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Conviction
The story of a young, American woman’s misguided journey to join ISIS and the grief of the mother she leaves behind—a gripping and thought-provoking exploration of loss, empathy, and hope from the acclaimed author of The Mercy Seat
Maggie is gone. And her mother, Ann, is reeling.
In the aftermath of 9/11, eleven-year-old Maggie’s first instinct was rage. But when her parents took her to an open house at a mosque, she glimpsed a faith of beauty and peace—and over time came to embrace Islam as her own.
A decade later, Maggie has left Maine for the life in New York she always dreamed of. Yet her joy is shadowed by images from civilians starving, children buried under rubble. She feels powerless to help. Then she meets Ahmet, the handsome and headstrong son of a neighborhood baker. Ahmet is enraged by all the same things she is—so much that he leaves his life behind to join a new rebel group emerging in Syria, electrified by its sweeping vision to fight Assad and create a Muslim utopia. The group is ISIS.
Driven by love, Maggie follows him into territory from which she can’t return. Trapped without her passport and cut off from home, she slowly gleans the brutal nature of the group she has joined, one that does not share her vision of Islam.
Told in counterpoint between mother and daughter, America and Syria, Conviction is both intimate and global in a portrait of love during war, and a nuanced dive into the horrors of the modern world and the conditions that beget violence.
Maggie is gone. And her mother, Ann, is reeling.
In the aftermath of 9/11, eleven-year-old Maggie’s first instinct was rage. But when her parents took her to an open house at a mosque, she glimpsed a faith of beauty and peace—and over time came to embrace Islam as her own.
A decade later, Maggie has left Maine for the life in New York she always dreamed of. Yet her joy is shadowed by images from civilians starving, children buried under rubble. She feels powerless to help. Then she meets Ahmet, the handsome and headstrong son of a neighborhood baker. Ahmet is enraged by all the same things she is—so much that he leaves his life behind to join a new rebel group emerging in Syria, electrified by its sweeping vision to fight Assad and create a Muslim utopia. The group is ISIS.
Driven by love, Maggie follows him into territory from which she can’t return. Trapped without her passport and cut off from home, she slowly gleans the brutal nature of the group she has joined, one that does not share her vision of Islam.
Told in counterpoint between mother and daughter, America and Syria, Conviction is both intimate and global in a portrait of love during war, and a nuanced dive into the horrors of the modern world and the conditions that beget violence.
- GenresFictionContemporary
304 pages, Hardcover
Published July 14, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 18, 2026
Absolutely riveting from the first page until the last.
I recommend the audiobook.
I recommend the audiobook.
March 20, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for this book.
There was much I liked about this—the premise of a young girl swept up into ISIS, the exploration of religion and ideology, the multiple perspectives—and I enjoyed the story itself. It was engaging and compelling—I wanted to see how Maggie’s story would play out, I wanted to see how Ann would cope.
But the last 1/4 fel a little flat for me—the pacing was off, and storylines felt rushed where they would have benefitted from more time and examination.
There was much I liked about this—the premise of a young girl swept up into ISIS, the exploration of religion and ideology, the multiple perspectives—and I enjoyed the story itself. It was engaging and compelling—I wanted to see how Maggie’s story would play out, I wanted to see how Ann would cope.
But the last 1/4 fel a little flat for me—the pacing was off, and storylines felt rushed where they would have benefitted from more time and examination.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 Stars
This novel made me think of the conflict between passion and reason and even reminded me of Romeo and Juliet and their rash decisions.
After 9/11, Maggie, raised a “Christian atheist,” converts to Islam. In 2012, she leaves Maine to live in New York City where she gets a job at a bakery owned by a Kurdish man named Sirvan. There she meets and falls in love with Sirvan’s son Ahmet. Angered by what he sees happening in Syria, Ahmet leaves to join a new rebel group emerging there, believing that ISIS will create a Muslim utopia. Without telling anyone beforehand, Maggie joins Ahmet in 2015. Once in Syria, she slowly comes to realize the magnitude of her error when she sees the brutality of ISIS.
The novel gives two perspectives: that of Maggie and that of Ann, her mother left behind in Maine. When she learns that Maggie has left for Syria, Ann grieves the loss of her daughter, worries about Maggie’s welfare, and is also confused, constantly wondering “just how it happened, how her daughter got from here to there, from Maine to Syria, from baking cakes to slinging guns across her back.” There are also snippets of the life of Noor and her family. Noor is a midwife in Syria forced to assist in delivering ISIS babies. From the beginning, the question is whether Maggie’s story and that of Noor will intersect.
Maggie’s character is a key element in the novel. Her father describes her as possessing strong ideals and a will of steel. She becomes obsessed with what is happening in Syria; in fact, her father “wishes she would moderate; fixating isn’t going to do anyone any good.” She is horrified not only by Assad’s atrocities but is also angered by the treatment of Muslims in her own country and “always eager to expand her catalogue of atrocities wrought by US foreign policy.” Her desire to help is certainly understandable.
What is less easy to understand is her naivety. She allows her passion to overcome her reason; she really has no idea what awaits her in Syria. By going there, she knows she will be considered a terrorist by her own country, yet she never questions why ISIS might have been designated a terrorist group. I know that I’m reading the novel in 2026 when much more is known about ISIS, but she fully understands that she is going to a war zone and that she won’t be able to return to the US. Sirvan even warns Maggie about his son: “’Ahmet sometimes lets his passions get him into trouble. I would say to you, don’t you let your passions get you into trouble too. . . . His passion is infectious, but he can be headstrong.’”
Maggie’s love for Ahmet is a reason for her decision to join him in Syria, but their relationship is not fully developed. All they have in common is their faith and their horror at what is happening to fellow Muslims. I wanted to see more of their relationship to explain how their love and connection motivated her actions. Once she arrives in Syria, she acknowledges that there is a hard side to Ahmet, one “more myopic and determined than it was before, less tempered by the spirituality that used to balance that determination out.” Clearly she didn’t know him that well or chose not to see him clearly because the reader can certainly see, even before he leaves the US, how narrow are his views and how provocative and uncompromising he can be. Because Ahmet is Maggie’s first love, perhaps her behaviour is more understandable, but her extreme choices are difficult to accept and require some suspension of disbelief.
The novel examines idealism and the risks of its unforeseen consequences when coupled with naivety. Readers should be warned that parts of the novel are difficult to read because the actions of ISIS are described in some detail: hangings, crucifixions, beheadings, suicide bombings, and rape.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/).
This novel made me think of the conflict between passion and reason and even reminded me of Romeo and Juliet and their rash decisions.
After 9/11, Maggie, raised a “Christian atheist,” converts to Islam. In 2012, she leaves Maine to live in New York City where she gets a job at a bakery owned by a Kurdish man named Sirvan. There she meets and falls in love with Sirvan’s son Ahmet. Angered by what he sees happening in Syria, Ahmet leaves to join a new rebel group emerging there, believing that ISIS will create a Muslim utopia. Without telling anyone beforehand, Maggie joins Ahmet in 2015. Once in Syria, she slowly comes to realize the magnitude of her error when she sees the brutality of ISIS.
The novel gives two perspectives: that of Maggie and that of Ann, her mother left behind in Maine. When she learns that Maggie has left for Syria, Ann grieves the loss of her daughter, worries about Maggie’s welfare, and is also confused, constantly wondering “just how it happened, how her daughter got from here to there, from Maine to Syria, from baking cakes to slinging guns across her back.” There are also snippets of the life of Noor and her family. Noor is a midwife in Syria forced to assist in delivering ISIS babies. From the beginning, the question is whether Maggie’s story and that of Noor will intersect.
Maggie’s character is a key element in the novel. Her father describes her as possessing strong ideals and a will of steel. She becomes obsessed with what is happening in Syria; in fact, her father “wishes she would moderate; fixating isn’t going to do anyone any good.” She is horrified not only by Assad’s atrocities but is also angered by the treatment of Muslims in her own country and “always eager to expand her catalogue of atrocities wrought by US foreign policy.” Her desire to help is certainly understandable.
What is less easy to understand is her naivety. She allows her passion to overcome her reason; she really has no idea what awaits her in Syria. By going there, she knows she will be considered a terrorist by her own country, yet she never questions why ISIS might have been designated a terrorist group. I know that I’m reading the novel in 2026 when much more is known about ISIS, but she fully understands that she is going to a war zone and that she won’t be able to return to the US. Sirvan even warns Maggie about his son: “’Ahmet sometimes lets his passions get him into trouble. I would say to you, don’t you let your passions get you into trouble too. . . . His passion is infectious, but he can be headstrong.’”
Maggie’s love for Ahmet is a reason for her decision to join him in Syria, but their relationship is not fully developed. All they have in common is their faith and their horror at what is happening to fellow Muslims. I wanted to see more of their relationship to explain how their love and connection motivated her actions. Once she arrives in Syria, she acknowledges that there is a hard side to Ahmet, one “more myopic and determined than it was before, less tempered by the spirituality that used to balance that determination out.” Clearly she didn’t know him that well or chose not to see him clearly because the reader can certainly see, even before he leaves the US, how narrow are his views and how provocative and uncompromising he can be. Because Ahmet is Maggie’s first love, perhaps her behaviour is more understandable, but her extreme choices are difficult to accept and require some suspension of disbelief.
The novel examines idealism and the risks of its unforeseen consequences when coupled with naivety. Readers should be warned that parts of the novel are difficult to read because the actions of ISIS are described in some detail: hangings, crucifixions, beheadings, suicide bombings, and rape.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/).
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
My Rating: 3.25
This is one I was genuinely excited to pick up. The premise immediately pulled me in, and for the most part, it kept me turning pages. At its core, this is the story of Maggie and her mother, Ann. After 9/11, Maggie’s early anger evolves into a deep connection to Islam after visiting a mosque, eventually shaping her identity in profound ways. Years later, now living in New York, she becomes consumed by the devastation in Syria, meets Ahmet, and follows him into ISIS controlled territory, while back in Maine, Ann is left grappling with confusion, grief, and the question of how she lost her daughter. That emotional foundation is incredibly compelling, and I was eager to see how it would unfold.
One of the strongest elements for me was the setting and subject matter. I am always drawn to stories that take place in the Middle East, and that naturally elevated my engagement here. The backdrop of the Syrian War, ISIS, and the global media coverage surrounding that time period adds weight and relevance to the narrative, especially as Maggie becomes increasingly affected by what she sees happening overseas. That said, I did feel like much of this historical context was delivered in a very matter of fact way. Instead of being woven seamlessly into the story, it sometimes read more like information being presented rather than lived experience, which pulled me out at times.
The dual perspective between Maggie and Ann is one of the more interesting structural choices, highlighting both the personal and global consequences of Maggie’s decisions. However, I found myself wanting more depth across both perspectives, and even more so in Nour's story which felt abandoned to me. Maggie’s arc, especially her growing devotion and eventual involvement with ISIS, had strong potential, but I wanted more exploration of her religious beliefs and how they evolved over time. Her transition from belief to conviction to radicalization felt a bit rushed, and with more emotional layering, it could have created a much stronger connection to her journey.
Similarly, some of the characters and POVs felt a bit abandoned. There were narrative threads, particularly in the dual timeline and perspective structure, that did not fully connect or resolve in a satisfying way. Ann’s perspective, while emotionally grounded, also felt like it could have been pushed further, especially in examining her internal conflict and sense of responsibility. The bigger moments in Maggie’s life, including her decision to follow Ahmet and her realization of what ISIS truly is, felt somewhat surface level. These are pivotal, life altering moments that would have benefited from deeper exploration.
The romantic relationship between Maggie and Ahmet is central to the story, as it is ultimately what drives her to leave everything behind. I understood its importance, but I did not fully feel the emotional weight of Maggie’s longing or her connection to him. With more development, this relationship could have served as a much stronger emotional anchor and made her decisions feel more fully realized.
Overall, this is a good book with a compelling premise and an important, timely backdrop. I enjoyed reading it and stayed engaged throughout, particularly because of its setting and themes. However, with more refined character development, smoother integration of historical context, and deeper emotional exploration, this could have been a truly powerful and unforgettable story.
This is one I was genuinely excited to pick up. The premise immediately pulled me in, and for the most part, it kept me turning pages. At its core, this is the story of Maggie and her mother, Ann. After 9/11, Maggie’s early anger evolves into a deep connection to Islam after visiting a mosque, eventually shaping her identity in profound ways. Years later, now living in New York, she becomes consumed by the devastation in Syria, meets Ahmet, and follows him into ISIS controlled territory, while back in Maine, Ann is left grappling with confusion, grief, and the question of how she lost her daughter. That emotional foundation is incredibly compelling, and I was eager to see how it would unfold.
One of the strongest elements for me was the setting and subject matter. I am always drawn to stories that take place in the Middle East, and that naturally elevated my engagement here. The backdrop of the Syrian War, ISIS, and the global media coverage surrounding that time period adds weight and relevance to the narrative, especially as Maggie becomes increasingly affected by what she sees happening overseas. That said, I did feel like much of this historical context was delivered in a very matter of fact way. Instead of being woven seamlessly into the story, it sometimes read more like information being presented rather than lived experience, which pulled me out at times.
The dual perspective between Maggie and Ann is one of the more interesting structural choices, highlighting both the personal and global consequences of Maggie’s decisions. However, I found myself wanting more depth across both perspectives, and even more so in Nour's story which felt abandoned to me. Maggie’s arc, especially her growing devotion and eventual involvement with ISIS, had strong potential, but I wanted more exploration of her religious beliefs and how they evolved over time. Her transition from belief to conviction to radicalization felt a bit rushed, and with more emotional layering, it could have created a much stronger connection to her journey.
Similarly, some of the characters and POVs felt a bit abandoned. There were narrative threads, particularly in the dual timeline and perspective structure, that did not fully connect or resolve in a satisfying way. Ann’s perspective, while emotionally grounded, also felt like it could have been pushed further, especially in examining her internal conflict and sense of responsibility. The bigger moments in Maggie’s life, including her decision to follow Ahmet and her realization of what ISIS truly is, felt somewhat surface level. These are pivotal, life altering moments that would have benefited from deeper exploration.
The romantic relationship between Maggie and Ahmet is central to the story, as it is ultimately what drives her to leave everything behind. I understood its importance, but I did not fully feel the emotional weight of Maggie’s longing or her connection to him. With more development, this relationship could have served as a much stronger emotional anchor and made her decisions feel more fully realized.
Overall, this is a good book with a compelling premise and an important, timely backdrop. I enjoyed reading it and stayed engaged throughout, particularly because of its setting and themes. However, with more refined character development, smoother integration of historical context, and deeper emotional exploration, this could have been a truly powerful and unforgettable story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Conviction is a fascinating and complex novel. At its heart, it is about Maggie, a young woman from Maine who converts to Islam and travels to Syria to be with her love and join ISIS. She is completely idealistic and doesn't have a solid and accurate idea of what awaits her.
Conviction is told primarily through two different lenses - Maggie's and her mother Ann's. Maggie, an only child, has been brought up in Maine by loving parents. She is very close with her father Josh and her mother Ann. After 9/11, and her initial shock and antipathy towards the Muslim faith, she visits a Mosque and becomes enamored with the Islam religion. She goes from prejudice and hatred to embracing the Muslim religion.
Fairly sheltered, Maggie decides to live in New York City. Gradually, she becomes more and more interested in the politics of the Middle East, especially Syria. She reads about the atrocities occurring there and wants desperately to help. She does volunteer work and strengthens her Islamic belief system.
Shortly after moving to New York, she meets Ahmet, a Muslim man with whom she falls in love. Ahmet is an activist who helps Maggie understand the problems and prejudice facing Muslim people. He is frequently approached by the FBI, who are suspicious of him primarily because of his Muslim garb. They also try to get him to report on suspicious activity in his Mosque and community. He refuses to engage with them and Maggie is appalled at how he is targeted for his religious beliefs.
Ahmet moves to Syria and Maggie is to join him when the timing is right. She is very naive about what she is getting into and what she will be facing. Meanwhile, Ann is mostly in the dark, not aware of Maggie's plans to leave the United States. The novel follows Maggie's experiences in Syria along with her developing relationship with Ahmet who is now a soldier of ISIS.
As Maggie becomes more and more radicalized, she faces questions about her own moral center. Perhaps it is a crisis of faith, or perhaps it is personal growth on her part, but this is not made too clear in the book.
The novel also has a parallel story of Noor, a midwife in Syria, who delivers babies for the wealthy and powerful. Noor faces many challenges in this capacity and her life is often in danger.
I was disappointed in the characterizations. Maggie never presented to me as three-dimensional. I wondered about her early life experiences, her high school days, and her childhood. Was she spiritual or religious always, or was this aspect of her solely bound to her experiences as a young adult? This is never made clear and I wanted to know more.
I highly recommend John Wray's novel Godsend. It, too, is about an American woman who becomes radicalized and travels to the Middle East to participate in Jihad. I found it absorbing, complex, and helpful in understanding the process of radicalization.
All in all, I found Conviction to be very readable and a page-turner. What it might lack in character depth, it has in connecting the reader to the narrative.
Conviction is told primarily through two different lenses - Maggie's and her mother Ann's. Maggie, an only child, has been brought up in Maine by loving parents. She is very close with her father Josh and her mother Ann. After 9/11, and her initial shock and antipathy towards the Muslim faith, she visits a Mosque and becomes enamored with the Islam religion. She goes from prejudice and hatred to embracing the Muslim religion.
Fairly sheltered, Maggie decides to live in New York City. Gradually, she becomes more and more interested in the politics of the Middle East, especially Syria. She reads about the atrocities occurring there and wants desperately to help. She does volunteer work and strengthens her Islamic belief system.
Shortly after moving to New York, she meets Ahmet, a Muslim man with whom she falls in love. Ahmet is an activist who helps Maggie understand the problems and prejudice facing Muslim people. He is frequently approached by the FBI, who are suspicious of him primarily because of his Muslim garb. They also try to get him to report on suspicious activity in his Mosque and community. He refuses to engage with them and Maggie is appalled at how he is targeted for his religious beliefs.
Ahmet moves to Syria and Maggie is to join him when the timing is right. She is very naive about what she is getting into and what she will be facing. Meanwhile, Ann is mostly in the dark, not aware of Maggie's plans to leave the United States. The novel follows Maggie's experiences in Syria along with her developing relationship with Ahmet who is now a soldier of ISIS.
As Maggie becomes more and more radicalized, she faces questions about her own moral center. Perhaps it is a crisis of faith, or perhaps it is personal growth on her part, but this is not made too clear in the book.
The novel also has a parallel story of Noor, a midwife in Syria, who delivers babies for the wealthy and powerful. Noor faces many challenges in this capacity and her life is often in danger.
I was disappointed in the characterizations. Maggie never presented to me as three-dimensional. I wondered about her early life experiences, her high school days, and her childhood. Was she spiritual or religious always, or was this aspect of her solely bound to her experiences as a young adult? This is never made clear and I wanted to know more.
I highly recommend John Wray's novel Godsend. It, too, is about an American woman who becomes radicalized and travels to the Middle East to participate in Jihad. I found it absorbing, complex, and helpful in understanding the process of radicalization.
All in all, I found Conviction to be very readable and a page-turner. What it might lack in character depth, it has in connecting the reader to the narrative.
July 12, 2026
I finished this some days ago and I have genuinely not been able to write the review straight away, like I usually do, because of the impact that this novel has had on me - absolutely profound, staggering, moving and utterly unlike anything I’ve read before.
I just hope I can do it justice in a review.
Maggie is a young girl at the time of the 9/11 attacks, witnessing events unfold on tv with utter horror and confusion. Maggie makes sense of what she sees with rage, and wants an explanation: who? How? Why? Deciding then and there that one day, she would live in New York, the events that changed the world that September would impact her life in ways that she could never predict.
Like so many parents around the world that day, Maggie’s mum and dad can’t provide the answers Maggie needs. Instead, they begin to visit a local mosque, where Maggie gradually discovers that Islam makes complete sense to her: she finds comfort, a sense of belonging, and a realisation that acts of extremism are down to the individuals and groups who perpetrate them, not the faiths that they claim to follow.
Fast forward twenty plus years and Maggie has achieved her goal of one day moving to New York. She is a devout Muslim, attending to her faith in a quiet, disciplined way; she has secured her own little apartment and she has a job that suits her. Everything seems to be working out ok. What she can’t fix, however, is the unrest in other parts of the world, the civilians being killed, the suffering, at the hands of a faith that to her is peaceful and welcoming. Consumed with helplessness, Maggie feels trapped in her own sense of guilt, until she meets Ahmed, her boss’s son, who understands her exactly. Swept along with Ahmed’s likeminded outlook, and love, Maggie makes the decision to go with him to Syria, to be part of a Muslim uprising with the end goal of enabling Muslims to live in harmony and devote their lives to their faith in the way that she expected it would be.
The group they have joined is ISIS. The life that Maggie was expecting is brutal, in the midst of warring factions, she finds herself stuck, realising that she had made a huge mistake.
Told through the narratives of Maggie and her mum Ann, we have to reach back into the past to understand how we have landed in this version of the present. Confused as Maggie is confused, and slowly coming to realisation alongside her, we are left with one question: what happens now?
Thank you so much to NetGalley for this advanced copy.
I just hope I can do it justice in a review.
Maggie is a young girl at the time of the 9/11 attacks, witnessing events unfold on tv with utter horror and confusion. Maggie makes sense of what she sees with rage, and wants an explanation: who? How? Why? Deciding then and there that one day, she would live in New York, the events that changed the world that September would impact her life in ways that she could never predict.
Like so many parents around the world that day, Maggie’s mum and dad can’t provide the answers Maggie needs. Instead, they begin to visit a local mosque, where Maggie gradually discovers that Islam makes complete sense to her: she finds comfort, a sense of belonging, and a realisation that acts of extremism are down to the individuals and groups who perpetrate them, not the faiths that they claim to follow.
Fast forward twenty plus years and Maggie has achieved her goal of one day moving to New York. She is a devout Muslim, attending to her faith in a quiet, disciplined way; she has secured her own little apartment and she has a job that suits her. Everything seems to be working out ok. What she can’t fix, however, is the unrest in other parts of the world, the civilians being killed, the suffering, at the hands of a faith that to her is peaceful and welcoming. Consumed with helplessness, Maggie feels trapped in her own sense of guilt, until she meets Ahmed, her boss’s son, who understands her exactly. Swept along with Ahmed’s likeminded outlook, and love, Maggie makes the decision to go with him to Syria, to be part of a Muslim uprising with the end goal of enabling Muslims to live in harmony and devote their lives to their faith in the way that she expected it would be.
The group they have joined is ISIS. The life that Maggie was expecting is brutal, in the midst of warring factions, she finds herself stuck, realising that she had made a huge mistake.
Told through the narratives of Maggie and her mum Ann, we have to reach back into the past to understand how we have landed in this version of the present. Confused as Maggie is confused, and slowly coming to realisation alongside her, we are left with one question: what happens now?
Thank you so much to NetGalley for this advanced copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Elizabeth Winthrop’s distinctly unsettling novel, “Conviction,” with its depiction of the growing disenchantment of its two protagonists with Islam, had a special resonance for me with how I came to a similar parting of the ways with my boyhood religion, Catholicism, whose strict precepts I accepted well enough in my earlier years but grew ever more disaffected with as I grew older.
Something of a reverse trajectory Winthrop's book charts for its chief female character, Maggie, who as a child in Maine after 9/11 is put off enough with Islam that she tells her mother that she hates Muslims, but eventually comes round to a more favorable view of the religion after her father, with whom she is especially close, takes her to a more benevolently oriented mosque, where her enmity shifts to something more approving – a “conviction,” if you will.
It’s a conviction she will carry with her to New York, where she meets a Muslim bakery owner and his son, Ahmet, with whom she falls in love and who is more passionately committed to Islam than either her or his father – enough so, indeed, that it gets him into trouble with local authorities and eventually has him, with Maggie not long behind him, making his way to Syria, where ISIS has brought great hope after the horrors of Assad, but, in the way of authoritarian or theocratic regimes everywhere, eventually brings not the advertised paradise but an almost literal hell on Earth.
Hangings, beheadings, ex-Syrian soldiers being lined up and shot in the back of the head, a man being bent backward over a rail until his back breaks, an emir threatening to throw a child out a window if Maggie doesn’t perform a sexual act on him – the horrors build and build for Maggie, with the absolute worst of them perhaps being the inculcation of ISIS values into children.
Quite the absorbing read, in short, Winthrop’s novel, and at times positively riveting, even if I found the earlier scenes less compelling than the later ones and the book’s shifts in time and location the occasion for some reader disorientation. Still, for all the possible inertia of some of the earlier parts, the later scenes, as the book moves inexorably toward its finale, make for harrowing reading, especially the chilling last line.
Something of a reverse trajectory Winthrop's book charts for its chief female character, Maggie, who as a child in Maine after 9/11 is put off enough with Islam that she tells her mother that she hates Muslims, but eventually comes round to a more favorable view of the religion after her father, with whom she is especially close, takes her to a more benevolently oriented mosque, where her enmity shifts to something more approving – a “conviction,” if you will.
It’s a conviction she will carry with her to New York, where she meets a Muslim bakery owner and his son, Ahmet, with whom she falls in love and who is more passionately committed to Islam than either her or his father – enough so, indeed, that it gets him into trouble with local authorities and eventually has him, with Maggie not long behind him, making his way to Syria, where ISIS has brought great hope after the horrors of Assad, but, in the way of authoritarian or theocratic regimes everywhere, eventually brings not the advertised paradise but an almost literal hell on Earth.
Hangings, beheadings, ex-Syrian soldiers being lined up and shot in the back of the head, a man being bent backward over a rail until his back breaks, an emir threatening to throw a child out a window if Maggie doesn’t perform a sexual act on him – the horrors build and build for Maggie, with the absolute worst of them perhaps being the inculcation of ISIS values into children.
Quite the absorbing read, in short, Winthrop’s novel, and at times positively riveting, even if I found the earlier scenes less compelling than the later ones and the book’s shifts in time and location the occasion for some reader disorientation. Still, for all the possible inertia of some of the earlier parts, the later scenes, as the book moves inexorably toward its finale, make for harrowing reading, especially the chilling last line.
July 17, 2026
Haunting story about a young girl going to Syria, following her boyfriend, and believing in a caliphate that would restore Muslims to the peace and joy offered in the Koran.
Maggie has been drawn to Islam when she was eleven and had visited a mosque. Leaving Maine to go to live in NewYork she meets Ahmet when she takes a job at his father’s bakery. The two bond over their faith and the political situation in Syria which the west seemed to be ignoring. When Ahmet joins ISIS Maggie vows to follow him believing she will be going to a utopia. Maggie’s mother is devastated since this is soon after Maggie’s father, Josh’s death. Maggie soon comes to realize she nativity has lead her to hell.
I was mesmerized in listening to this book. Maggie is definitely naive and incredibly wedded to whatever Ahmet’s beliefs are - when you’re in love this happens - but he too becomes disillusioned - though too late for them both. It’s a coming-of-age story when idealism sweeps you away and you want to build a better world - I felt this way in 1968 listening to Bobby Kennedy, making my mind up to campaign for him until his untimely and tragic assassination.
The book alternatives in time between 2012 before Maggie leaves and 2014 when she’s in Syria. The author paints a horrific picture of these ISIS fighters - when power corrupts it corrupts absolutely - and their disrespectful and dehumanizing behavior toward women. Maggie’s new world is not what she believed the Koran taught. In this the author has created an intensively emotional world where the personal is the political - it can’t be separated.
I gave this book five stars for its arresting topic - what makes someone choose to become political such that you are willing to sacrifice your personal life, for its haunting and emotional handling of a flawed decision that tore apart families, and for its honesty in the telling.
Maggie has been drawn to Islam when she was eleven and had visited a mosque. Leaving Maine to go to live in NewYork she meets Ahmet when she takes a job at his father’s bakery. The two bond over their faith and the political situation in Syria which the west seemed to be ignoring. When Ahmet joins ISIS Maggie vows to follow him believing she will be going to a utopia. Maggie’s mother is devastated since this is soon after Maggie’s father, Josh’s death. Maggie soon comes to realize she nativity has lead her to hell.
I was mesmerized in listening to this book. Maggie is definitely naive and incredibly wedded to whatever Ahmet’s beliefs are - when you’re in love this happens - but he too becomes disillusioned - though too late for them both. It’s a coming-of-age story when idealism sweeps you away and you want to build a better world - I felt this way in 1968 listening to Bobby Kennedy, making my mind up to campaign for him until his untimely and tragic assassination.
The book alternatives in time between 2012 before Maggie leaves and 2014 when she’s in Syria. The author paints a horrific picture of these ISIS fighters - when power corrupts it corrupts absolutely - and their disrespectful and dehumanizing behavior toward women. Maggie’s new world is not what she believed the Koran taught. In this the author has created an intensively emotional world where the personal is the political - it can’t be separated.
I gave this book five stars for its arresting topic - what makes someone choose to become political such that you are willing to sacrifice your personal life, for its haunting and emotional handling of a flawed decision that tore apart families, and for its honesty in the telling.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this ARC!
3/5. The shock value of the premise is what drew me in to request this book, and I’m glad I did, even if it didn’t fully deliver. It tells the story of Maggie, a young American woman whose journey leads her to join ISIS, and her mother, Ann, who is left behind to pick up the pieces. The writing flows smoothly and each page is a fast flip, but despite the strong writing, the characters still feel half-baked.
I want to be clear that none of this is to undermine the very real atrocities that happened in Syria and around the world, and the book did send me down a rabbit hole of reading up on all the related history, which I appreciated. But I face-palmed at Maggie’s decision to move to Syria, and part of that is probably because I’m reading this in 2026, fully aware of what ISIS became and what it actually was beneath whatever vision it initially proclaimed. Even setting that aside, I couldn’t quite understand how someone moves into an active warzone expecting a good life. The love story falls flat to me. It revolves almost entirely around the horrors happening in Syria, as if Maggie and Ahmet have nothing else to connect over (probably why she left to join ISIS, although I find it hard to understand despite everything that happens). Ann, Maggie’s mother, barely makes an appearance in the second half, so we’re left with only the vague idea that she’s reeling, nothing more, nothing less.
That said, the premise kept me curious enough to see how it all panned out. I just wish the characters had been given the same depth as the concept.
3/5. The shock value of the premise is what drew me in to request this book, and I’m glad I did, even if it didn’t fully deliver. It tells the story of Maggie, a young American woman whose journey leads her to join ISIS, and her mother, Ann, who is left behind to pick up the pieces. The writing flows smoothly and each page is a fast flip, but despite the strong writing, the characters still feel half-baked.
I want to be clear that none of this is to undermine the very real atrocities that happened in Syria and around the world, and the book did send me down a rabbit hole of reading up on all the related history, which I appreciated. But I face-palmed at Maggie’s decision to move to Syria, and part of that is probably because I’m reading this in 2026, fully aware of what ISIS became and what it actually was beneath whatever vision it initially proclaimed. Even setting that aside, I couldn’t quite understand how someone moves into an active warzone expecting a good life. The love story falls flat to me. It revolves almost entirely around the horrors happening in Syria, as if Maggie and Ahmet have nothing else to connect over (probably why she left to join ISIS, although I find it hard to understand despite everything that happens). Ann, Maggie’s mother, barely makes an appearance in the second half, so we’re left with only the vague idea that she’s reeling, nothing more, nothing less.
That said, the premise kept me curious enough to see how it all panned out. I just wish the characters had been given the same depth as the concept.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Conviction really pulled me in. I kept picking it up for “just a bit more” because I wanted to stay with the characters and see how everything was unfolding from all of their perspectives.
What stood out most for me was just how layered it all felt. You’ve got Maggie’s journey, Ann back in Maine trying to make sense of what’s happening to her daughter, and then Josh and the wider people around them, including the different civilian and faith communities woven through it. It never felt like one simple version of events — it kept shifting depending on whose perspective you were in, which I really liked.
Maggie’s story feels like it’s shaped over time by different influences and beliefs, while Ann’s is more about grief and that helpless feeling of not really knowing where your child is or how things got here. I also thought the way faith and community were shown was really interesting because it didn’t feel simplified at all — it just felt like different lived experiences sitting alongside each other.
It’s definitely an intense topic to read, but what made it so gripping for me was how grounded it felt in those different voices. I wasn’t just following the story, I felt like I was sitting with each of them trying to understand something that’s way bigger than they are.
4.5 stars — really beautifully written, really absorbing, and one I know I’ll keep thinking about.
What stood out most for me was just how layered it all felt. You’ve got Maggie’s journey, Ann back in Maine trying to make sense of what’s happening to her daughter, and then Josh and the wider people around them, including the different civilian and faith communities woven through it. It never felt like one simple version of events — it kept shifting depending on whose perspective you were in, which I really liked.
Maggie’s story feels like it’s shaped over time by different influences and beliefs, while Ann’s is more about grief and that helpless feeling of not really knowing where your child is or how things got here. I also thought the way faith and community were shown was really interesting because it didn’t feel simplified at all — it just felt like different lived experiences sitting alongside each other.
It’s definitely an intense topic to read, but what made it so gripping for me was how grounded it felt in those different voices. I wasn’t just following the story, I felt like I was sitting with each of them trying to understand something that’s way bigger than they are.
4.5 stars — really beautifully written, really absorbing, and one I know I’ll keep thinking about.
July 17, 2026
This book was an eye opener. Maggie, as a child, was marked by the 9/11 terrorist attack. She told her parents she "hated Muslims." They introduced her to the Islamic faith and she soon understand that the Muslim people and the terrorists were not all one. She devoted herself to the study of Islam and became a Muslim. By the time she was out of school, she had completely endorsed the religion. She moved to NYC and continued to follow the Islamic religion. She met a boy and when he went to Syria to find paradise, she followed him. She was aware that when she left, she would most likely never be allowed back in the USA without being arrested as a terrorist. This book is in two timelines. One is after she moved to Syria and one is the events leading up to her leaving the USA. Her parents are included in the narrative and we see the effect her move has on her mother. Quite a horrific story and one that really made me think of how different life can be for others. Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for the complementary ARC. This opinion is my own. I give the book 4.5 stars (sometimes it dragged a little) rounded up to 5.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Conviction by Elizabeth Winthrop.
I couldn’t put this one down. The story is told through multiple viewpoints and timelines, and the way everything slowly comes together makes it incredibly intense and hard to stop reading.
My heart honestly hurt for everyone involved. The book does a powerful job exploring hope, love, and the ways our convictions and passions can shape our choices, sometimes without us fully realizing it in the moment. The emotional weight felt very real, which made the story stick with me after I finished.
This isn’t my usual genre since I tend to lean toward less realistic reads, but the writing and emotional depth completely pulled me in. The characters and situations felt like something that could truly happen to anyone, which made it all the more impactful.
A compelling, emotional read for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories with layered timelines.
I couldn’t put this one down. The story is told through multiple viewpoints and timelines, and the way everything slowly comes together makes it incredibly intense and hard to stop reading.
My heart honestly hurt for everyone involved. The book does a powerful job exploring hope, love, and the ways our convictions and passions can shape our choices, sometimes without us fully realizing it in the moment. The emotional weight felt very real, which made the story stick with me after I finished.
This isn’t my usual genre since I tend to lean toward less realistic reads, but the writing and emotional depth completely pulled me in. The characters and situations felt like something that could truly happen to anyone, which made it all the more impactful.
A compelling, emotional read for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories with layered timelines.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Conviction is a beautifully written novel that pulls you in with its emotional depth and keeps you invested with its thoughtful exploration of justice, guilt, and human connection. Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop has a way of making her characters feel incredibly real, and I found myself thinking about their choices and motivations long after I put the book down. The story unfolds at a steady pace, allowing the emotional weight of each moment to really land.
What stood out most to me was the compassion at the heart of the book. Even when dealing with difficult subjects, it avoids easy answers and instead focuses on the complexities of people and the consequences of their actions. It’s the kind of novel that encourages reflection while still being an engaging and compelling read from beginning to end.
What stood out most to me was the compassion at the heart of the book. Even when dealing with difficult subjects, it avoids easy answers and instead focuses on the complexities of people and the consequences of their actions. It’s the kind of novel that encourages reflection while still being an engaging and compelling read from beginning to end.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wow. I couldn’t put this book down. This book was incredibly heavy and thought provoking.
The story follows Maggie, and her parents Ann and Josh. They live in Maine post 9/11 and Josh worked in search and rescue at the World Trade Center. As Maggie gets older she becomes a devote Muslim and moves to NYC. There she meets Ahmet who leads her down a path to move to Syria and join Isis.
This story was heartbreaking all around. I wish I could have had more of Ann’s point of view when Maggie is in Syria. As a mother myself, my heart hurt for Ann and I wanted to hear more from her perspective.
Overall, Conviction was all consuming, powerful, and will stick with me for a long time. I could have easily read 300 pages of Maggie’s story.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
The story follows Maggie, and her parents Ann and Josh. They live in Maine post 9/11 and Josh worked in search and rescue at the World Trade Center. As Maggie gets older she becomes a devote Muslim and moves to NYC. There she meets Ahmet who leads her down a path to move to Syria and join Isis.
This story was heartbreaking all around. I wish I could have had more of Ann’s point of view when Maggie is in Syria. As a mother myself, my heart hurt for Ann and I wanted to hear more from her perspective.
Overall, Conviction was all consuming, powerful, and will stick with me for a long time. I could have easily read 300 pages of Maggie’s story.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book was one of the greatest reads ever. I was so engrossed the entire time. Haunting, raw, real and complex just like the characters. Maggie is a very complex character and very relatable. I wanted to scream at her through the pages and warn her of things but I know her story is the reality for many. The amount of detail in this book truly paints an amazing picture during every moment as if you’re standing there watching it all unfold. My heart broke many times and still I will read this book again and again. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A very complex story of a family that starts out slowly but reels you in successfully. I had some amount of doubt that the author could really tie this story together successfully and make a believer out of me, but as I read, it seemed more and more plausible. The ending, while satisfying, was a little predictable, but also leaves room for a follow-up, which would certainly be interesting.
There's a lot of history and a lot of culture in this book and I believe it would be an excellent choice for a book club. For that reason I'm rating it with four stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's a slow burn!
There's a lot of history and a lot of culture in this book and I believe it would be an excellent choice for a book club. For that reason I'm rating it with four stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's a slow burn!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was entirely unsure of how I'd feel about this book, but it covers a subject I am interested in. I read it in a day. I was riveted and kept wanting more. My critique is that I wanted a little more in several parts. It felt very informative, but sometimes lacked in character depth - for my preferences. I was sad to loose the narrative piece from Noor so early on. And the multiple POVs was sometimes a little jarring. Overall, I really liked this book and can't wait to see the conversation that it encourages once it's published.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Powerful and hard book to read. Told in multiple timelines and from various people's perspectives a look at what has happened in Syria. Told mostly in Maggie's voice, a Muslim by conversion falls in love and follows him to Syria under the mistaken belief that Isis was fighting for a Utopian vision there. Slowly the truth starts emerging. Well researched
August 2, 2026
Triggered lots of research into the Syrian civil war and much mental agitation about different viewpoints between Maggie and her mother.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Conviction by Elizabeth H Winthrop. Thanks to @grovepress for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Growing up in Maine, Maggie watched 9/11 on the news with her parents in shock and proclaimed a hatred for Islam. But when her parents take her to a mosque to show her the religion, she sees beauty in it and ends up embracing it. A decade later she meets Ahmet, who is equally enraged by the images coming from Syria. Together they flee to Syria to join a new rebel group emerging and create a Muslim utopia. Once they are there Maggie realizes ISIS doesn’t share the same vision of Islam as she does.
I knew immediately from the synopsis that I wanted to read this one. It’s a unique plotline that I haven’t come across before. There are a few different timelines and perspectives that we get. Of course, Maggie’s chapters in 2015 Syria are the most shocking, but to understand how she got there, we have prior chapters in New York and Syria. It’s an emotional read, and makes the historical aspect of an extremely complex situation easier to understand. I always enjoy learning through fiction, and this was no exception. The ending is a stark slap in the face, but not unlike reality.
“She is tired. She is tired of wondering just how it happened, how her daughter got from here to there, from Maine to Syria, from baking cakes to slinging guns across her back.”
Read if you like:
-Historical fiction
-Syrian or ISIS history
-Radicalization tales
-Mother and daughter stories
Conviction comes out 7/14.
Growing up in Maine, Maggie watched 9/11 on the news with her parents in shock and proclaimed a hatred for Islam. But when her parents take her to a mosque to show her the religion, she sees beauty in it and ends up embracing it. A decade later she meets Ahmet, who is equally enraged by the images coming from Syria. Together they flee to Syria to join a new rebel group emerging and create a Muslim utopia. Once they are there Maggie realizes ISIS doesn’t share the same vision of Islam as she does.
I knew immediately from the synopsis that I wanted to read this one. It’s a unique plotline that I haven’t come across before. There are a few different timelines and perspectives that we get. Of course, Maggie’s chapters in 2015 Syria are the most shocking, but to understand how she got there, we have prior chapters in New York and Syria. It’s an emotional read, and makes the historical aspect of an extremely complex situation easier to understand. I always enjoy learning through fiction, and this was no exception. The ending is a stark slap in the face, but not unlike reality.
“She is tired. She is tired of wondering just how it happened, how her daughter got from here to there, from Maine to Syria, from baking cakes to slinging guns across her back.”
Read if you like:
-Historical fiction
-Syrian or ISIS history
-Radicalization tales
-Mother and daughter stories
Conviction comes out 7/14.
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