I didn’t like this book. Maya is literally celebrating Ramadan and all she does is fast. She briefly mentions to Jamie that she doesn’t want to go against her religion then puts it on her parents. It just didn’t seem like religion was important to her, so what was the point of her being Muslim? Yeah, she fights back against the hijab bill, but was that for Muslims or just her mom? Anyway, I think if you’re going to bring a religious holiday into the story then it needs to truly be part of the story because all Maya cares about is how hungry she is from fasting. Also, I hate the whole “I’m giving up my religion for this white boy” trope. Why is it that poc always have to give up things for white people? And why as poc would anyone want to keep dealing out this trope? Give me a “I’m a white boy giving up my religion for literally any other person” trope. It is cool that the authors actually went door to door campaigning to get more info about that.

Finally a book, which I enjoyed reading and looked forward to when I hopped into my bed. At first I thought that the main character was too cliché, but after reading the first 50 pages I really related to Jamie and his social anxiety (kind of). I liked that the tension between Maya and Jamie slowly built up throughout the election preparations. Added to that it was really refreshing to have another "getting-to-know-each-other" story than the usual ones. The political aspects were well written and well explained why it's important that more young people are informed about current laws and elections. Overall it was such a good story with an unexpected ending!!!

Ein unglaublich süßes Buch mit ernste Thema, das Einblicke in die Politik gibt. Der Schreibstil der Geschichte war wirklich sehr angenehm und flüssig zu lesen, war ab und an tiefgründig oder witzig oder beides, und zwar immer richtig dosiert. Das Buch wird aus zwei Sichten erzählt, aus Jamies und Mayas. Jamie war mir von der ersten Seite so unglaublich sympathisch. Ich konnte mich so gut mit ihm identifizieren, er war einfach unglaublich relatable. Er war so socially awkward und doch so unglaublich mutig und einfach genial. Ich habe mich auch ein bisschen in ihn verliebt... Maya war ebenfalls eine sehr sympathische Figur, die mich mit auf sehr authentische Weise mit in ihr Leben, ihre Probleme mitgenommen hat. Allerdings fand ich es sehr schade, dass sie sich teilweise selbst widersprochen hat, indem sie gegen selbst auferlegten Glaubensvorsätze verstoßen hat, weil es so aufeinmal praktischer für sie war. Das fand ich ziemlich schade, weil es sie irgendwie weniger authentisch wirken ließ. Ich liebe übrigens die Freundschaft zwischen Maya und Jamie. Die beiden waren einfach so süß zusammen, haben sie perfekt ergänzt und unterstützt. Sie waren einfach toll zusammen! Das eigentliche Thema des Buches fand ich unglaublich genial und wichtig. Ich finde es grandios, dass das Them Politik / Wahlen in dem Buch thematisiert wird, darüber informiert und aufklärt. Ich habe durch dieses Buch sehr viel gelernt und nebenbei eine absolut süße Geschichte erhalten. Was will man mehr? Alles in allem bekommt das Buch von mir deshalb auch 4,5 Sterne.

“It’s like living with fire in my chest… I don’t know what sparked it, but suddenly everything’s different. Everything feels huge and momentous and terrifyingly real. And I can’t see to push it to the background. I can’t put the fire out. I don’t think I want to put the fire out.” I love YA and I would prefer if people would just stop calling it guilty pleasures. YA definitely has some books that are not very relevant or well will be considered important but then there are books like #YesNoMaybeSo Anyone who dismisses the importance of YA books, point them in this direction. I am someone who doesn’t get politics at all, so this book was great in that aspect. It had that cute little romance on the side, satiric dialogue which added light humor to the book which kept me going. What else to add when you can’t give away too much? It dealt with a number of issues with cute little characters who have all of my heart with just the right touch of social activism. And the best part of the book is… it ends on a very positive powerful note for not giving up and fighting back!