - to me at all.

I will add the proviso that my reading experience has been very disjointed on this one - a little bit here, a little bit there, with sometimes days between time to listen to it - so it may not entirely be ‘the book’ but my attention span….

2.5 rounded up to 3

[Sara Risley · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE LAND OF NO REGRETS by @sadi_muktadir I found this advanced reader copy in a Little Free Library. This was a heartbreaking story of 4 boys who find a deep friendship while enduring the horrors of an Islamic boarding school. It was an intriguing read about which I knew/know little. The characters were well drawn and likable and you are enthralled by their escapades. The heartbreaking ending had me sobbing. Recommended but with triggers for physical abuse.
Note to the author, it would be fantastic if a glossary was included. I googled so many words and it would have been great to leaf to the back for quicker reference.

[Athina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was honestly a great book but there were some aspects that lead me to give it 3 stars. Many Arabic and Islamic terms were used so when I felt like it, I had to do quick research. I wish the book had an index in the back.
Overall, I appreciate the author had written a book with a new voice and perspective in Canadian literature. I’d like to read a Muslims female perspective in Canada. (Maybe there is some published already 🤔)

I’m also from Scarborough, born and raised (second gen). I loved the Toronto slang 🤣

[Zainab Naqvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of brotherhood and religion like no other (it also hit so close to home). Cried when I didn't expect to cry. A page-turner of a book where I would randomly think about the 4 boys and what was next in their adventure during my day.

I really loved how this book explored friendship between boys, exposed physical child abuse for what it is (i.e., cowardly and inhumane), and the conflicting and curious feelings that arise with religion and religiosity.

[Dominika Grzelak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is haram and I loved every minute of it! A brilliant work of Canadian art that hit all the right buttons in my immigrant, Catholic-school-survivor-turned-
English-major-soul. There are incredible references only a 90s kid would get, and a longing for belonging that's just right for us third culture kids. It reminded me of the movie Strike! and I really hope it will be made into a movie too so I can see the LOL one-liners on the big screen!

[Tamara Younce · Rating 2 out of 5]

It happens rarely, but after 35% of this book I had to put it down. I thoroughly was not enjoying myself, and I read for the joy of it. Perhaps it just wasn’t my time for this book. I just didn’t get it.

[Nad]

Admittedly, I read Land of No Regrets on and off since June so my memory of the story is a bit fuzzy. I wouldn't say this was a new favourite book by any means but I do respect his intention with the novel.

While I did not attend a full-time madrasa like the characters of this book, I did attend Sunday School at a mosque as a wee child (up until age 15 lol) and I think Land of No Regrets nails the atmosphere of religious schools, particularly Islamic ones, very well. I appreciated the commentary on what it means to balance deen (religion) and dunya (the worldly life) and what that looks like for a kid forced into a madrasa. In regards to religion, the book was not entirely self-hating nor was it very preachy either. I think oftentimes with media depicting Muslims, artists feel the need to overcompensate for the large representation of Muslims who are either distant from or oppressed by religion. While I do believe this comes from a place with good intentions, sometimes this can lead to art that feels overly moralizing and didactic, and like, there's a place for it and it is definitely important for positive depictions of Muslims to exist. It's just that it's exhausting to know that Muslim authors/creators have this burden of creating acceptable stories instead of focusing on putting out honest ones (definitely not saying that positive depictions are dishonest by any means!). All this said, I commend the author for putting forth an authentic story even if it wasn't always positive. It's a book that's rich with themes related to religion, freedom and friendship. While there is a lot of typical teenage boy behaviour, there is a lot of tenderness that exists between the main characters.

The writing in general was good, with the stronger sections being Nabil's reflections and internal monologues. However, there were times where I felt that the story and the writing could have been tightened a bit better during the editing process. The dialogue I found very grating to read even if it was realistic for 14 year-olds from the GTA. The ending itself, was good but the execution felt very rushed as though the author ran out of steam.

Overall, the book was flawed but I do look forward to whatever the author writes next as there are a lot of strong ideas and themes in Land of No Regrets.

[Mac S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nabil is shipped off to the Al Haque Islamic Academy, where he will learn how to live a faithful and dutiful life as a good Muslim. In this madrasa, the maulanas rid their students of the western world, and force them into submission through beatings and other forms of corporal punishment. Nabil and his gang of friends, Newaaz, Maaz, and Farid, share different beliefs and levels of faith, but they are united against this life which is so different from that in which they grew up. And though their maulanas attempt to shelter them from the outside world, their madrasa is not impenetrable.

Life in the madrasa is eerily similar to life in a catholic boarding school, as demonstrated by Cynthia’s journal. Nabil and his friends are shocked at how much they relate to Cynthia’s diary entries. This was, frankly put, a brilliant plot point, since it shifted the lessons of the novel to religious indoctrination rather than a strict focus on Islam.

This book was a bit of a challenge for me, in that I realized how little I actually understand of Islam. I had never heard the terms “madrasa” (Islamic educational institution) or “maulana” (Muslim religious teacher/leader) before. I love how novels can help educate me on different communities around me.

I found many of the topics really deep and philosophical, but I’m not sure how much of that stems from my ignorance of Islamic teachings. For example, the main characters point out how vinegar is halal, even though it comes from alcohol (which is haram); so why are other cases or haram/halal so rigid?

This was a very heavy and powerful book, which really highlights the inherit sexism, homophobia, and indoctrination in many religions, and the need for children to explore their identities.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Land of No Regrets by Sadi Muktadir is a coming-of-age novel centring around Nabil, a teenaged boy transferring to a Madrasa from a public school. Set in Northumberland County Ontario, Nabil navigates his new life with his three new friends: Nawaaz, Maaz, and Farid. After a bit of time, the boys discover a diary from a girl, Cynthia, who went to their school when it was an all-girls Catholic school in the 1970s. Unbeknownst to them, the discovery of the diary would change their lives forever.

I was completely swept away by this novel. Muktadir does a fantastic job of weaving together the problems of teenaged boys with more complex themes such as religion, politics, and class. With the inclusion of the diary the boys found, the novel also becomes a conversation with time, and differing religions.

I would highly recommend Land of No Regrets to anyone who loves coming-of-age novels. I think that the themes of religion, politics, and friendship make this a novel everyone should pick up. I was captivated by the writing and following along the journey of Nabil and his friends. Although there are many serious and sad moments in the novel, there is also humour and kindness. The ending was unexpected for me, so I may need 3-5 days to process it.

Land of No Regrets comes out on May 21, 2024!

Thank you to @harpercollinsca and @sadi_muktadir for my advanced ecopy of the novel in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Bailey Bridgewater · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this one up because it was recommended on a list of the best recent dark academia. Though this one is set at a religious boarding school, I'm not really sure I would categorize it that way. Nonetheless, it's a brilliant story of intense friendship, abuse of power, culture, and the dangers of forcing oppressive religious systems (any oppressive religion systems) on young people. There are some flaws, of course - I'm not sure the pov ever needed to shift from the main character. The sort of journalistic insert towards the end was jarring and unwelcome. But overall, the story is well paced and well structured, and the boys that make up the primary friend group are interesting and distinct. I particularly liked how, even though it's literally all male characters except for a mostly invisible female presence, the female voice is respected, and the boys actively question misogyny. It's also a great representation of how male friendship can be supportive and open instead of competitive and toxic. The LGBTQ+ themes are also handled respectfully. If you don't like kind of bleak endings, proceed with caution, but it's that way for a reason; the author has an important point to make about accountability (or the lack of it.) Looking forward to more from this author.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The truth is that being a young boy can be a traumatic experience, and I think that Sadi Muktadir has captured a new side of this from the Madrasa angle. I understand why some readers disliked this, yet I found it brilliant and even refreshing that we can put into print the things that happen to our youth so that we can learn to respect them as people--yes, they are still learning, but using physical and psychological beatings to form people is why we have arrived at a point in time when humanity is backtracking towards more unfounded hate and violence. When we try to understand and have compassion for those who suffer, we learn to accept ourselves and everyone else on this Earth.
Too often our so-called compassion is reserved for those who we perceive to be like us; we deny "the other" the respect and compassion that all humans deserve because we cannot reconcile or even begin to understand our fear.
While this story was emotional at times, for me, I imagined that maybe the teenaged years might have been easier when shared with kindred spirits; I will never know.
What threw me, though, was the ending. It twisted my heart until it metaphorically ripped in half.

[Kristi Kasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Land of No Regrets is a unique coming of age story. The plot centers around Nabil, a young Canadian teenager whose parents send him to an Islamic religious school (Madrasa) after he ventures too far from their strict rules. This move away from secular culture into religious training takes Nabil away from having freedom, fun and adventure. Nabil does make fast friends with like-minded students at his new school, but their rebellious nature, as a group, spells trouble for their time at this harshly run Madrasa.

Sadi Muktadir is a talented writer and he made this story feel very authentic and heartfelt. I really appreciated that this book opened my eyes to a world I knew very little about (I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t even know what a Madrasa was prior to reading this book). More generally, I am glad books like this are being published - stories that capture a broader range of Canadian experiences.

Thank you to Harper Collins Canada and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.