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Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn't pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahra's plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a "good match," Jane Austen style.
Enter Harun Emon, who's wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and...aloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows it's a bad match. It's nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parents' plans. And for once in Zahra's life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: "dating" Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.
But life—and boys—can be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 3, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781797151182
- File size: 280934 KB
- Duration: 09:45:16
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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November 21, 2022
Jane Austen meets Bengali cinema in Taslim’s joyful debut. Teenage Zahra Khan wants to be a writer, but her widowed, meddling Amma has other plans: to match Zahra up with a “suitable” Bangladeshi, Muslim boy. Amma’s concerns about Zahra’s future stem from Zahra’s father’s death, from which the family has struggled to financially recover. To help make ends meet, Zahra defers her acceptance to Columbia University to work at a Pakistani tea shop in Patterson, N.J. Amma sets Zahra up with handsome, affluent Harun Emon, 18; though the pair have no interest in each other, they fake-date to placate their families. Meanwhile, Zahra falls for coworker Nayim Aktar, “an orphan from a poor, fragmented family” and recent arrival from Bangladesh. But as her romantic feelings for Nayim flourish and her pretend relationship with Harum begins to feel real, Zahra is left at a crossroads between what her family expects and what she desires. Characters authentically and humorously code-switch between traditional Bengali and contemporary American sensibilities, imbuing dialogue with a rat-a-tat pace. Taslim draws from lived experiences, as detailed in an author’s note, to offer a textured exploration of intersectional South Asian Muslim identity. Ages 12–up. Agent: Quressa Robinson, Folio Literary. -
The author's note about setting her story in the Bengali community of Paterson, New Jersey, invites listeners into this story. Reena Dutt further extends that welcome with a narration that beautifully differentiates its two generations of characters. In an American accent, Dutt briskly portrays practical 18-year-old Zahara Khan, particularly the sense of family responsibility that has sent her to work instead of pursuing her dream to study creative writing. In contrast, Dutt delivers Zahara's mother's traditional views in Bengali-accented speech as she asserts her old-school values, for example, by arranging a marriage between her daughter and the son of a wealthy family. Dutt fluidly switches from one generation to the other while illuminating Zaharah's inner conflicts as she seeks her own path. S.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
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