You Think You Know Me

Product Information

Nasra looks at her with disdain and snorts. "Haven’t you heard? Love actually kills all. Look at what happened to Romeo and Juliet. Both too dumb in love to stay alive for it. And anyway, Lily, stop creeping on your best friend’s twin brother. You might as well claim you’re in love with this one, too, because they’re basically identical," she says, indicating me. The date in my planner glares at me. I’m four weeks away from my med school admissions test and I can feel its nearness starting to bite at my heels. But I know if I don’t turn up like I promised, my friends will have words for me, so I shove the planner in my bag and head out.

You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud | Waterstones

Oh my God, Nasra! We’re not identical. I let my head drop into my hands. This is why you shouldn’t have dropped biology. This is a genre I like to see being written. The subject is too important to brush aside and the more readers these titles find, the better. You Think You Know Me’ is a book that belongs in every secondary school library; it’s heartfelt and educational, all whilst being engaging and brilliantly written. It carries important messages too, of acceptance, bravery and kindness to name a few.

You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud. This was such a profound read. Thank you to the publisher and @zekrazaina for the ARC :) release date: 2nd Feb. The character development in the novel was great in my opinion. I liked how Ayaan describes Hanan’s struggle as a refugee in London. Regardless of many threatening situations she doesn’t stop being a practical Muslim. Every character seemed very realistic to me but of course Hanan is my favorite character. I can personally relate with her character in some aspects.

You Think You Know Me - ReadingZone You Think You Know Me - ReadingZone

This is a story of finding your courage and voice to speak up for yourself to find your authentic self and live life for yourself and not have to make yourself palatable to the white gaze.

You Think You Know Me – at a glance

In the end You think You know me explores Islamophobia, bullying and racism. In my opinion the actual basic theme of the novel is that you can’t judge a whole community based on the actions of a single person.

You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud Book Review: You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud

Abooto and Hooyo (Hanan’s grandmother and mother) also stand out as especially brilliant characters. They have suffered horrendous trauma (as have Hanan and her siblings) but they still find good in the world and pass on positivity to their family. Abooto had some very funny moments too, and I was thrilled to see elements of my own Nan in her. I learnt a lot about both Islam and Somali culture from the Ali family - and this novel in general - and I hope that recommending this book to others will help them do the same. The writing itself was okay and it was fast paced enough and had enough happening in the plot that it did keep me engaged and wanting to read more. I was a little confused on the writing style though, it felt a bit like it couldn’t decide who its audience was. I’d say given the themes and the age of the characters this would’ve typically been aimed at older teens, but the writing style and mannerisms of the characters didn’t really reflect a slightly more mature teen book at all. The writing did feel a bit juvenile. This was a struggle, because it was the first book I ever wrote. I’ve never written anything to completion like that before so I was trying to learn how to actually write a story, then try to weave all of these very sensitive issues and handle them in a way that would be appropriate for a young audience. But you need to be honest with children and teens and not shy away from certain things, it just needs to be age appropriate. So that’s something that I learned as I wrote the first draft and went through a few more edits as well. Mohamud’s writing brilliantly voices Hanan’s character and emotions and also shapes the various supporting characters of the story too, making them and their experiences feel authentic and really brings the important messages at the heart of this book across. The relationships, both those involving family and friends, were so wholesome and though there were some very hard moments to get through in the story there were also some wonderfully heart-warming and humorous scenes too.

This book has such wonderful Muslim rep, we see Hanan praying regularly and how she turns to Allah in times of good and bad. And just how her and her family live their life with Islam in every part of it.

You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud - Ebook | Scribd You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud - Ebook | Scribd

After the stabbing happens, things get much worse for her and she realises that maybe staying quiet isn’t what is best for her anymore.

Hanan has always been good and quiet. She accepts her role as her school's perfect Muslim poster girl. She ignores the racist bullies. A closed mouth is gold - it helps you get home in one piece. Ayaan aims to unite and create much-needed empathy and understanding among young generations of readers. Although the book is fiction, the events are painstakingly familiar. So many British Muslims, especially women, face Islamophobia daily. I was desperately sad and angry for Hanan. Life has been cruel, but she came out like a warrior. Hanan’s family fled Somalia during the civil war; during the journey, her father is brutally murdered. You can’t help but admire and be in awe of the resilience of each member in her family – not only are they grieving their father, Hanan and her family are refugees settling into a country that is so unfamiliar. However, they keep their homeland and culture rich in their home and hearts. The MC, Hanan, is a quiet studious girl who has spent years at school being harassed and bullied and just did her best to ignore it.