American Heart

This book was honestly worse than I thought it would be. There is just so, so much wrong with it. From page one.

First of all this story is told in retrospect, which means that while Sarah-Mary starts telling us this story, everything has already happened. And that tells us a lot about the absolute lack of growth and learning that this character goes through despite everything. She starts off the book by telling us: “I showed up with dark hair and dark eyes, and [my mom] worried people would think I was foreign. For all I know, I might have ended up on the registry, sent off to Nevada by mistake.” Which is a ridiculous enough thing to say when you haven’t just helped an Iranian Muslim woman travel to safety because she feared her life because of the Muslim registry.

“If I got caught, I’d be in serious trouble… I’d go to a real prison, or even solitary confinement, in part for my own protection. A lot of people would want to kill me, or at least throw rocks or split as I went by.” (page 2 of the book btw)
Here’s the thing - this book is so centered on the feelings of the white protagonist that she is dripping with self-pity from page one. Nevermind that at the end of the book, she is (apparently) so torn up about Sadaf having to leave the country, that she is crying and given her a watch because she wanted Sadaf to have a part of her. But at the beginning - which is, again, written in retrospect - she is continually comparing her own self to the plight of Muslims in America with no second-thoughts.
Now, I don’t know if this is bad, inconsistent writing or just Sarah-Mary’s character. I would believe either. Or perhaps it’s both.

Let’s talk about Sarah-Mary for a second. She is an absolutely unfathomable character. From her inconsistent changes of heart, to her incredible racism that doesn’t lend itself to any kind of growth or thoughtfulness. We learn that the only reason she is willing to help Sadaf is because her brother Caleb made her promise. But her reasoning doesn’t slowly change to, “hey, maybe Muslims don’t deserve to be put in detention centers for literally no reason.” Instead, it just gets progressively worse and more selfish.

“Just now I’d been caught up in the game of it, in seeing how much of a solution I could put together.” - At the beginning, helping Sadaf is like a game to her.
And then, when Sadaf tries to get a fake ID, but has her money stolen from her inside, this is what Sarah-Mary has to say about that:
“We [Americans] were not a frightening people. We were not all disappointing cheats. I knew it wasn’t true, but I didn’t even like that she thought it. And that maybe she had a good reason.
I was going to get that money back. I would do what I had to do.”
Sarah-Mary literally doesn’t care about a weeping young Muslim woman who has seen her last hopes of escape dash away from her. She only cares that Sadaf might think America isn’t an amazing country because we can’t be having that now, can we?

When Sarah-Mary seems to finally have an inkling of what a brutal set-up this is for Muslims it’s after the death of a white man who was helping hide Muslims in his house:
“I kept hearing the clack, clack, clack of those guns coming out all around me. And I kept picturing the old man, and the bottom of one of his shoes as he was lying there, and the bloody seven on the door.” She is not haunted by the fact that Sadaf has already told us she has friends who were taken to Nevada. Or the seven innocent Muslims who were undoubtedly sent to Nevada following this raid.

And guess what? By the end of the book? Sarah-Mary has not changed. Not one bit. As Sadaf - narrowly escaping being caught - is about to leave for Canada, Sarah-Mary is more concerned about the fact that America is not the gleaming palace of perfection it’s apparently supposed to be. “It was just hard to hear that someplace else was the new America. If that was true, then where did we live? What was it?”

Sarah-Mary’s racism also doesn’t change. AT ALL. Maybe because Sadaf is a caricature of a Muslim character and every time she opens her mouth, a checklist of things Muslim people must say in their lifetime to white people falls out. But if as readers we’re meant to believe that Sarah-Mary goes from being absolutely ignorant about Muslim people to learning anything about them, you would be wrong, wrong wrong.

The first time we see Sarah-Mary spout ignorance against Muslims is when her brother shows her a video of Muslims being sent to detention centres. Here’s how she describes it:
“A bunch of Arabic-looking people, some of them dressed normal, but a lot of the women with scarves covering their hair getting on buses with their roller suitcases and backpacks and car seats and crying babies...the camera zeroed in on this one Muslim guy with a cello case who was yelling at the reported that he didn’t want to go to Nevada, that he wanted to keep playing in the orchestra in Michigan, and that his mother was too sick to travel and had to leave the cat she’d had for years.”

And of course, Sarah-Mary’s takeaway is: “And he might be lying. I don’t even know that Muslims can have cats. I’m serious. Not indoor ones, at least.”

But during the last chapter of the book, Sarah-Mary is JUST as ignorant despite having spent all that time with a Muslim woman:
“As-salam alaykum.” Sadaf smiled and said what sounded like the same thing in reverse. And here’s the truth - while they stood there grinning at each other and saying their special Muslim words, looking so much alike they could be mother and daughter, heart hurt.”
Uhh… special “Muslim” words. I don’t even have any of my own special Muslim words to talk about this.

But let’s not forget that the only two Muslim women to appear in the story “look so much alike they could be mother and daughter.” That sounds legit.

Sarah-Mary is also just a horrible, horrible person whom I had no sympathy for at all. She constantly whines about how terrible a life she has. Which, she doesn’t have the best life in the world, but the irony is that she tells Sadaf about how detention centers are grand, before complaining about horrible it is that she basically lives in a detention center because… okay, that makes sense. It also takes her less than a second to doubt Sadaf all the damn time. She would rather believe the word of a creepy white guy who her friend Tess implied was a date-rapist, than a helpless Sadaf.

She is also ridiculously racist against everyone. The first time she meets Sadaf, she assumes that she is Mexican and an illegal immigrant. Then when a black woman tries to give them a ride, Sarah-Mary talks about how scary this woman is (because OF COURSE) but how she couldn’t refuse accepting because then the woman might think it was a race thing. The narrative is also really racist. The only two Jewish guys we come across talk about how they’re all for detention centers for Muslims (BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY ARE), the only Asian people we see in the story can speak no English and say no words at all (BECAUSE WHY NOT!?), and all Muslims are Middle-Eastern or Arab-looking.

Look, I can go on and on about this problematic book because it’s obviously rife with problems. But I want to take a second to talk about how this book has been called important, or even how Laura Moriarty said that she “wrote American Heart out of worry for this country, and also out of the belief and hope that we will find our way to valuing freedom and respect for diversity.” But from reading this book, it’s clear that this book is not important for Muslims. It’s important for Americans who need to understand that America needs to be great, no matter what the cost is. It is to appease Americans who have probably been hearing a lot of criticism of the country since Trump’s election (and hell, probably way way before that). It is to say - look, America is STILL great. Look how accepting this previously racist American girl can be, even if it is at the expense of its Muslim characters and at the expense of erasing actual Muslim voices.

Disclaimer: I’m not American. I am Irish, and I will say that Sarah-Mary was also pretty much every American stereotype that we, Irish, have heard of. She values “freedom” above all else even when she literally believes people should be sent to detention centres for no reason. And she’s super into bacon for some reason idk.

A great review of this book by Justina Ireland
Another great review of this book by Celeste Pewter
Books By Muslims To Read Instead of American Heart
Some Books By Muslim Women

arcs reviewed ya

Aims

524 reviews493 followers

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September 22, 2017

Ah, yes, as if Muslim detainment camps wasn't bad enough, we also have peak white saviorism. Because of course! For a white character to care about people LITERALLY dying, a Muslim has to convince her that we are, in fact, human beings. Revolutionary.

Cathy Day

Author 9 books132 followers

Because I'm a fan of the author's novel The Chaperone, I "liked" her author page. That's how I got an ARC of American Heart; Moriarity asked if anyone wanted to take a look at her new novel, and I said, sure. I've never met the author.

As I started reading, I had no idea that there was any controversy surrounding the the novel, but as soon as I logged into Goodreads to update my reading progress, I saw what was happening and was immediately reminded of Kat Rosenfield's recent Vulture article. http://www.vulture.com/2017/08/the-to....

I'm a 49-year old white, cis-het, Midwestern woman. I'm a writer, a teacher of writing, an academic--much like the author herself. I think of myself as progressive--certainly more "woke" than most of the people with whom I grew up, but maybe not as much as others. Staying woke is why I write and why I teach. I want to learn, I want to do better, I want to be the best human being I can be.

I really do want to understand the point of view of anyone *who has read this book* and believes that it is racist. And I hope you will try to understand my point of view as someone who has read the book and believes that it is not racist.

Moriarty wants us to read American Heart as a novel that's in conversation with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The main character Sarah Mary lives in Hannibal, MO, and her name rhymes with "Huckleberry." Her best friend is Tess/Tom, and she's got a crap parent, too. I taught Huck Finn in my American literature classes for many years because I believe that it gets at the heart of the American problem: institutionalized racism and white privilege, systems that are so woven into the fabric of our society that they've completely warped our sense of what's right and wrong.

Huck believes that turning in his friend Jim (what his conscience says) is what's right, and that helping him escape (what his heart says) is what's wrong--so wrong that he honestly believes he will go to hell for it. Hence that famous, satirical, so-sad-you-have-to-laugh line, "All right then, I'll go to hell."

There are plenty of things wrong with Huck Finn, most egregiously the use of the n-word, Jim's dialect, and the crappy ending, but there are things right with it, too. It always got my students talking and thinking about their own warped consciences. I know that in at least a few instances, Huck Finn gave my students courage to follow their hearts.

My white students, of course. How did my African-American students feel about Huck Finn? This was about 20 years ago. No one ever refused to read it, but I know it made them uncomfortable. And honestly, if I ever get to teach American lit again, I don't know if I'd assign this book again.

Sarah Mary conscience has been warped by the Islamophobia of her family and her culture, and yes, it's hard to read the first third of the book from the point of view of someone who is hateful in the same clueless and callous way as so many Americans. What I *hope* happens when young people and adults read this book is a shock of recognition: Sarah Mary's "casual" Islamophobia is their own.

I also think of this book in conversation with the TV adaptations of The Man in the High Castle and The Handmaid's Tale. While I love the "resistance" subplots of these shows, I also find myself fascinated by the hateful, authoritarian characters who are in power. How do authoritarians think, how do they rationalize their actions, and how does that thinking make its way into the culture and the hearts and minds of the people? Because man oh man, we need to try to understand that so that we can be agents of change.

I remember in graduate school, I wrote a story about a character who believes that abortion is sin. She learns that her daughter has had an abortion and is trying to figure out how to respond. Now, I'm firmly pro-choice, but my character was not, just like so many people I knew growing up, and it felt important to me for that sake of that story to try to understand that point of view.

I remember a woman in my workshop saying, "I'm sure that there are people like this in the world, but that doesn't mean I want to read about them." That was 25 years ago, but I've never forgotten that moment.

Did she mean that:

A.) Should the story be published, she'd opt not to read it?

B.) The story should never be published?

C.) The story should never even be written at all?

Those are the questions I think we're asking ourselves re: American Heart. If your answer is B or C, then I please, help me understand that point of view, because personally, I think that's censorship and very, very un-American.

If you don't agree, that's fine. Let's talk about why. But, like Colonel Sherburn in Huck Finn, I'm not going to engage with a mob. That's the "pitifulest thing" because they don't "fight with the courage that's born in them, but with courage that's borrowed from their mass."

This is a link to a longer, more thorough review on my blog that includes further reading, etc.

http://cathyday.com/2017/10/think-rea...

2017-books

Celeste_pewter

593 reviews171 followers

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The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and that's pretty much how I feel about American Heart.

I have no doubt that Laura Moriarty wrote American Heart with the best of intentions; she's publicly stated that she wanted to reflect on our current political climate. However, the problem with Laura's book is that she reflects on our current political climate badly - with limited analysis of Islam, our political system, and world building - and therefore, it undermines the entire point of her book.

My original review - which I have since deleted - was basically a list of increasingly frustrated questions about this book's world building that needed answering, but let's break this down into a way that makes a little more sense.

First things first:

World-building

As a political scientist and someone who works in politics, I'm going to say outright: the politics of this book made no sense.

Yes, it's building (and profiting) off of some very real-world concerns about the Muslim registry and deportation of illegal immigrants. But Moriarty has taken those real-world ideas and accelerated them into fear-mongering levels involving detention camps and deportation alerts, without pausing to think about how her main character's world evolved into that point.

First, and on the macro level: there's an inconsistency involving just how Muslims and other illegal immigrants are treated in the book. It's stated that Muslims are being hunted down, because they refuse to register and be transported to detention camps in Nevada. But it's evident from the first few chapters that transporting the Muslim population to Nevada is still a work in progress, given that there are individuals who are caught on camera, protesting about having to leave their jobs and homes - e.g. the Muslim man who doesn't want to leave his job or his cat.

If that's the case, then why is it such a big deal that Sadaf - the MC's Muslim companion - hasn't made it to Nevada? It makes no sense for the federal government to devote so many federal resources to hunting down a single individual - with a monetary reward, to boot! - if they're in the process of transporting, processing and housing even a fraction of the 3.3 Muslims that live in the United States. (Some have fled/self-deported, apparently.)

On a broader level, Moriarty gives no explanation for why the federal government felt the impetus to pass the laws that make Muslim enemies of the state, in the first place. Was it because of a terrorist attack? Several terrorist attacks?

What happened to cause such a dramatic shift in public opinion? There's no cause and effect, which makes zero civics sense. There needs to be a reason that the fictional mood of the country has shifted so dramatically, to the point that lawmakers from more traditionally liberal states (MA, CA, VT, etc.) would agree to go along with these laws and allow their residents to be picked up and taken to the Nevada detention camps. What is it?

Also: why haven't the states stepped in? State's rights, etc. In every single dystopian novel you read, states break apart and set up their own nation-state, for this very reason.

There is also no explanation to just how the detention camps in Nevada are being handled. Again, even if just a fraction of the 3.3 million Muslims have been sent to Nevada, that's still a lot of people. Are Nevada residents being displaced? Are they being compensated for being displaced? Again, no logical answers on the table.

Similarly, the dramatic event and subsequent shift is needed to explain just why so much of the country seems to have become instantly ignorant and Islamaphobic. Because Moriarty doesn't give a good timeline for this book, we're left wondering just how long it's been from when the country was relatively normal, to what it is now.

Based on what Sadaf says in the book about her wanting to finish teaching the year, it's implied that it's a matter of months, if a year at most. But if that's the case, how did everyone in the nation, suddenly become Islamaphobic? How is it that our main character is completely ignorant about Islam? Where are all the rational people who have some tenant of understanding about Islam, and would be out demonstrating against this treatment, day-after-day? I find it hard to believe that everyone suddenly lost all understanding of Islam, and are now spouting nonsense about Sharia Law at every given interval. And yet, that's what we have with the majority of the characters.

On an even broader scale: Sadaf references the borders being sealed, after her husband and son have left for Canada. Ok, but then how did she expect to go anywhere, before meeting the young main character?

Finally: it's implied that Muslims aren't the only ones being hunted - the MC comes across a list of people that the government is trying to track down, with some "Hispanic sounding names," too. Ok, but is it isolated to illegal immigrants from say, Mexico only? There's no explanation on the logistics of the government's operation.

I'm sure some people are wondering why I'm going to such great lengths to pick holes in this book's world-building. If Moriarty wants readers to use this book to think about our current political climate - and to use the genuine concerns of a community not her own - the foundations of her fictional world need to make sense.

Part of the reason why books like The Handmaid's Tale, Fahrenheit 451 or even counterfactual history books like Fatherland work, is because they find their root causes in real-world events, and logically, methodically build upon those events, to reach their fictional dystopia. American Heart jumps from zero to Muslim hysteria with no sound foundation, and it undermines the very story that Moriarty is trying to tell. Instead, it just comes off feeling like profiting off of some genuine, real-world fears.

With that being said:

On how Muslims are being depicted in the book (or used as plot devices) :

I'm not Muslim, so I'm going to keep my thoughts on this brief. First, if I understand correctly, a lot of the Muslim elements in the book are incorrect. Please make it a point of educating yourself on what those might be.

I will say that to me, it also felt like Sadaf's story was created purely as a way for the main character to do some naval-gazing about herself.

It takes days of interactions with Sadaf, for the main character to come to the realization that hey: other people have problems, too. It's a messy, largely clueless journey; it comes in fits and starts and has some extraordinarily clunky moments - e.g. when Sadaf says that they can't hitchhike with black people, because black people are more likely to be pulled over, the main character has a tantrum and says that's not true. Then when Sadaf corrects her and says studies have been conducted that confirm that fact, you can almost see the main character suddenly feel more enlightened.

Or, the main character gives Sadaf grief about her hijab or headscarf. It isn't until the main character is standing in a bathroom and wraps a towel around her head, that she thinks: oh, maybe if I come from a country where everyone wears hijabs, it wouldn't be so weird. It's clumsy white wokeness, at best.

Part of the anger over this book, is because many readers and authors of color, already feel like they have to spend their day-to-day lives educating white people. Having it translate into fiction like this, and in such a messy, scarily concocted scenario at that, just really feels like adding insult to injury, if I'm completely honest. It's very obvious that this is a book written by a non-POC for non-POC with the intention of doing better - with very little thought on how POC might feel, abut their culture and genuine real-world concerns, being used to drive along the narrative.

And on that note:

On the main character

I actually haven't read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, so I can't speak to the comparisons I'm seeing between Huck and the MC.

But the main character's overall character arc felt shallow, at best. By 57% in the book, she's still snarking on Sadaf's background and confusing Sadaf's obvious protectiveness of her, as oppression instigated by culture/background. It isn't until the MC sees a white male veteran being shot while trying to protect Muslims, that she really awakens to the dangers being experienced by Muslims.

It comes off as a convenient awakening - the white person isn't bothered until another white person is injured - further emphasized by the ultimate de ex machina of having the MC's white friend later appear in the book and rescue them as all hope feels lost, as they're running from the police.

The main character ends the book thinking she's going to face her future anew, but I couldn't help but wondering just how much the MC has actually learned from all of this, and will actually do something with her life to make it better for others, in the future. My guess? None.

Bottom line :

I have no doubt at all that Moriarty wrote this book with the best of intentions. But this is one of those situations where writers need to ask themselves: "is this the story I should be telling? Are there better voices to tell this story?", particularly given the realities of our current political climate.

At the end of the day, I do think this book does a substantial disservice and harms the Muslim-American community. Even if Moriarty didn't intend it in that way, the very idea that the main character needed to go on this dramatic journey to realize that Muslims aren't so bad, ultimately sends a negative message for inclusion, diversity and some very real world challenges being faced in society.

It also emphasizes to young Muslim-American readers, that they are to essentially serve as a plot device for white people to get their act together. That's a messy, dispiriting lesson, and falls far from any inclusiveness that Moriarty might have hoped to reach.

This is very much a book by a non-person of color, written for other non-people of color, and I can't help but wonder how much more this story would have resounded, if a person of color had taken the reins.

This is a hard pass for me.

***

Also, some further political/terrorism issues with the book: (since that's how my brain works)

1. It's stated that it's treason to help Muslims. Ok, so that thereby implies they are now enemies of the states, or terrorists. Just what happened, to have them all be categorized as terrorists? And where was the fictional equivalent of the ACLU to protest this? How did SCOTUS rule on this?

2. There's a bombing in Detroit that is purportedly committed by Muslims. This actually made no sense to me, since in real world terms, Detroit/Dearborne has one of the largest Muslim populations in the country.

So are they committing this bombing because they're protesting at having to go to these detention camps? And who is committing these bombings, exactly? Where are they getting the resources? Because if they're under close watch, how exactly are they getting bomb-making materials?

3. How are our allies reacting to this behavior? Why didn't Canada close its borders? Are predominantly Muslim countries protesting?

Miranda

525 reviews128 followers

nope

October 18, 2017

Fellow white people:

Did you know that, sometimes, not everything in the world has to revolve around us? I know this is a tough concept, since we've invaded and colonized lots of countries and thus spread our white supremacy far and wide.

But sometimes, we are not important. A white writer should not have tackled this story, and neither should a white character be the center of it. This book's very foundation is flawed and racist. It should have been buried deep in a drawer somewhere to never see the light of day.

If you actually want to help Muslims, stop this performative activism, stop profitting off their dehumanization and abuse. Decenter yourself for one damn second and stop shouting over the voices of Muslims. Lift them up instead.

It's not about us.

Edited to add (10-18-17):

Read Adiba's review.
Read Celeste's review.

Also, I'm not interested in having a debate about this book. You will not change my mind about it. Don't waste my time with the same bullshit arguments I've already heard, thought over myself, and found lacking.

Yusra ✨

253 reviews506 followers

December 22, 2022

DNF @ 40%

this was absolutely unbearable. I was going to write a whole detailed review with quotes and stuff just so you all can STAY AWAY FROM THIS TRASH but I had to return it to the library. say what you want, but I slammed this shit into the return box and I literally could care less if it ripped.
don’t read this. ignorance has a limit, and this book crossed it, and like I could care less if she ends up “changing”. IGNORANCE HAS A LIMIT. also, if you’re a white author writing about any other religion, or if you’re ANY AUTHOR writing about another religion, DO YOUR RESEARCH. this is not a game anymore, this is real life & YOU BETTER NOT TEST ME

ok u know I’m just mad but this rating shall never change & everytime I need to get triggered, this is the book for me.
I mean. People apparantly hate it when reviews tell them “not to read a book”. So you know what? go ahead. read this book if you want. But this is just an ADVISORY it’s not worth your time and effort. In the somewhat words of Emily May, it’s a book “about muslims” with all non-muslims. get a grip on it folks.

(Literally read Emily May’s review, it’s so much better and coherent)

Aida Alberto

826 reviews22 followers

October 16, 2017

I just finished reading American Heart last night and I wanted some time to collect my thoughts before posting my review because I went through all reviews on Goodreads and saw all of the negativity posted on there. Do I focus on those negative reviews or do I focus on the book? I will focus on the book. I really enjoyed this book because it gave another view as to what is tearing our country apart. All my life I have relied on my belief that what makes our country so great is the blending of our people, our values and our customs. Only here in America I see the white people filled with entitlement, their heads swelled with the belief that their race is the only supreme race and you are so wrong. This book is wonderful in it's raw honesty and I am a better person for reading it. Read this book first before passing judgement. Freedom of speech is a right we all have but arm yourself with the facts first before passing judgement. it wasn't an easy book to read but I am a better person for doing so. I am but one voice but my one voice can be joined by many. So please join me. Please let your voice be heard. Please stand against the ignorance that has swept across this country that we all call home.

aida-s-books-reviewed

Michele

144 reviews

Full disclosure: I have not yet read this book. But I cannot WAIT to read this book. We use fiction to serve as a mirror to our own shortcomings and I think many people will be able to identify with the protagonist who holds certain stereotypes until she meets someone who dispels those myths. I think anyone who holds similar views to those the protagonist holds at the beginning of the book should be afforded the opportunity to meet someone who represents the cultures erroneously depicted in the form of these stereotypes. It is amazing how we can all learn from one another once we start speaking to one another.

Crystal Alegria

1 review

This is one of the best books I've read all summer! The author does an amazing job of showcasing what could easily happen in this country if we are not careful and vigilant. The characters have incredible depth, making it a "hard to put down" book. The two main characters compliment each other brilliantly, each bringing vulnerabilities and complexity to the story. Each of the characters, especially the two main characters, work together to become friends and allies, saving each other from the harshness of their individual lives. Another great book by Moriarty, can't wait for the next one!

sam

449 reviews101 followers

September 22, 2017

fuck this white savior bullshit.

read The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah instead or literally any other #ownvoices book.

Clif Hostetler

1,280 reviews1,033 followers

February 12, 2018

Here's A LINK to an article in the February 4, 2018 Kansas City Star newspaper about controversy stirred up by this book. I think it likely that the controversy has helped sales. I'll admit that's the reason I purchased the audio edition of this book was so I could decide for myself about the issues raised. I will address the complaints mentioned in the article at the end of this review.

This novel describes a dystopian United States where all Muslims are deported to "protective custody" in a containment area (a.k.a. concentration camp). The story's narrative is told in first person by a fifteen-year-old girl who initially understands that Muslims are indeed dangerous and having them all in Nevada would make everyone else safer from terrorist bombings.

She feels that way until she meets a middle aged college professor who happens to be Muslim and wants to flee to Canada. This woman has slipped away from the authorities and consequently has had her face shown on TV with a $10,000 bounty offered for information leading to her apprehension. Our fifteen-year-old narrator decides to accept the challenge of assisting this Muslim woman. This girl's assistance is needed because this Muslim woman speaks with an accent (she's from Iran) which if heard will identify her as a possible fugitive. Photo identification is required to purchase a bus ticket, thus the two travelers are forced to hitchhike their way to the border.

Thus begins their travel adventures. The story is obviously patterned on Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with them encountering all sorts of people, dangers, dilemmas, and close calls. It is made clear to the reader that the narrator herself is involved in a dangerous activity by having her witness at one point in the trip the murder of man by mob violence because he had attempted to hide some muslims.

Through most of the story the assumption is that everybody they meet are hostile to Muslims. Then near the end

I thought it was a pretty good story. I'm normally not a fan of dystopian novels, but I found this one better than most because its premise is a projection of possible outcomes of current political tensions. There has been at least one politician in the United States who won a nationwide election partly because he promised to stop Muslims from coming to our country. It's easy to imagine that voters who thought that was a good idea are probably not too far from being in favor have having all Muslims moved to a far away place. This novel portrays the logical outcome of that wish.

Regarding the Complaints referenced in the KC Star article:

The main complain seems to be that the novel portrays a "white savior" rescuing a less fortunate person. Critics presumably see this to be a modern version of the colonial era term "white man's burden." I acknowledge that sensitivity is merited regarding issues of white privilege. But fiction needs to reflect realistic social situations if its message is to be recognized and have meaning. In this case the story describes an environment where white skin and a midwestern English accent provides clearance to be free of any suspicion. Any deviation from this is cause to be considered as "the other" and dangerous. This leads to the ironic situation where an uninformed, potential redneck, and under aged teenage girl has more power than an older woman with a PhD in electrical engineering. This example of white privilege substantially reflects ironic reality.

It is a reality that allows for the assistance of well meaning individuals who are part of the dominant social class to help those in need, as was true in history with abolitionist and civil rights workers. It's a story that white readers can identify with and aspire to do likewise in real life. It's also a reminder to those being discriminated against that they are not alone.

Of course this story could have been written in such a way that the Muslim woman managed to travel to Canada without the help of any "white savior" and in spite of the evil intensions of all the white Muslim haters. That story would have its own message, and perhaps it would be a worthwhile message about the cruelty of the dominant American culture. But it would have been a different story.

I suggest those who don't want to read about "white saviors" write their stories. Perhaps an alternative version of American Heart could be written where the experience of and advice from African Americans and undocumented Hispanics is utilized to avoid notice while traveling cross country. This thought reminds me that there's one place in this book where the Muslim woman tells her teenage friend not to accept rides from African Americans because they are more likely to be stopped by the Police—and if she's in the car when they are stopped she'll be caught.

novel

Alida Hanson

536 reviews9 followers

Haven't read it but will do my small part against trolls who are trying to bury this book before anyone gets to read it.

Aslee

187 reviews13 followers

this author: man I just really want to write about a world where muslim-americans are even more oppressed so i can write about a white girl being Special

me:

me: im sorry i think i just had a stroke

...

That's the issue here. Believe it or not, it goes beyond the white saviour trope, although that is a problem. However, I believe if this was a mediocre story about a white girl unlearning her racism after being faced with it in today's America, this book would have gone largely unnoticed.

The truly offensive thing is that a white woman sat down and poured more pain on her brown characters so that her fellow white woman could save them from it.

Like, holy shit? How do you not see that as a problem?

Ugh, I feel like I haven't read a good, non-racist book since I got my new job. Someone rescue YA literature from the Trump Era.

Joanne

1,026 reviews171 followers

will-never-read

Note to self:
Will not read because Muslim detainment camps. No more explanation needed.

ETA:
Some people seem to have a problem with why I've decided not to read this book. Even though these notes are for myself, so I remember why not to touch books on these shelves with a barge pole, for those of you who are reading, you may want to read this review of the book by Justina Ireland.

This book is offensive and harmful for Muslims. If after reading the above review you can't see that, then I don't know what to say to you.

Ellen Lee

55 reviews33 followers

So everyone is rating this book with one star although they say they haven't read it and will never read it.

Alrighty then, I'm rating it five stars although I haven't read it but will read it.

My rating is based on the starred Kirkus review--which was written by a Muslim-American woman!--that praised the novel's “frighteningly believable setting of fear and violent nativism gone awry.”

Jéanpaul

Author 42 books48 followers

This is a fine YA novel written by a veteran novelist who took the time and effort to make sure this book was careful with its narrative to be culturally sensitive to all races, creeds, ethnicities, and religions. It is in line with such novels as 1984, Slaughter House Five, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Schindler's List in that it is a social criticism in which it portrays characters that are xenophobic or racist in its criticism of xenophobia and racism. It is an important YA book that will embolden young people to see the hypocrisy and seething hatred of other people who would have you believe that none of us are simply variations of one another. Hooray for someone brave enough and who had the guts to write a YA novel like this in 2017! It is rare indeed.

The tinfoil hat backlash against this book is quite puzzling though. I did not realize that gay authors could no longer write about straight characters . I did not realize black Americans could not write about white Americans either. I did not realize that disabled persons who are gay women could not write about characters that were not-disabled, straight, or male. I had no idea that liberals could not write about conservatives. I had no idea conservatives could not write a novel about liberals. Italians, apparently, can no longer write novels about Americans. I did not realize that black American authors could not even make a living writing about the pain and suffering of non-black American personalities that may have lived through the holocaust, civil wars, ethnic purges, or worse. I was horrified to find out Jews could not write about Muslims or Nazi's. I had no idea that the 1st Amendment had been abolished or that there was a litmus test for ethnicity, sex, or color. I was shocked to find out that a soldier returning back from the theater of war was no longer allowed to write a novel about the terror and horror of war. Again, apparently, while I was asleep, society decided that a pacifist could not write a novel about war either. Truman Capote, Alice Walker, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Bob Dylan, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Tony Morrison, Cormac McCarthy, Vladimir Nabokov, Flannery O'Connor, Sylvia Plath, Jesmyn Ward, and Colson Whitehead books have all been banned too. Imagine a world in which black feminists had no voice and could not write about their white oppressors. A world in which victims of sexual abuse could not write about their abusers. A world where a male author could not write about a serial misogynist and rapist. A world in which anyone--white, black, brown, gay, straight, Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Agnostic, feminist, pacifist, female, male--were placed in a box and told to stay there for all-time? This is a dystopian world that should be smashed and crushed to pieces for it is a world in which those who hold the power—be it in the White House, the Presidency, the internet, a blog, the radio, in print, or underground—weld their power to crush all those in descent.

The latter is what this novel “American Heart” is truly about. And it is something breathtaking to behold!

— Jéanpaul Ferro

Alice Lieberman

1 review1 follower

I was able to get an advance copy of American Heart, by Laura Moriarty, which is due out in January, 2018. I have read all of Moriarty's books because she has such an uncanny talent for giving voice to her young female characters. This book is no exception. I live near the area where the book takes place, in the heart of Missouri. Its population includes poor, mostly White, deeply religious families. The children in these families are often required to learn life lessons pretty quickly--they have few of protections from the adversities of poverty, addiction, violence, etc. (which some might call "coddling") that the developmental literature tells us is so deleterious to wellbeing. Sarah-Mary Williams, the principal character, is a product of such a situation. And Moriarty's gift is that she understands all the intersectionalities of young girl--her age, gender, race, class--and makes her live, so vividly, in a world that was once unimaginable, but now is not.

Moriarty is particularly adept at subtly shifting the nuances of Sarah-Mary's thoughts and behavior to reflect her continuous growth and development, as she takes this forbidden journey. Watching her relationship with Sadaf subtly grow and change also, is a reading delight.

This book represents two shifts for Moriarty: one is from the adult novel to the YA genre. In this regard, I do not find it particularly suited to only a YA audience. I'm no YA, but I loved it! The other way it represents a shift is that it reflects Moriarty's growing, incredible talent for just nailing the voices of her characters, from the minor ones (in this case, Sarah-Mary's mother, e.g.), to the supporting ones (e.g. Sarah-Mary's brother) to the principal ones, Sadaf and Sarah-Mary. As with The Center of Everything, The Chaperone, and The Rest of Her Life, it is so clear that Moriarty loves her characters, with all of their flaws and foibles, because they jump off the page as fully recognizable human beings, emblematic of their origins, and in the midst of transcendence.

Kayla Bashe

Author 30 books86 followers

As a Jewish person who grew up hearing stories from Holocaust survivors, whose family was close personal friends with the late Eli Wiesel, and whose own ancestors left Europe just before the camps started, I feel that this book is exploitative and unnecessary, and that the author should have been more considerate.

Shenwei

462 reviews225 followers

not-touching-with-a-ten-foot-pole

how many more white savior type books will publishing shit out before it realizes they are garbage and dehumanizing and 1000% unnecessary and not the diversity we need?
I have a thread with books by Muslim authors to support instead: https://twitter.com/theshenners/statu...

DMG

25 reviews2 followers

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!

STOP with the white savior narratives!!

So disgusted and mad I can't even...I mean, did you READ the blurb???? NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!! STOP IT!! I'm sick of narrative how-tos on empathy and caring about anyone outside of yourself or that looks like you.

Above all, LISTEN to the comments from Muslim reviewers. To ignore them is to ignore what should be part of your target audience. If they are not part your target audience, then perhaps rethink the book you're writing if it includes Muslim-Americans, because it's highly likely that it is a white savior novel meant to appease a mostly white audience.

Demand better.

Wendy Richards

21 reviews1 follower

I cannot wait to read this book. If more people actually followed up instead of insisting they knew what it was without any clue, this world would be far better off.

Freyja Vanadis

731 reviews6 followers

I read an article about this book, and the ensuing controversy, on Slate. And as I see all these horrified SJWs on here, screeching about "white savior!" and "I'll never read this book!", it's made me want to read it even more. I normally only buy used books but in this case, I'll buy a brand new copy. I want to make sure the author gets her due.
And I hope the ridiculous little snowflake SJWs realize that by trying to ban a book, they're just encouraging even more people to read it. That's what's happening with me. I'd have never even heard of this book otherwise.

wishlist

Elia (goldenlyre)

291 reviews34 followers

2.8 stars?? sounds about white

screw you and your white savior bs

Becky Carleton

241 reviews15 followers

May 26, 2019

American Heart is an homage to one of my all-time favorite novels: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Huck Finn ends up on banned and frequently challenged lists all the time. I find that most of my favorite books are on these lists. Good literature is often challenging to read. Depressing topics. Nuanced writing that doesn’t spell things out or dumb things down. Not black and white, but grey. Not right or wrong, but neither. Ambiguous. It takes an effort by the reader to read good literature. It’s not there to simply entertain, but to make us think. The best literature is both entertaining and thought provoking. American Heart is both.

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise." --F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up

Lots of people gave American Heart bad reviews on Goodreads months before it had been published. Kirkus retracted its coveted starred review. Why? Because some people--who evidently hadn't even read the novel--were angry that the main character is white and non-Muslim, and that the story of Muslim persecution in America is told from the non-Muslim person's point-of-view instead of from the Muslim character who is being persecuted. Just as people challenge Huck Finn, a story about the persecution of black people told from a white boy's point-of-view.

At a Meet-the-Author event I recently attended at the Lawrence Public Library, Moriarty said she modeled American Heart after Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The fact that Moriarty’s novel is stirring up controversy akin to Twain’s masterpiece is not a coincidence. I have read the book. It is that good. Ms. Moriarty should take the challenge as a compliment.

Sarah-Mary (rhymes with Huckleberry - get it?) is the white, non-Muslim protagonist at the heart of the controversy. At fifteen, she’s been abandoned by her narcissistic mother and her alcoholic father. She lives with her eleven-year-old brother Caleb and their strict, bigoted Aunt Jenny in Hannibal, Missouri—Mark Twain’s real-life childhood hometown. Sarah-Mary is an unreliable narrator—just as is Huck Finn—due to her ignorance and bigoted upbringing for sure, but that doesn’t mean this novel is unworthy of our attention. Moriarty effectively uses the unreliable narrator technique to highlight just how irrational and cognitively dissonant bigotry is. There were many times throughout my reading that I wanted to step inside the novel and shake some sense into this ignorant white girl. And, there were just as many times I wanted to step inside and give her a hug. I felt sorry for her. She’s an authentically drawn character: complex, a product of her negligent upbringing and her place within the dystopic society at large. And, just like Huck Finn, when she follows her heart and ignores what society says is the right thing to do, we watch her flourish.

I completely understand how some people would not want to read this book because of the offensive, casual Islamophobia imbedded throughout the story. But remember: this is dystopian fiction set in a future United States. The offensive, casual Islamophobia is the point. Instead of shunning this novel, I’d like to see more people read it, discuss it, and use it as a reminder of what could become of our great nation if good people fail to speak out against injustice.

Heatherblakely

1,170 reviews7 followers

will-not-read

September 25, 2017

"Imagine a United States in which registries and detainment camps for Muslim-Americans are a reality."

This IS a reality. This is a terrifying thing that is completely realistic, and fuck this book for being like hm what if it happened and hmmmmm white savior.

Here's a Twitter thread if you don't want to believe me.

Justina Ireland also read and reviewed the book.

Paul Huff

1 review

I haven't read this book, but I rated it 5 stars, because almost none of the people who rated it one star have read it either. They would rather cry about the fact that the book has a white protagonist than actually sit down and critically analyze it. For some reason, these people find it outrageous that a white author would write from the perspective of a white person.

The book is probably trash because YA is a trash genre that attracts trash people. Regardless, I plan on buying several copies.

Serith

263 reviews10 followers

hell-no

August 9, 2019

REASONS: Another white saviour story no one asked for (details in this twitter thread)

Brittney

15 reviews1 follower