Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

 

Summary from Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed have crafted a resonant, funny, and memorable story about the power of love and resistance.

YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.

NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.

MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.

Review:

I have some mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand, I love that there’s a book that encourages young people to become active in politics. It’s literally about two characters discovering what’s happening in their local govermenent and fighting their hardest to make a difference. Yes, there’s a love story. And there are side stories too with Jamie’s sister’s bat mitzvah, and Maya’s parent’s separation. But, at its core, this is a political story. And I loved this.

I also loved watching the friendship grow between Jamie and Maya. I love the idea of a relationship blooming over shared political interests. Maya gets Jamie out of his shell and teaches him that he can canvas and make speeches in front of people. And Jamie shows Maya that she can be honest to her friends and family and speak up about her feelings and what she deserves. They learn from each other and grow together. And because of this, I liked them together.

I also love the whole idea of a Jewish/Muslim love story. I love that they are fighting for the same things, and both are targeted by the same bigots in the story. I do believe this book was a work of peace, meant to bring people and cultures together. And I think in most regards the authors accomplished that here. I love that though both characters are so fundamentally different, they have a lot in common. If you like the show, the Office, you are in for a treat! The scene where they watch the Office together over the phone, was so adorable!

But, I do feel like some things were sugarcoated and this bothered me. At one point, when canvassing, a particularly awful human says some terrible things to Maya and she tells Jamie that no one has ever said anything like that to her before….I had to step back and go, “What? How is that possible?” I have been harassed for being Jewish, female, and other things, and my skin is white. I just find it hard to believe that Maya’s life could be that sheltered.

And then, I also felt like Jamie’s faith was understood a little more than Maya’s. I know I’m Jewish and I’m not an expert on Ramadan, but I know it’s about a lot more than fasting. And I kind of wish the book talked a little bit more about the holiday that Maya was recognizing for so long. So much emphasis was on Jamie’s sister celebration and what she had to do for it. But, all I learned about Maya’s holiday involved food (or the lack of it).

And then there was the ending. It made me feel uncomfortable –like her culture and her family’s wishes were being ignored, or they weren’t as important as Jamie’s culture. Don’t get me wrong. I love a romance as much as the next person. But…it just felt wrong to me. Maybe Jamie should have recognized Maya’s culture and respected what her family wanted or worked harder to get to know her family at least. I don’t know. It just rubbed me the wrong way, especially in today’s climate. And that’s sad because I know the authors were going for a book about peace and political activism. I just feel like it would have come across a lot stronger with a bit more editing and a new ending. I give it a 7/10.