Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

LOVE, HATE AND OTHER FILTERS by Samira Ahmed will soon be on our shelves.  It is a brand new young adult novel which looks at both following a dream and coping with bigotry. At one point, high school student Maya Aziz says, “All I want is to make movies and kiss a boy.” For parts of the story, she does focus on those activities, often describing how she would light or frame a movie scene. And she chooses between two boys, Kareem, a college student who shares her culture and is acceptable to her family, and Phil, the high school football star who loves nature and wants to be an EMT. Sadly and all too realistically, she also has to deal with hate crimes, especially after there is a devastating act of terrorism and the initial suspect shares her last name.

Students will appreciate the Illinois setting and relate to the angst and drama which Maya and her friend Violet convey, but LOVE, HATE AND OTHER FILTERS will also prompt some serious discussions about Islamophobia and prejudice. Ironically, that is especially appropriate in a week where the Federal government and Department of Justice seemed determined to perpetuate stereotypes and even ferment hostility with a new report; for more on that, see the commentary from The Cato Institute. Also trying to raise awareness, Ahmed even includes the following quote:

“From our beginning as a nation, we have admitted to our country and to citizenship immigrants from the diverse lands of the world.  We had faith that hereby we would best serve ourselves and mankind.”  --Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, Nov. 17, 1994 US Naturalization Oath Ceremony.  

LOVE, HATE AND OTHER FILTERS received starred reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and VOYA.