Love, Hate and Other Filters

By: Samira Ahmed
Location: FIC AHM
Genre:Young adult fiction, contemporary.

“These terrorists are the antithesis of Islam. They’re not Muslim. Violence has no place in religion, and the terrorists are responsible for their own crimes, not the religion and not us.”
― Samira Ahmed, Love, Hate & Other Filters 

Maya Aziz is torn between futures: the one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter (i.e.; staying nearby in Chicago and being matched with a "suitable" Muslim boy), and the one where she goes to film school in New York City--and maybe, just maybe, kisses a guy she's only known from afar. There's the also the fun stuff, like laughing with her best friend Violet, making on-the-spot documentaries, sneaking away for private swimming lessons at a secret pond in the woods. But her world is shattered when a suicide bomber strikes in the American heartland; by chance, he shares Maya's last name. What happens to the one Muslim family in town when their community is suddenly consumed with hatred and fear?
"Islamophobia is so present in our society today that I find it important to have teen books with Muslim main characters that can give us their opinion on the issue and make us understand how they feel living in a world in which they are often seen as ‘‘other’’, ‘‘illegal’’ and even ‘‘terrorist’’.

This is then a story that matters. Maya, the seventeen-year-old Muslim-American heroine of this book, matters. Her voice is strong and her feelings are true. She sheds light where is needed and welcomes us, the reader, into her life with open arms. She is kind and patient, even when the world seems to be against her. She is important"- Lola.

"Love, Hate and Other Filters is, in a lot of ways, two books in one. It's the story of an independent, creative girl determined to live life her own way, despite expectations and customs to the contrary, and it's a look at how all of her brashness is powerless in the face of love she doesn't feel entitled to. In that way, it feels like a typical YA book, and Samira Ahmed really lets you into Maya's heart and mind.

At the same time, this is a book about the prejudice Muslims face in our country, especially since 9/11. It tells of the fears Muslims have when they hear of an incident, how they hope against hope the perpetrator wasn't a Muslim so it won't cause people to look differently or angrily at them, even though they have nothing to do with what happened. It's also a story about how hard it is to decide whether to give in to your fears, to let them control you, or to fight them head on." Larry H