User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Counting Down with You was such a warm joy to read, and it left me with something luminous bubbling bright within my chest. It’s a charming and aching story with a quietly furious heart, a story that would have given me a mirror as a teenager, and now at twenty-two, pried something open in me that had been shut for a very long time.
Counting Down with You pulled me tenderly towards my younger self, and reading it, I could so easily put myself back into the picture of it: that tremulous age when what there is of you feels too heavy to bear but too weightless to have its own gravity, the familiar keenness of helplessness and words crawling back inside your throat even as you thought them—a child’s desperate urge to be
seen, to be
adored, as who they are, as who they
want to be, not as some rarefied version that they ought to be—and the terrible, slowly-dawning realization that perhaps there is no such thing as unconditional love, or unconditional belonging, only love and belonging that seize and weigh and measure before they find you worthy. And something else too, that sharp, glittering edge of
defiance, always like flint, a spark away from fire.
I can speak autobiographically to the conflict that resides at the heart of the story which is, perhaps, why the novel landed very heavily within me. Like Karina Ahmed, I wanted to pursue a career in literature instead of one that is empty of passion in medicine, and like Karina, my parents were quick to snuff out that dream like a flame pinched between two fingers. My parents did not understand why I would “waste” my high school diplomat in mathematics and chase after such an unpractical dream, and I struggled for language to explain that a career in books fit into the contours of my heart like nothing else did, that I could not conceive of doing anything else. It was the first time I put my feet down in front of my parents, and it laid me open to a world where I might decide to stand and find the ground beneath me visible and solid.
It was, by no means, an easy decision: my parents’ murmurings of skepticism—their
silent disapproval—had a way of cutting me open, and it almost bled me out of what scraps of resolve I’d defiantly managed. Like Karina, I was seventeen, and I felt like a gulf lay between me and my parents. I remember that whole year as an open wound; I felt raw and tender all the time, like if you touched me, my whole body would start throbbing. I longed for my parents’ approval, I longed to find whatever combination of words that might bridge that gulf, that might make my parents understand the hugeness of my passion. Even now, as unspeakably grown up as I feel, I still do.
Counting Down with You channels all those feelings with startling acuteness. I loved the author’s warm, energetic, almost fevered attitude toward her characters. She sees her characters, and wants them to see themselves, and to be seen by those they hold the dearest. She gives Karina a net of support to break her fall: her sweet, kind grandmother and her two enthusiastically supportive best friends. The fake-dating-to-lovers romance between Karina and Ace—which, hilariously, begins when Karina, an unrepentant bookworm, reluctantly agrees to be Ace’s girlfriend only after he offers to take her to a bookstore and let her go wild with his rich-boy credit card—is chokingly sweet, and Ace’s disarmingly silly romantic gestures simply set too high a bar to vault for romance. Ace's fragile vulnerability and fundamental decency, which he is used to hiding behind the thin veneer of an irritating smirk, a black leather jacket, and a carefully crafted "high school bad-boy" persona, was also touching.
All in all, this is a cracking debut—a story lit up like a beacon, a stirring invitation to fearlessly release your dreams into the world, to let them grow, and stretch wings, and soar.
☆ ko-fi ★ blog ☆ twitter ★ tumblr ☆
Rating: really liked it
hello, tashie here! (yes, that was an A:TLA reference)
so, shockingly enough, i'm the author of COUNTING DOWN WITH YOU. i wanted to pop in here for the first and last time to give all of you some information about my book... and maybe give it 5 stars since a piece of my heart resides inside CDWY.
TW / trigger warnings for the main character's anxiety (she has a few anxiety attacks throughout the book, as written based on my own experiences), and for mentions of parental abuse (verbal and psychological.) if either of these concern you, please feel free to reach out via the contact form on my website for more information.COUNTING DOWN WITH YOU is a YA contemporary romance and it features a bangladeshi american protagonist, a fake-dating facade with the resident bad boy, a chaotic and diverse girl gang, a supportive grandmother relationship, in-depth discussions of mental health, loads of gen z antics (because i'm a gen z myself), and nuanced family dynamics as the main character navigates independence for the first time.
before i depart i wanted to copy and paste the author's note from the book below to give you a sense of what you're walking into. thank you for your time and i hope you enjoy reading this piece of my heart. <3
Dear reader,
We’re about to enter some big emo hours, so hold on tight. Counting Down with You is the story of my heart, and it was written as a love letter to young brown girls. It wasn’t that long ago that I was a brown teenager, not that I really feel like the spitting image of an adult at twenty-one years old. The older I am, though, the more I realize that there is no “right” way to represent all of us, since we are not a monolith. We all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences. However, when I set out to write this story, I chose to write it from a deeply personal place. The main character of this novel, Karina Ahmed, represents one experience—my experience—but she does not represent all. In this book, my goal was to always give her agency, and give her room to grow. This is undeniably a love story, but Karina is not waiting for a knight in shining armor to rescue her from the challenges of life. At the end of the day, this is her story, and these are her decisions. Just like her, we can’t rely on other people to come save us—we must be lionhearted on our own.
When I was younger, I often felt helpless. We don’t always have the freedom we seek, and it’s hard to rise up against our circumstances when we are young and have limited means to protect ourselves. But this is me telling you right now that it gets better. I know it’s hard to believe that, especially when the future seems so bleak, but it’s true. Someone gave me this advice at sixteen years old, and I hope to now impart it on you: stay as strong as you can. That’s all we can do. We might not be able to fight back or run away, but we can continue to believe in a better future. As you follow Karina on her journey, I hope you find a sense of belonging and understanding. Being seen is the most tender form of love, and I see you. I do.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. If there is only one thing you take away from this book, let it be hope.
All the love,
Tashie
Rating: really liked it
Update [April 15, 2021]: okay, the more i think abt this book, the angrier i get so im just gonna be dropping my rating to 1 star
------
a lot of things annoyed me but the way the Muslim aspect of this book was handled-
i am rage🙂
this was my first Muslim rep book and the disappointment and frustration im feeling is unfathomable and i was so excited ughhhh
okay, but before i get into the negatives
and start ranting, i'll say the good stuff:
-the
anxiety rep in here and how the main character dealt with it was pretty good.
-how the MC fought for what degree she wanted to pursue was amazing. parents should never be forcing their child to do what something they dont want to do.
-the sibling relationship was sweet.
-this was a pretty quick read.
thats it.
and i was actually loving this in the beginning.😭 all my highlights literally showed my happiness at how the MC being Muslim was incorporated into this book. all the arabic words, her praying, other religious mentions-
then there was the MC dealing with anxiety and the pressure her parents put on her, and i felt bad for her. she was dealing with so much and was so scared to speak up about not wanting to be a doctor. her parents were absolutely ruthless when it came to discussing a change in career paths, they just went ahead and chose her future for her and i despised them.
but of course what happens next? the white boy comes into her life teaching her to be stronger, believe in herself (etc) and brings her happiness
....
*silence*
it's not even that it was a white boy bringing her happiness that got me annoyed, but how the parents were villainized when it came to religion (but i understand them looking like villains when it came to not allowing her to pursue an English major -- that made sense) and that of course it was the white boy who saved her from the pain and sadness she was feeling.
literally what pisses me off
so much is that she'd constantly complain of the things her parents would forbid her from doing that you know, are because
it's not allowed in Islam??? like i totally am with the main character when it came to her parents not allowing her to pursue the career she wants. parents 100% should not be doing that, it's really messed up, especially with the pressure put on their child. they really should just be happy with what their kid wants to grow up to be, and that's the one thing i disliked about her parents.
other than that--
what the hell?? the MC constantly makes out her parents to be the bad guys for other stuff, when that's not even true ohmygod. for one thing, you
aren't supposed to date guys/have boyfriends/kiss the opposite gender in Islam. It's not that her parents are evil and do this as a personal attack, its
haram (forbidden). Yet the main character here literally is like "i want happiness, why cant they let me have be with him" -- girl, im with you about wanting to find happiness with the job, but you know...shouldn't you be faithful to your religion and understand that it's not allowed to date so your parents are right to tell you it's forbidden?? i am confusion. and im the same age as this girl and i know this. i dont hate on my parents???
i obviously understand that this was marketed as fake-dating trope, so im not surprised with how some of the things turned out, and she can go ahead and date the guy, but it just really makes me angry me that the main character makes her parents look evil for telling her that she isn't allowed to date? *sigh*
okay, but all of that i just said -- maybe some wont mind it, it's probably just something only i and some others would be annoyed with. i just feel like if you're gonna write about a Muslim character, don't break that rule and cast the parents in a bad light?? idk. either way,
don't make out your parents to be evil because they won't let you date. and it's not even something that we need to be pitied for or looked at in horror, like what the other characters in this book did when she told them. it's part of what we've learned in our religion,
so respect it.i swear, i feel like this book was trying to push the idea that all Muslim parents are strict to this degree and are harsh. it's in no way like that. maybe some are, but the same could be said with any other race/religion -- it's just that with Muslim rep books (and *cough* Netlfix shows), the parents are for the most part portrayed as villains.
and yes, i saw that the MC would constantly say that she knows her religion isn't bad, she knows her parents aren't evil,
but her actions and what she'd say/do after... she says she understands but she would still complain about them the next few pages, saying how they're unfair?? she'd be
so bitter about it and then she breaks said rules😐
but again, one thing I did love was seeing the MC go against her parents when it came to doing the degree
she wanted and not what
they wanted. definitely a lot of people can relate with being forced to become a doctor, engineer, or lawyer. im thankful that my parents have never pushed me to become something i dont want to be.
i just
hate what this book implies. i
hate that people who will read this may think that all Muslim parents are controlling and cruel to their children. i
hate that some may even pity us for some of this.
just no. i can tell you that im proud to be a Muslim and proud of my religion. i don't think any of the rules/what we're forbidden to do is harsh at all. it makes complete sense in my eyes and i love my parents. i love everything about Islam.
now let's get to the love interest. I
DESPISE Ace with every ounce of my being. he's legit the typical white bad boy who's secretly a softie inside once you get to know him. i do not care about him. He's so cheesy and im all here for the cheesiness BUT NOT THIS. so many cringey scenes and i did
not see the chemistry between the two at all. sure, they had kinda similar situations when it came to their families, but like?? thats it?? i dont like either of them, but especially the main character.
i seriously think in general, if an author is going to incorporate religion into a YA contemporary, then you should actually
follow through with the religion or at least not villainize it?? bc if you're not going to do that, then literally what's the point-
if you're going to end up casting the religion in a negative light, then again...what's the point?? unless you're just trying to make others think badly on said religion?? Whether it's Christianity, Muslim, Hinduism, Judaism, etc -- follow through on those teachings.
dont bother writing about a religious character in a book if you're not even going to follow through on some of the rules and villainize the parents. thankfully at least the MC would eat halal food, occasionally pray, and understood that getting drunk was haram. but the dating and kissing, casting her parents as evil in those aspects...no🤚
and it's sad, because the author is Muslim so i thought it'd actually follow through on that. like the author
probably didn't mean to show Islam in a bad way, but that's how it looked like to me. i think that maybe some Muslims, non-Muslims or people who aren't really familiar with Islam will probably like this book, though.
i saw in other reviews that the Bengali rep was done poorly too -- im not from Bangladesh, so i cant say anything bc i wouldn't know, but thats so sad it wasn't done well either :(
anyways, im not going to waste any more of my time with this book. all i've gained from this is that i should never trust books with Muslim reps without having first read reviews by Muslims themselves. i shouldn't have had high expectations🤡
------
also, just wanted it to be out there, that i
know this book is based on her life and im not critiquing her life but the
book and my main issue with this is the constant villainizing of her parents and just feeding off of negative stereotypes. you see, when you have movies and other books constantly doing the same thing over and over again, eventually anyone would get sick and tired of it soooo my anger is valid.
and here's a secret -- this review is
my opinion. shocking, yeah i know.
------
Many thanks to Inkyard Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!! <33------
Pre-read Review: fake dating trope with a guy who gifts the MC books??? and she's Muslim??
I NEEDdear book, plz dont let me down🙏
Rating: really liked it
A grader, smart, responsible, quirky, adorable South Asian girl and badass, handsome, sweet tooth, rebellious white boy unite for tutoring sessions and fake dating scheme, friends to lovers theme, problematic families who reject to communicate or empathize their own children, verbal and psychological abuse, anxiety disorder!
Did you like the formula I mentioned? If your answer is yes, you’re accepted to the full, heartfelt, sweet-swoon-soft, enjoyed ride!
I love realistic young adult books plus sweet romance with so much likable characters! This book checks all of the boxes of my true weakness and addiction of young at hearts premise!
Karina is strong character, who is victimized by her over conservative, domineering parents who also intervene and put limits to everything she likes to do with your life including her love for English literature! She likes to read, writing poems as her parents forced her to become a doctor!
She keeps saying sorry for everything she’s done because her parents incepted the wrong thought patterns into her mind and she never thinks she’s good enough, smart enough or capable enough! She becomes more anxious at each moment which I can easily relate to be helpless when you’re under so much pressure, squeezing yourself into tiny ball not to collapse under the attacks life throws at your way!
Karina’s parents also spoil her brother Samir who is clueless, immature but also caring brother. Yes, I truly have so much negative feelings about them but thankfully Dadu was so much huggable character who is on Karina’s side and who encourages her from the beginning to live her life and make her own choices!
And Ace has issues with his own brother Xander as well but he was sweeter than the lollipops he licks throughout the chapters. He was honest, solid and learning from mistakes, so much likable hero!
The couple’s chemistry was perfect! I liked their connection! Both of them were respectful with each other’s limits and boundaries.
And best friends of Karina: quirky, cheerful and so much supportive, likable!
Overall: I’m giving my five for the love of English literature, lyrical poems, delicious cheesecakes, milkshakes stars!
I love feel good YA fictions with inspirational messages and remarkable characters! Thankfully the author gave me all of them in a beautiful package and creative cover!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
Rating: really liked it
** UPDATE: the author has reached out to me acknowledging the harmful misrepresentation of culture and religion in this book. They have updated since therefore please keep note my review is based on the initial draft. **
Thank you Edelweiss and publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an *honest* review. Please keep in mind we are all entitled to our own opinions and my opinion may be unpopular/of a minority.
I was highly anticipating this book, as a Bangladeshi Muslim child of an immigrant representation in fiction is extremely rare hence my excitement for counting down with you. I am also very big on supporting POC authors, especially debuts!
I’ll start with the positives. I appreciated the way anxiety was portrayed and Karinas coping mechanisms of it. It was romanticized at times which didn’t seem quite right. But the mental health representation was done okay. Karinas relationship with her brother was developed nicely. Her relationship with her dadu was probably the best part of this whole book, it was rather wholesome.
I realize this is an own voice story and it makes me sad that the experience Karina has had with her culture and religion has been so terrible. It’s so frustrating to see the minimal representation continuously show south Asian Muslim girls to be oppressed by their culture, religion, and family. And even worse, a white savior comes to solve all her life’s problems.
This book frustrated me for several reasons. Worst of which is the representation of Bangladesh. She said she would have “considered breaking my own leg or something” than go to Bangladesh so the first mention of her ethnic origins is already negative. She also diminished all of Bangladeshi culture to lazy generic south Asian culture (references of khabi kushi khabi gham, kal ho na ho, even the food was vaguely south Asian. Nothing was specifically Bangladeshi.). What annoyed me the most was her only description of Bangladesh being “the air pollution combined with the strange food is never a good combination for any of our stomach.” And that is why I gave it 1 star. The portrayal of Bangladesh was extremely saddening to me. Also, the character only describes culture in a negative light, one line that infuriated me was “my grandparents are incredibly traditional, and I understand, because it’s all they’ve ever known” as if to say because Karina is American she knows better? It was at that point I was considering DNFing and honestly, I would have saved myself a lot of stress if I had. There’s a lot of internalized colonialism that doesn’t get unpacked nor reflected upon. Karina decided she hates her culture and that’s it. She relies on a white boy to be her only source of happiness.
Perhaps this book would be more appealing to white non-Muslim readers who wouldn’t feel the same amount of frustration as me. I can say with confidence Netflix would appeal to this narrative of a Muslim girl who hates her life but a white boy comes to liberates her from oppression. For me, this book was fuelled by harmful offensive stereotypes that white people want to believe for us.
Representation of faith was also done poorly. Karinas Sikh friend didn’t want to grow out her hair anymore which goes against her faith. It is extremely frustrating to see minority religions only being represented when characters are actively going against their religion in order to appeal to a western audience. There was no reader sensitivity therefore the author's biased experiences have shown a misrepresentation that white non-Muslims already assume of us. What I am trying to say is that there are ways to articulate a character's frustration without condemning a whole culture, religion, and race.
Despite the issues I highlighted, the writing was choppy and fell flat leading to the characters appearing one-dimensional. It was a really poor quality writing style with immature narratives even for a 16-year-old POV. The romance between Ace and Karina was superficial, underdeveloped, rushed, and cheesy in the worst way possible. The pacing was off, Ace was a very underdeveloped character who falls for Karina out of the blue, none of it made sense. The ending didn’t even address Karina and Ace’s relationship with her parents which was the climax I was waiting for. Disappointing is the word I would use to describe this book. The authors own voice is very much valid and needs to be told. But they have a platform and their bias misrepresents a whole culture.
I was hoping for better but perhaps my expectations should have not been so high.
Rating: really liked it
I read
Counting Down with You way, way back in ye olde days of 2019 and then again as it nears publication, and *clenches fist* it's still so goddamn good. This is a story about a teen girl finding strength and rising to her fullest self. A soft, beautiful romance with a love interest who sees her and supports her but doesn't save her—because Karina can save herself. A cast of supporting characters with absolutely chaotic energy and the
cutest grandmother that I would absolutely lay my life down for. I know there's a Dadu Fan Club out there and we need pins. The Internet might say I'm biased because I think Miss Tashie deserves the world, but
Counting Down with You is also one of those special books that is going to shine a light on so many teens and make them feel appreciated as they never have before. You need it in your life.
Also stan Ace's eyebrows.
Rating: really liked it
this review is based on the ARC. //
i’m actually feeling a little stunned finishing this book. i’d been hearing about it as far back as maybe early 2020 (probably earlier), and while i had a few hesitations.. i figured, a bangladeshi-muslim mc written by a bangladeshi-muslim author, who’s trying to navigate her way through overbearing parents? that’s something i should read, it’s something i kind of relate to personally, especially the pre-med part. and so i read it and here i am, 24 hours later, really really really wishing i hadn’t.
i’m just going to get into it: the book was heavily marketed as a “bangladeshi-muslim” rep; before anything else, this representation was emphasized. i know a lot of people, myself included, read/will read the book based on that alone. i read this, hoping for that, and somehow got double crossed with it’s exact opposite: the book did nothing short of attacking
both of those identities. every other page, every other sentence was nothing but a weird repetition of the same issue: how the culture the mc comes from is horrible, how her country her parents grew up in is inferior, how her religion is (indirectly) oppressing, how her family (for following this religion) is “conservative” and “dated”. i am so tired of the same take over and over again, muslim girl hates her religion, muslim girl is oppressed, muslim girl meets white boy, muslim girl is okay.
what took me aback me, however, was how twisted that “islam-hate” was executed. not once in this book did she ever directly say a word against islam, not once. but there’s no end to her tirade against her parents… who are just… asking of her what islam asks of anyone. (minus the career part, and a few other things). for a book lauded for “muslim rep”, i don’t actually see any muslim rep - except when she wants to complain about the religion indirectly, by complaining about her parents.
there were several instances the author could’ve enforced the “muslim” part of karina’s idenity - even as an afterthought, but nope. she, never once, prays throughout the book (despite mentioning twice how she likes it), never checks if the food she’s eating is haram/halal (despite going to multiple different places; except this one time, which felt like a token). it honestly felt like islam existed in the story to give reason for her parents to be “annoying” and “controlling” - proverbially adding fuel to the fire. if i wanted a 1-dimensional words-only more-negative-than-anything muslim rep, i would’ve watched a netflix show.
the other character trait of this book: bangladeshi representation. i’m not bangladeshi, so i’m not going to try to understand how horrible it must feel to be written like this. she says at one point, she’d have “considered breaking my own leg or something” than go to bangladesh; the one time she describes the country is dismissive, “the air pollution combined with strange food…”; the only active “representation” you can attribute to the book is bollywood movies and south asian food -- neither of which are exclusive, or even inclusive, to bangladesh.
with the bottom of my heart, i feel like this book took karina being a muslim and from bangladeshi descent and used them both as the “villians” in her life. there to provide a solid roadblock, that she can then cross with her white boyfriend, and soon completely forgotten about.
the islamic and cultural misrepresentation both are the biggest (and probably, only) reason i’m giving this book such a low rating. i’d give it even lower if i could; i wanted to dnf this book so many times while i was reading, but continued anyway because i wanted to give the author a chance. but the convoluted generalization of a whole culture, country and religion based on one limited experience is… too much for anyone to look past.
and then, we come to the love interest. i’m not going to comment more, just this: i’m so extremely tired of the savior white boy complex yall have. ace had all the qualities of your “perfect 16 year old”.. but that’s all he had. a bunch of qualities and attributes jammed together, tied with a ~bad boy~ leather jacket, with no personality, no appeal. (did the money thing make anyone else uncomfortable?) i couldn’t tell him apart from a brick wall if i tried. all of their romance scenes… over the top, out of place, awkward and cringey at best; i was so bored in every single one of their scenes and that’s from me, who could get a romance iv any day, every day of my life.
the writing, again, felt so perplexing to me. it was immature, stilted, came off as your standard fanfic/wattpad-novel writing, and after i’d heard so many people talk about how well this book was written, it just fell flat and disappointing. the one and only thing i can say about it, that despite being embarrassing a number of times, at the very very least: it was a fast read. if it hadn’t thrown me in a loop over the religious/cultural stereotyping, i would’ve finished it in a few hours.
i am going to say this: i really liked how the anxiety was handled in this book, both by karina herself, trying to navigate murky waters, to her boyfriend and friends trying their best to be what she needed them to be, not who they wanted to be. i liked reading about karina trying out a bunch of different things, trying to see which one of them would be most effective in battling anxiety, from yoga to counting to candles. (although, by the time i finished this book, my anxiety got over the top. so... you gain some, you lose some?)
all in all, i was really excited when i started this book. borderline giddy. but it turned out to be one mess of offensive and harmful stereotypes, and i really wouldn’t want anyone to read this book, thinking it’s “good” rep. it’s not. it’s not even representation, technically, since karina never brings up her heritage unless she wants to bring it down, unless she wants to point out how it’s effectively ruining her life. it’s sad how all of this overshadowed the “plot” of the book - and it’s something i feel could’ve been avoided had the writer been a little more careful. i do understand where the author was trying to go with this, trying to give book-life to her very real experience, but i just don’t think that experience was over yet. and sadly, that tiny thing, made all the difference.
Rating: really liked it
BYE, I'M DEAD
DECEASED
UNLIVING
ALIVEN'T
THANK YOU NETGALLEY GODS. YOU'VE MADE MY 2020.
~~~~~~~~~
oh man, i'm a sucker for fake-dating
Rating: really liked it
READ THIS BOOK IF YOU WANT TO FEEL THINGS
Rating: really liked it
this was super cute and definitely one that a lot of teens will enjoy! Absolutely LOVED Dadu as she was the true MVP ♥️ I also really appreciated the anxiety rep and seeing how Karina dealt with it on the daily. Karina's situation at home & her conservative parents is one I know all too well being a south asian kid and growing up with other south asian kids, but I really wish we dove even more into it in this book—regardless though I think a lot of people will resonate with this rep 💗
Rating: really liked it
i tried going into this book with an open mind. i really did. i felt for karina’s struggles with her parents not being supportive of her dreams and aspirations. and that is so valid and a reality for so many teens, specifically those raised in brown and arab cultures. i also really liked the anxiety rep. but as a muslim, i was just too frustrated with the representation of islam.
a lot of times it felt like the lines between toxic cultural ideals and religion were blurred. it was mentioned once or twice that they were two separate things and that karina actually loves her religion, but the book did a really poor job of showing it. some of karina’s parents’ “rules” that she feels suffocated by were really just basic religious guidelines that every muslim is expected to follow. like yeah her parents sucked, and karina is not a perfect muslim, i get that. i wasn’t expecting her to be. i’m not perfect either. but it would’ve been better if there was a clear distinction between what the religion is vs how she chooses to practice, instead of disregarding some parts of the religion and making it seem like it’s a “strict parental rule” under the guise of a toxic cultural ideal. like i wish that there was at least something that said “oh i’m touching and kissing and dating the non-muslim boy, but i’m aware that it’s something my religion very heavily frowns upon” instead of “oh i’m touching and kissing and dating the non-muslim boy, but i can’t tell my parents because it’s one of their strict rules that rob me of my freedom”.
yeah so idk the muslim representation in this book was really not it and made me want to scream in frustration at times. either do it right and respect the religion as a whole or don’t do it at all. shit representation aside, the writing sucked ass and the dialogue and all the gen z references were too fucking CRINGE.
all in all, the whole book was just very white savior to me, and followed the cliché “muslim woc is oppressed and only finds her freedom when she falls in love with a pasty ass privileged white boy”. netflix would definitely eat this shit up.
Rating: really liked it
I was so thrilled for the opportunity to read this much buzzed about book in advance, and even *more* thrilled that it not only lived up to the hype, but smashed past it! Truly *chef's kiss* take on the fake dating trope while still juggling the weight of family, expectations, and everything that comes along with them. Tashie handles her characters with such unique wit and insight that they felt all too real to me; I was a sad bean when it was over because I spent so many evenings curled up on my favorite reading rock in the park just happy to be in Karina's brain. (That said, only read this in public if you're prepared to laugh out loud, blush, and occasionally cry in front of strangers!!) I'm so excited for this to hit shelves in 2021 so we can all yell about it together <3.
Rating: really liked it
thank you for the physical copy, INKYARD PRESS!
this was very cute and gave me the butterflies
Rating: really liked it
“If I’m lightning, then what are you?”
“I’m thunder. I’ll follow you wherever you go.” ★★★★★ (4.75)
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I was provided with an early copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own *trigger & content warnings: in-depth discussions of mental health (specifically anxiety) and mentions of parental abuse (emotional and psychological)*Counting Down With You is a novel I personally connected with, pretty deeply. It deals with anxiety and parental abuse in a different way.
As a brown woman, I haven’t seen a lot of books where I felt truly represented but this one really spoke to me. It was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021 and it definitely didn’t disappoint. It also happened to be my first five star read of the year.
I definitely feel like
this book will appeal to the younger audience, not only because Karina is 16 and relatable but also because of
the very Gen-Z style writing. It’s fresh, it’s fun and I enjoyed every moment of it. I’ve heard from a lot of people that this book had a little too much fluff. To that I say – you’re not wrong. At the same time,
I think because it was pretty strong in terms of the mental health aspect of the story, it definitely needed the cute and adorable moments to balance it out. Tashie really wrote about
a boyfriend who buys his girlfriend books just so she’d be his pretend girlfriend and you expect me not to love this? This is literally everything I want.✨I really loved the dynamic between Ace and Karina. It was a very ‘build each other up’ kind of thing which I really liked and not just he makes her better or she makes him better. They bring out the best parts of each other.
In terms of cultural representation, I know Karina was portrayed as a character that wasn’t extremely religious (while still respecting her religion of course), even though she was from a religious family. And I think that’s something we don’t see a lot of in books and it’s something I can personally relate to. So yeah,
I definitely identified a lot with her character. Okay even though I loved Ace and Karina,
my favourite character is definitely Dadu. I mean, come on. We love a supportive grandmother. Every time I read a scene with Dadu in it, and how she encourages Karina to do what she loves, I almost teared up. And we can’t forget the moments with Ace where she was protective and berating him 😂.
I did kind of think that the ending didn’t wrap up as well as I was hoping it would.
I wish there was a little more conflict because it seemed a little too hasty. Also, the plot of the book didn’t really have as many repercussions as I would’ve liked. It did feel more like a subplot than an overall plot. Personally, it’s something that didn’t bother me too much because like I said, I loved everything else in the book so much. But I think because of that, I can’t give this book all five stars.
This is still
definitely on my favourites list for 2021. I definitely recommend picking this one up ASAP because I swear,
I was considering rereading it after I finished. That’s how much I loved it. Read it for Dadu, the supportive friend group and the cutest couple you’ll ever meet <33
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the biggest crime a person could commit is not rating this book 5 stars. I’d give it more but apparently we’re at a limit. Anyway, i’ll have a full review up on my blog when it gets closer to the release date. until then - ADD THIS BOOK TO YOUR TBR RIGHT NOW. trust me, you don’t wanna miss out on reading this one. I finished it like 20 minutes ago and i’m still looking at it and giving it heart eyes 😍
Rating: really liked it
I have talked with multiple people and they have all told me that the muslim rep in this book was not correct nor good.
I am not muslim but I did indeed notice a few things that made me quite uncomfortable with how the religion was represented in this book in correlation to the mc's happiness.
One: her non Muslim friend kept saying that she only wants her to be happy in correlation to the mc wanting to do smth that is haram.
two: the mc kept putting her parents being strict on their religion which I don't think is correct since, yes there are obviously ways you live your life which is influenced by religion but to blame the religion for things she hated that her parents did made me uncomfortable.
three: this book (which I did not know until researching further) was promoted as musli representation. I am not going to tell anybody how to practice their religion but I do think that if a book is promoted as REPRESENTATION that the character should not start shitting on the religion throughout the entire book. That is not really representation if you ask me.
