ARC Review: I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan

I Am Thunder

by Muhammad Khan

YA Contemporary

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Fifteen-year-old Muzna Saleem, who dreams of being a writer, struggles with controlling parents who only care about her studying to be a doctor. Forced to move to a new school in South London after her best friend is shamed in a scandal, Muzna realizes that the bullies will follow her wherever she goes. But deciding to stand and face them instead of fighting her instinct to disappear is harder than it looks when there’s prejudice everywhere you turn. Until the gorgeous and confident Arif shows an interest in her, encouraging Muzna to explore her freedom. 

But Arif is hiding his own secrets and, along with his brother Jameel, he begins to influence Muzna with their extreme view of the world. As her new freedom starts to disappear, Muzna is forced to question everything around her and make a terrible choice – keep quiet and betray herself, or speak out and betray her heart?

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Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy and also to the publisher for providing me with a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such an empowering, important read! I’ve to start off by saying that I’m so happy that this book had a Muslim protagonist and focused so much on her family and their views! I think every person out here should read this to inform themselves about the Islam faith and not give into its stereotypes.

I was engrossed with this book from the first page. I loved how I got so heavily invested into one story and then all of a sudden everything changed, and I was reading about a whole different plot that was so huge and significant and timely.

Muzna had such a strong voice as our main character too that it was so hard not to get invested in her story. If I could change one thing about this book, however, it would be that I felt so much of the scenes were unsynced. Like one would end so abruptly and you would be expecting the next chapter to pick up where it left off with a further explanation, but it just jumped straight to another, somtimes irrelevant moment in her story that left me confused at times.

But other than that, I really enjoyed I Am Thunder and can’t wait till it hits shelves in 2018!

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Rating:

★★★★