This unforgettable multigenerational contemporary YA novel delivers pain, heartache and anger--but also love, hope and redemption.
In an arranged marriage years ago, 18-year-old Misbah and Toufiq Malik began their life together in Lahore, Pakistan. Not long after, an unspeakable tragedy caused them to move to the United States, where they purchased a motel to start fresh. Now, in Juniper, Calif., best friends Salahudin "Sal" Malik and Noor Riaz face their own struggles. Sal's mother, Misbah, is deathly sick and his dad, Toufiq, is a drunk. Sal balances attempting to save his parents' failing motel with trying to understand why an accidental touch from a stranger can feel "like an attack." Eighteen-year-old Noor lives with her resentful, angry uncle from whom she desperately tries to hide her future plans. The friends' bond is tested when Sal's efforts to protect the family business sweep them into a precarious, life-changing situation.
Sabaa Tahir (Ember in the Ashes) skillfully explores guilt, racism and grief in All My Rage. The story alternates between Sal's and Noor's perspectives, with Misbah's past threaded throughout. Tahir's characters are broken and filled with rage--a response to parents who can't show up for their kids, to the "occasional snide comment or shove in the hall," to the classmate who refuses to pronounce a name correctly. This tangible rage is evocative and ever-present, but the characters' commitment to music, to their culture and to each other brings a much-needed levity. With her first foray into contemporary fiction, Tahir leaves a lasting impression. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader