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An Acquaintance
An exciting story of a smart, driven young Muslim girl living in small town America who falls for the new guy at her high school. Family and friends misunderstand their developing relationship and Sarah struggles to be faithful to her moral code. As rumors of miscoduct cresando throughout the school year, what will become of their mere acquaintance...or is it more?
- GenresIslamYoung Adult
292 pages, Paperback
Published August 6, 2017
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147 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 23, 2018
I was initially hesitant to read The Acquaintance. Honestly, Muslim fiction is saturated with teen novels containing tropes about immigrant-descent Muslims seeking to be “normal” according to parameters of the non-Muslim gaze and invariably with parents who don’t understand them. It’s tiresome and restricts a spectrum of American Muslim teen experiences to cliched themes.
I was pleasantly surprised by Syed’s overall writing. The author is one of a few in the subgenre who writes effectively in the first person-no easy feat. Authors tend to over-emphasize the main character, limiting the rest of the characters, something Syed attempted to avoid. Although there were instances of info-dumping, I think the author did so to make sure characters were not left vapid.
She centers main character Sarah while still giving some of the primary characters depth. I particularly liked the relationship between Sarah, her father and brother. The author avoided some stereotypes about immigrant and immigrant-descent Muslim men. It was apparent that the men in Sarah’s life maintained closeness with her despite conflicting schedules.
Her father was not the typical out-of-touch parent. Granted, he didn’t know what his daughter was up to half the time, but what parent does?
Another refreshing inclusion that Syed made was African American Muslim characters. Sarah’s best friend Jasmine and her family are a welcome departure from the usual erasure of a large American Muslim demographic. Many non-Black American Muslim authors ignore the rich backgrounds of the American Ummah, choosing to center limited backgrounds, which may or may not be indicative of some of the isolated realities of Muslims. The author should be applauded.
Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nbamusli...
I was pleasantly surprised by Syed’s overall writing. The author is one of a few in the subgenre who writes effectively in the first person-no easy feat. Authors tend to over-emphasize the main character, limiting the rest of the characters, something Syed attempted to avoid. Although there were instances of info-dumping, I think the author did so to make sure characters were not left vapid.
She centers main character Sarah while still giving some of the primary characters depth. I particularly liked the relationship between Sarah, her father and brother. The author avoided some stereotypes about immigrant and immigrant-descent Muslim men. It was apparent that the men in Sarah’s life maintained closeness with her despite conflicting schedules.
Her father was not the typical out-of-touch parent. Granted, he didn’t know what his daughter was up to half the time, but what parent does?
Another refreshing inclusion that Syed made was African American Muslim characters. Sarah’s best friend Jasmine and her family are a welcome departure from the usual erasure of a large American Muslim demographic. Many non-Black American Muslim authors ignore the rich backgrounds of the American Ummah, choosing to center limited backgrounds, which may or may not be indicative of some of the isolated realities of Muslims. The author should be applauded.
Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nbamusli...
March 14, 2021
Sister Saba's debut novel transported readers to the small town of Wickley Pennsylvania where a muslim girl who is a highschool senior falls in love with her non muslim classmate. Our protagonist, Sarah Ali has is conflicted with her feelings of love for a non muslim boy and struggles with these feelings as it complicates her relationship with Islam, friends, family and her community in general. Sarah Ali was raised in a home where Islam was a major priority, her father built a strong foundation of Islam for Sarah and her brother Adam. The family also plays a strong role in the muslim community. This book showcases light that even the most pious of people can develop such feelings which is normal but in Sarah's case her father's teachings, support and her own Iman allowed her to move past her feelings and focus on the commands of Allah SWT. I enjoyed the book a lot and also heard that there will be a sequel to which I look forward to. I highly recommend you all to read the book.
February 12, 2019
Omg so freaking good 😍 find me a fam and man like this(except u know muslim 😂😢😂)
November 22, 2020
This is a good read for any parent of a daughter. While I remember high school rather fondly, I found the characters a little "off." The story of Sarah and Jason could be a classic Muslim love story, if there is such a thing. A practicing muslim girl has to contend with her faith, and stand higher moral ground. I can see her as a believable protagonist. However, Jason was not a believable high school boy at all. What boy buys a girl a bracelet? It seemed like it could happen in another generation. The ending was very disappointing, and the book ends abruptly with graduation. I would have liked to see an epilogue. Would Jason change his mind? There was no happy ending, and that surprised me. The characters around Sarah are beautiful, especially Sarah's father. I found his character to be the most profound, and I learned a lot from him. Sarah's brother -- I thought there would be more character development here. Overall I highly recommend this book, as there is nothing like it out there!
September 18, 2018
Perhaps I'd enjoy this more if I were a teenager. Might be a good discussion book for a (Muslim) teenage book club.
May 26, 2019
A beautifully written narrative. Absolutely heartwarming!!!. Thank you so much Saba syed for making us reconnect with our faith so fondly.
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June 24, 2018When Sarah begins her senior year of high school, Jason is just the cute new soccer captain. But as they spend more and more time together, Sarah feels increasingly conflicted about the nature of their relationship. She still insists, however, that he is just “an acquaintance.”
I read through this compelling story in a single day. I couldn’t put it down until I found out what would happen to the characters, and when I finally did, I kept thinking about the complex themes Saba Syed explores through the life of a teenage girl.
This is one of only a handful of YA novels that I know of that explores the lives of practicing Muslim characters. Sarah lives in a small town with her father and brother, who both practice Islam, albeit in different ways. There is also a local Muslim community—Sarah attends events at the mosque on weekends—and her best friend at school is Muslim. I really appreciated this.
Having said that, I found the direct discussions of religion a little heavy-handed. The characters in the story discuss their “character,” and they openly preach at each other. This is not my favorite thing to see in fiction, simply because it doesn’t ring true to me. Of course, that means that it’s a completely subjective judgment on my part. Here is one of the scenes that reminded me that I was reading a book:
For someone else, that might be a completely normal conversation between two Muslim high schoolers. Not for me.
A definite high point of this novel is the nuanced relationship between the father and his two children. He is an awesome dad: he is present and encouraging, and he knows his children. For example, he knows Sarah well enough to get suspicious when she refuses his offer to invite Jason over for dinner. Despite this, he maintains a hands-off attitude throughout the novel, insisting that Sarah has to make her own decisions and learn her own lessons. This drives a wedge between him and Sarah’s uber-devout older brother Adam. I love that Sarah’s dad challenges stereotypes about strict, detached, oblivious immigrant dads. He says my favorite line in the whole book: “I’m not raising angels.”
Something else that is done fantastically in this book is the portrayal of emotion. In the lead-up to the climax, Sarah’s emotional state shows in the careful excuses and neat justifications she uses to deceive herself. In the latter part of the book, Sarah’s heartbreak, her disappointment in herself, and her loneliness are tangible.
This book tackles some really tough topics, and one theme that I kept thinking about long after I put the book down was the idea of “reputation.” At one point, Sarah’s best friend warns her not to “tarnish” the “sterling reputation” she’s worked so hard to maintain. Sarah faces consequences based on the idea of her “reputation” in the Muslim community, which vindicates the idea that she was wrong not to make her reputation a major consideration. Personally, this didn’t jibe with me at first. The kind of people who would gossip and ostracize someone from a community based on their supposed sins are not worthy of my consideration—I could care less what people like that think. But this story shows that when someone is the victim of that kind of ostracization, the consequences (whether or not they validate those people’s opinions) are something they and their family have to live with. It's something I keep thinking about.
Before I end, here is a quote from Sarah that gets at the heart of this story:
Candid and thought-provoking, this realistic story about teen love is a fantastic read. I highly recommend it for teen Muslim girls and anyone who enjoys YA.
I read through this compelling story in a single day. I couldn’t put it down until I found out what would happen to the characters, and when I finally did, I kept thinking about the complex themes Saba Syed explores through the life of a teenage girl.
This is one of only a handful of YA novels that I know of that explores the lives of practicing Muslim characters. Sarah lives in a small town with her father and brother, who both practice Islam, albeit in different ways. There is also a local Muslim community—Sarah attends events at the mosque on weekends—and her best friend at school is Muslim. I really appreciated this.
Having said that, I found the direct discussions of religion a little heavy-handed. The characters in the story discuss their “character,” and they openly preach at each other. This is not my favorite thing to see in fiction, simply because it doesn’t ring true to me. Of course, that means that it’s a completely subjective judgment on my part. Here is one of the scenes that reminded me that I was reading a book:
Jasmine’s voice gentled. “You need to ask yourself . . . will you be able to uphold your values?”
I didn’t get what she meant. “Your religious values, Sarah!” Jasmine cried out in frustration. “Your chastity. Eventually, this will stain your reputation and your character."
For someone else, that might be a completely normal conversation between two Muslim high schoolers. Not for me.
A definite high point of this novel is the nuanced relationship between the father and his two children. He is an awesome dad: he is present and encouraging, and he knows his children. For example, he knows Sarah well enough to get suspicious when she refuses his offer to invite Jason over for dinner. Despite this, he maintains a hands-off attitude throughout the novel, insisting that Sarah has to make her own decisions and learn her own lessons. This drives a wedge between him and Sarah’s uber-devout older brother Adam. I love that Sarah’s dad challenges stereotypes about strict, detached, oblivious immigrant dads. He says my favorite line in the whole book: “I’m not raising angels.”
Something else that is done fantastically in this book is the portrayal of emotion. In the lead-up to the climax, Sarah’s emotional state shows in the careful excuses and neat justifications she uses to deceive herself. In the latter part of the book, Sarah’s heartbreak, her disappointment in herself, and her loneliness are tangible.
This book tackles some really tough topics, and one theme that I kept thinking about long after I put the book down was the idea of “reputation.” At one point, Sarah’s best friend warns her not to “tarnish” the “sterling reputation” she’s worked so hard to maintain. Sarah faces consequences based on the idea of her “reputation” in the Muslim community, which vindicates the idea that she was wrong not to make her reputation a major consideration. Personally, this didn’t jibe with me at first. The kind of people who would gossip and ostracize someone from a community based on their supposed sins are not worthy of my consideration—I could care less what people like that think. But this story shows that when someone is the victim of that kind of ostracization, the consequences (whether or not they validate those people’s opinions) are something they and their family have to live with. It's something I keep thinking about.
Before I end, here is a quote from Sarah that gets at the heart of this story:
When girls at school had talked about losing control around the guys they liked, I'd laughed it off. I was embarrassed to admit it, but I had thought of myself as being better than them, assuming that the only reason they were so weak was because they didn't have a belief system that kept them strong. I always thought that I was more disciplined and sensible, and that simply declaring myself almost rendered me immune to this particular trap. But the truth was that when I was faced with temptation, I was proven just as susceptible as the next person. And now I had to do my best to regain my strength.
Candid and thought-provoking, this realistic story about teen love is a fantastic read. I highly recommend it for teen Muslim girls and anyone who enjoys YA.
November 11, 2020
The complexity this book ended up harboring really took me by surprise. I LOVE that this wasn't your cliché "Oh no I made a mistake! I will now repent and viola! I am suddenly the best person ever."
Life is hard and it hurts. The journey of healing after recovering from certain mistakes is not simple-it's messy.
Sarah stands as the epitome of a strong-minded young lady, firm in her belief, fighting off a crowd of Islamaphobes, etc. But when she meets Jason- who so adamantly declares his love for her- her lofty attitude of "This could never happen to me" proves to slowly but surely shatter. The more time she spends with him, the more her boundaries dissipate, masked by denial and infatuation. It is important, however, not to belittle the predicaments that teens (and adults) like Sarah go through. Their heartbreak is real, and what they need at that time is not to be lectured with strict verdicts, but rather to be treated with compassion and empathy first. The choices that adults make can make the world's difference in keeping a child anchored. Author Seba Syed lets these heavy themes shine throughout the book. An excellent read for anyone and everyone!
Life is hard and it hurts. The journey of healing after recovering from certain mistakes is not simple-it's messy.
Sarah stands as the epitome of a strong-minded young lady, firm in her belief, fighting off a crowd of Islamaphobes, etc. But when she meets Jason- who so adamantly declares his love for her- her lofty attitude of "This could never happen to me" proves to slowly but surely shatter. The more time she spends with him, the more her boundaries dissipate, masked by denial and infatuation. It is important, however, not to belittle the predicaments that teens (and adults) like Sarah go through. Their heartbreak is real, and what they need at that time is not to be lectured with strict verdicts, but rather to be treated with compassion and empathy first. The choices that adults make can make the world's difference in keeping a child anchored. Author Seba Syed lets these heavy themes shine throughout the book. An excellent read for anyone and everyone!
July 17, 2020
I like this Novel so much, so beautifully written. I know the ending might be not what i wanted but this is life, it hurts but it’s realistic. I just wished the writer has spent more time writing more about a while after when the community forgets about the rumors and Sarah started to be happier and regained some of her past life and reputation. I admired her father’s,he was my favorite character in the Novel. Also Jason, it’s impossible not to fall in love with him every page ♥️.
I still find Jasmine and Adam’s action to be very harsh, Jasmine costed Sarah a lot and jeopardized her family’s bond, happiness and stability. Over all the It’s a great read, and i wouldn’t mind a sequel 😄
I still find Jasmine and Adam’s action to be very harsh, Jasmine costed Sarah a lot and jeopardized her family’s bond, happiness and stability. Over all the It’s a great read, and i wouldn’t mind a sequel 😄
December 4, 2023
A very good book. At first it was, I have to admit, a bit of a bad influence but after a couple days it got better in that spot. This book is about a high school senior Muslima who has a very good reputation when a new handsome, kind, boy comes to school. After a couple of weeks they become VERY good friends. Sarah becomes torn between this fine, handsome fellow and her life values.
July 25, 2022
I loved this book and read it in 2 days because I could really relate to the story. However, I found the ending of the story a bit confusing. The book also felt as if it was written a while in the past (which would fit my old generation) but an absolutely interesting read.
June 8, 2025
A heartfelt story exploring teenage feelings of love and crushes in high school.
October 17, 2020
My parents are elderly immigrant parents due to which I read through books in advance to see how appropriate they are for my younger siblings. This book had a few issues:
- Despite not identifying as a book with Islamic authority, the author goes on to add comments such as 'but she knew that wasn't even valid' on topics to do with legal opinions, of which there are many varied, valid opinions on things. If we wanted to read about Islamic jurisprudence/fiqh, we would pick up another book to do so. We don't need a novel to teach us Islam. This 'my Islamic viewpoint is superior' attitude appeared in multiple places in the book.
- Whilst the story is realistic in what a teenage girl would go through, at the end, the boy send her a bouquet of roses and that romantic gesture is seen as completely normal, and accepted by her whole family? Even though her family aren't shown to be perfect, it seems ridiculous to me that the story would end on this note, as if to romanticize what happened and to vindicate the one involved.
There were a few other issues, but overall, I would not recommend this to any teens to read.
- Despite not identifying as a book with Islamic authority, the author goes on to add comments such as 'but she knew that wasn't even valid' on topics to do with legal opinions, of which there are many varied, valid opinions on things. If we wanted to read about Islamic jurisprudence/fiqh, we would pick up another book to do so. We don't need a novel to teach us Islam. This 'my Islamic viewpoint is superior' attitude appeared in multiple places in the book.
- Whilst the story is realistic in what a teenage girl would go through, at the end, the boy send her a bouquet of roses and that romantic gesture is seen as completely normal, and accepted by her whole family? Even though her family aren't shown to be perfect, it seems ridiculous to me that the story would end on this note, as if to romanticize what happened and to vindicate the one involved.
There were a few other issues, but overall, I would not recommend this to any teens to read.
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December 15, 2018Really amazing story. A bit slow at the beginning but the ending is really complex and makes for a great book club discussion.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews