The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim - OPTIONAL

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim, 400 pages. Salaam Reads (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), 2023. $20.  

Language: R (65 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Zahra Khan is a recently graduated 18yo Bangladeshi girl without a plan. Her friends are getting ready to go to college, but Zahra has deferred because she can't afford it. Ever since her father passed away, her family is barely scraping by. Her mother is convinced that the perfect match is the solution to all of Zahra's problems. Enter Harun Emon - handsome, wealthy, going places, etc. But Zahra kind of likes the new shop boy at her job, Nayim. But boys and future plans are more difficult to handle than Zahra anticipated. What is a good Bangladeshi girl to do?!

I know it sounds a little silly, a love triangle worthy of Bollywood, but there was a lot of depth built into the storyline with Zahra's relationship with her family, her friends, and community. I loved the representation of the Bangladeshi and Pakistani community in Paterson, NJ, which I didn't know was the largest community in the US! Other than the language, I thought it was a great rom-com read with a lot of authentic AAPI representation.

Kiera Beddes, #bookswithbeddes