Book Review: You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen

You Truly Assumed is Laila Sabreen’s debut novel that comes out on February 8th!

After Sabriya witnesses a terrorist attack near her home, her summer plans are thrown out the window. She decides to start pouring out her feelings in an online journal. Thus, You Truly Assumed (the blog) was born.

Unbeknown to Sabriya, the blog becomes a viral hit amongst the Muslim community. Zakat and Farah help Sabriya run the blog. But as their followers increase, so do the nefarious comments. And the community they’ve built together might come crashing down if they don’t speak up.

Trigger Warnings: Islamophobia, racism, and microaggressions.

 

Highlights

• Sabriya’s a ballet dancer whose summer plans are put on hold when she witnesses a terrorist attack near her home.
• Farah is spending quality time with her estranged father but joins in to help Sabriya run the blog. Farah helps out with the tech side of it.
• Zakat brings in her artistic talents for the blog. Unfortunately, her family isn’t supportive of her art.
• When hate comments flood their blog, Sabriya has to make the hard call to control it or shut it dowm.
• This book gives an insight into the Black Muslim community. It has a lot of powerful quotes and it is an emotional book.
• The premise is extremely compelling!

 

Lowlights

• I love the individual storylines, but I didn’t feel like they connected to the major plot of the book.

Final thoughts: This book has modern-day Mean Girls vibes to it, which is what drew me in. I loved reading about Sabriya, Farah, and Zakat! I liked how the book explored themes of Islamophobia, racism, and microaggressions in a modern-day setting. Overall, it’s an emotional book that will definitely give an insight into the trauma that the Black Muslim community faces. The quotes pack a powerful punch and the lessons learned are timeless.

Thank you to Inkyard Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.