Saints and Misfits…and a Monster.

Rating: 5 stars

We have Saint Sarah, a happy girl who looks like the perfect Muslim.
Misfits Janna our main protagonist and her best friend Tats are the odd ones out. There’s also this boy named Jeremy with a forehead Janna finds exquisite and who Janna harbors feelings for, except he’s not Muslim… so there’s that. Oh yeah, the Monster. On the outside a Pious, memorizer of the Quraan, but only Janna knows his secret.

Saints and Misfits had me with the beautiful cover. ( hellooo a Hijabi on the cover!)

This had the honor of being my first contemporary novel I’d read. I’m more of a fantasy and Scifi girl, so I haven’t been keen on straying from magical worlds… until now.

I loved the fast pace and the dynamic between Janna and Muhammad. A brother and sister relationship which was so well done. The balance between the ‘You’re so damn annoying, how are we related’ and the ‘no one messes with my sibling, I got your back.’

My only small qualm is the sudden stop to some of the chapters, but that’s ok.

I’ve been giggling, gasping and nearly crying as I followed Janna on her journey. The food had me craving Samosa’s and more gummies. Halal gummies at that!

I just wanted to make sure the ‘holier than thou’ Farooq…er.. Monster as Janna rightly names him, gets what’s coming to him. Of course you’ll just have to read to find out. ; )

Overall, Janna is a human being. She’s a teenage girl and I love that books like this show that, hey, we’re people too. We eat, sleep, have emotions and lives just like everyone else.

I really loved this book and I hope it can teach others to not demonize Muslims and instead show them how we’re all connected.