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Fashionably Late
What do you do when you're about to be fired, you don't know what to say to your boyfriend's marriage proposal, and your very strict Arab family is expecting only success? You run away on a week-long sun-filled vacation in Cuba, of course!
Aline Hallaby, a nice, obedient Arab girl, has it all---a budding career at one of Montreal's most prestigious accounting firms, a loving family, and a boyfriend of three years who has finally proposed. To top it all off, she's about to fly to Cancún with her accounting classmates to celebrate passing the Uniform Final Examination. There's just one tiny Ali has failed the exam. She hasn't told a soul. Not her parents. Not her boyfriend. And definitely not her boss, who will boot Ali out the door as soon as she finds out.
So rather than suffer through seven days in Cancún with her drunken-yet-successful classmates, Ali grabs her best friends, Sophie and Jasmin, and flees to the farthest place her airfare cancellation insurance will carry the resort town of Varadero Beach, Cuba. . . .
The sea, sand, and sun, not to mention the attentions of a certain Cuban dive instructor, soon have Ali feeling wonderfully careless and increasingly reckless. Caught up in a whirlwind of rum-soaked nights and moonlit Havana strolls, this good Muslim girl gets her very first taste of what it would be like to be bad, really bad. But will what happens in Cuba stay in Cuba? Or is Ali finally ready to break out of the good-girl mold and grow into the woman she was meant to be?
Aline Hallaby, a nice, obedient Arab girl, has it all---a budding career at one of Montreal's most prestigious accounting firms, a loving family, and a boyfriend of three years who has finally proposed. To top it all off, she's about to fly to Cancún with her accounting classmates to celebrate passing the Uniform Final Examination. There's just one tiny Ali has failed the exam. She hasn't told a soul. Not her parents. Not her boyfriend. And definitely not her boss, who will boot Ali out the door as soon as she finds out.
So rather than suffer through seven days in Cancún with her drunken-yet-successful classmates, Ali grabs her best friends, Sophie and Jasmin, and flees to the farthest place her airfare cancellation insurance will carry the resort town of Varadero Beach, Cuba. . . .
The sea, sand, and sun, not to mention the attentions of a certain Cuban dive instructor, soon have Ali feeling wonderfully careless and increasingly reckless. Caught up in a whirlwind of rum-soaked nights and moonlit Havana strolls, this good Muslim girl gets her very first taste of what it would be like to be bad, really bad. But will what happens in Cuba stay in Cuba? Or is Ali finally ready to break out of the good-girl mold and grow into the woman she was meant to be?
400 pages, Paperback
First published May 29, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 20, 2010
I picked this book randomly out of my To Read pile. I have had many Middle Eastern and Muslim friends in the past, and it was interesting to read a Canadian point-of-view instead of American. Imagine my surprise when, a few chapters into the book, my children's new swim class had me sitting next to a Lebanese mom. We struck up a conversation for several days before I knew she was from Lebanon, but the irony of the situation was not lost on me.
Because of these circumstances, I enjoyed the book. I don't know if I would have liked it as much if I had read it at a different time in my life. I have never been a slave to fashion, so Ali's obsession with clothes was not something I could relate to in the least. However, it is an interesting coming of age story with a interesting back drop of characters.
Because of these circumstances, I enjoyed the book. I don't know if I would have liked it as much if I had read it at a different time in my life. I have never been a slave to fashion, so Ali's obsession with clothes was not something I could relate to in the least. However, it is an interesting coming of age story with a interesting back drop of characters.
December 26, 2007
Loved it! Brought back memories of my visit to Cuba :)
March 5, 2008
Another great relaxing evening read. Made me want to travel to Cuba.
November 16, 2008
Slightly heavier than typical chick lit; it was a nice change to have the story take place in Montreal instead of New York I suppose
September 7, 2009
Loved this book. It's super funny because it's very relatable considering it takes place in Montreal. I couldn't put it down
April 20, 2011
A bit wordy at times but over all a very enjoyable read!
September 27, 2018
Good book. Good story line A nice light read.
March 23, 2017
I'm always on the lookout for books with Arab-American/Arab-Canadian characters as I can relate to them so much and I haven't found that many out there. It made it that much more enjoyable for me but nonetheless, what a fun, and important story. Made me want to travel!
June 24, 2008
Kept my interest, but that kind of angst is a lifetime ago for me
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews