Love, Hate & Other Filters, by Samira Ahmed, is about a young Muslim-Indian girl named Maya growing up in Illinois under strict expectations from her parents who, do want the best for her, are very against her pursuing her true dreams of going to film school and eventually basing her career on it. They want her to follow a more “sensible” occupation like being a doctor or a lawyer, but she has a true passion for film and decides to apply to NYU for film school with her partner-in-crime Hina, her mom’s younger sister, and gets in. All while trying to juggle her parent's nonsupport of her filming, and trying to find a way to tell them about her acceptance, she finds herself in an arduous love triangle. On one hand, there is there is Kareem, the sensible Muslim-Indian boy, in college at Princeton, majoring in engineering, that does actually hold Maya’s interest and is actually kind of fun for her to hang out with and talk to, that her parents would love for her to be with. But, on the other hand, there is Phil, Maya’s longtime crush since grade school, who dreams of going to college in Vermont and becoming an EMT, who is also undeniably white and different than her familial customs and who her parents most definitely would never want her being with. Through all of this love, hate, and hardship, Maya is faced with yet another obstacle. Islamophobia. After a terrorist attack is announced in Illinois, a classmate of hers named Brian becomes fixated on the fact that Maya and her family are Muslim. Hate crimes against Maya and her family ensue due to his prejudice and Maya must find a way to deal with it all. Will Maya be able to make it out of Illinois and finally pursue her dream? Read Love, Hate and Other Filters to find out! I chose this book because I recently did another English project on Islamophobia and the effects it’s having in our society, so I was already interested in part of that topic. This book features Maya, who struggles throughout the book with issues involving her pursuit of film school without her parent's knowledge, her Indian parents expectations, and her faith (Muslim) and how people view it/unfairly link it to terrorism. I personally do not struggle with any of these things. I am not a Muslim, my parents are not Indian, and I am not pursuing film school behind my parents back. This book met these guidelines based on these differences between Maya and me, but also because I think that because her experiences were so different from my day to day ones, I made me think more about her struggles and how I would deal with and handle them, so in a way it made me “break through the wall” so to say in order to fully understand and place myself in Maya’s shoes throughout the book. Quote: “It’s selfish and horrible, but in this terrible moment, all I want is to be a plain old American teenager. Who can simply mourn without fear. Who doesn’t share last names with a suicide bomber. Who goes to dances and can talk to her parents about anything and can walk around without always being anxious. And who isn’t a presumed terrorist first and an American second” - Samira Ahmed, Love, Hate & Other Filters
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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