“You know, locker room talk, Tom said. But that kind of talk-- it’s not okay anywhere.”

LOVE, HATE & OTHER FILTERS has solidified a spot on my list of favorite books of all time. This short, quick little book packs a massive punch. For Maya Aziz, the loveable main character, the biggest thing on her mind is how she’s going to convince her parents to let her go to NYU. That changes when a terrorist attacks a city a few hundred miles away, and the suspect shares her last name. However, one message this books brings across is even if the suspect didn’t have her same last name, she is still a target. Being the only Muslim kid in school, Maya experiences intense situations of Islamophobia after the attack.

"LOVE, HATE & OTHER FILTERS is a timely book that we so desperately need right now. I hope everyone reads this and takes away something valuable from it, because this is truly a gem of a novel."

Maya is truly an amazing main character. From the start, I absolutely loved her. It’s wonderful when main characters of young adult novels have passions, and Maya adored filmmaking. Samira Ahmed also wrote wonderful side characters. For example, Maya’s aunt Hina is a total rock star. She’s so unbelievably supportive and always knows how to reassure Maya.

Kareem, the boy Maya’s parents are trying to set her up with in the beginning, is also wonderful. He is only in the book for a short while, but he is incredibly sweet. Even though he liked Maya, he is so understanding of her feelings and is supportive of her decisions.

Now moving onto Phil, the boy Maya really wants to be with. Phil is a sweet cinnamon roll who I would do anything for. That also goes for Maya’s best friend, Violet. Violet protects Maya with the sort of fierceness I love to see in female friendships. In sum, Samira Ahmed wites some incredible characters that you are sure to fall in love with.

LOVE, HATE & OTHER FILTERS made me see the world in a different light. The pain Maya feels when she learns the suspect is Muslim hits you directly in the heart. As a reader, you know her fear is that the world will grow even more hateful towards her religion and culture, just because one person did a horrible thing.

I really love a certain conversation Maya has with her mother about this situation, though, where her mother assures her that one person doing a hateful thing does not ever mean that their religion in itself is hateful. Maya’s parents seem very judgmental of Maya’s choices throughout the novel, but as a reader it is always clear that the love her parents have for her is prominent. It’s not easy to get parents to be okay with changing times, but I admire Maya for her belief in herself that she can make it doing what she loves. I just admire everything about this book. The family dynamics even when things are tough, the friendship, the romance, the struggles…all of it. LOVE, HATE & OTHER FILTERS is a timely book that we so desperately need right now. I hope everyone reads this and takes away something valuable from it, because this is truly a gem of a novel.