Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed (review)

Meet Maya Aziz, a seventeen-year-old Indian American girl, who sees her world, especially her budding love life, as the aspiring filmmaker she is. She's caught between her newly reciprocated crush on Phil, the most popular boy in school, and her mature and passionate connection with Kareem, sophomore at Princeton and the perfect parent-approved match. The future that Maya really seeks is being a student at NYU's film program, but when a terrorist attack hits all too close to her home, ramping up her parents' concerns and leading to backlash against her family, her dream is in trouble. Ahmed brings glorious life to Maya's story, providing cultural details that are relatable to many whether from Maya's specific background or not; her narration is dramatically intercut with third-person accounts of the progression of events leading up to the terrorist incident and its subsequent news coverage. Readers will appreciate Maya's passionate pursuit of her dream and her journey to embrace and respect her cultures while remaining true to herself. MK