Themes
Dynamics of Romance Amid Personal and Societal Challenges
Content Warning: This section of the guide refers to chronic illness, violence, death, racism, and Islamophobia.
The novel explores the complexities of developing a romance amid personal and societal challenges through Zayneb Malik and Adam Chen’s relationship. When Zayneb and Adam first meet, they are physically attracted to one another and are excited to meet another Muslim person their age on their flight to Doha. They give one another “the Muslim-to-Muslim nod” and greet one another in Arabic (32). Their first meeting in Chapter 6 incites the characters’ connection and foreshadows how their attraction will impact their lives throughout the chapters to come. Indeed, both Zayneb and Adam feel isolated and alone in their own ways. Zayneb is discouraged by the way that others see her, feeling that she doesn’t “have to open [her] mouth or do anything for people to judge [her]” (28). Adam also feels alone, as he’s recently discovered that he has multiple sclerosis and has yet to tell his family and friends. Both characters therefore long for someone to understand, accept, and love them. Their meeting marks a turning point in each of their storylines and offers them a transformative romantic connection.
The closer that Zayneb and Adam become, the better able they are to help one another through their personal and societal conflicts. When Adam opens up to Zayneb about his condition and his related fears, she assures him that he doesn’t “have to be alone” and that there “are forums, online and in real life, where [he] can meet others with MS” (282, 283). Zayneb also stays by his side and supports him through his treatments. Meanwhile, Adam does everything in his power to love, support, and encourage Zayneb, too, as she faces her own set of challenges. For example, when Zayneb tells Adam more about her conflicts at school and with Mr. Fencer, Adam listens to her in a way that makes her feel like he “want[s] to wrap his arms around [her] in comfort” (293). Furthermore, he encourages her to use her voice and to stand up for the things that she believes in, even if others discourage her passion. In these ways, the characters’ developing romance helps them “to make sense of what [is] happening around [them]” (311). Although they have communication complications at the start of their relationship, they work together over time to love and support each other. They ultimately offer one another the safety and care they need to overcome their challenges.
Impact of Chronic Illness on Young Adults
Adam Chen’s diagnosis with multiple sclerosis acts as one of the novel’s primary conflicts, particularly in Adam’s first-person portions of the narrative. Discovering his chronic illness upsets Adam’s world, causing him to drop out of college and keep secrets from his family and friends. As a result, Adam’s illness alienates him and overwhelms him with longing and sorrow. He keeps his diagnosis from his dad and sister, Hanna, because he’s terrified of causing them more grief. His mom died seven years prior from the same disease—a loss that the Chen family is still grieving. As a strong, independent, and determined young man, Adam forces himself to bear his pain alone in order to spare his loved ones’ feelings. However, once his illness begins to manifest in intermittent bouts of weakness, Adam begins to realize that he must ask others for help in order to withstand his newfound circumstances. He initially finds comfort and support when he shares the truth with his friend, Connor; his former teacher, Ms. Raymond; and, eventually, Zayneb Malik. Being vulnerable with his friends in turn grants him the courage to be vulnerable with his dad and his sister.
Adam’s chronic illness disrupts his sense of the future. Prior to receiving his life-changing diagnosis, Adam was a college kid with dreams of meeting “that one exact person who’s right for [him]” and starting his own family (21). The diagnosis compels him to leave college and move home without a sense of what will happen next for him. His illness threatens to rob him of the future he’s imagined and therefore compromise his identity. His worries come to the forefront in his developing relationship with Zayneb. Adam “want[s] to keep her showing up in [his] life” but fears that this isn’t “the right time for love” (207). He doesn’t want to get involved with Zayneb if his illness is going to rob them of a future together. Contrary to Adam’s expectations, Zayneb doesn’t pull away when he tells her the truth about his condition. Rather, Zayneb supports Adam through his illness. She refuses to let Adam’s MS stand in the way of their relationship. She not only supports him during his treatments in Doha but accompanies him on “visits to MS support groups” throughout the years to come (332). Adam’s condition is therefore another challenge that Adam and Zayneb discover how to overcome together. Their love and resilience ultimately prove more powerful than the illness itself.
Effects of Racism and Islamophobia on Personal Development
Zayneb Malik’s storyline explores the ways in which racism and Islamophobia impact the individual’s personal development. Ever since Zayneb can remember, she has had an angry streak. Over time, she comes to embrace her penchant for anger because this trait gives her the passion and strength to combat injustice in every arena of her life. In particular, Zayneb devotes her energy to speaking up in Mr. Fencer’s social science class. Fencer’s constant racist and Islamophobic comments not only upset Zayneb emotionally but actively threaten her safety. She therefore decides that her one dream is to “get Fencer fired” for his unethical behaviors with the help of her friends (8). However, Zayneb’s suspension compromises her ability to fight for justice in her Indiana school and leaves her feeling powerless and alone after her parents send her to Doha for spring break to visit her aunt. Although Zayneb is glad to be away from home to clear her head, she remains preoccupied with the sociopolitical conflicts at home. She often keeps herself awake thinking about how to resolve these issues and defend her identity, her people, her culture, and her beliefs.
Zayneb’s outspokenness both gives her the strength to combat injustice and complicates her understanding of herself. At times, Zayneb tries to mute her passionate self in order to please others. However, Zayneb’s one desire is for justice, and she “want[s] it now. For everyone” (219). This desire fuels Zayneb’s spirit and often inspires her excited outbursts. This is why, for example, she gets angry with Adam in Chapter 25 when he seems to be defending Fencer, “a crazy Islamophobe who hates on [...] Muslims” (215). She tries to tame her anger but ultimately decides that she must be herself if she wants to create lasting change in the world. By the end of the novel, she begins to wonder, “[W]hy be different, why be Muslim, why be anything that society tells you isn’t normal if you can’t actually be it freely” (312-13). This is why she refuses to behave according to others’ expectations and chooses to combat racism and Islamophobia whenever she witnesses it. She wants to defend her own beliefs and promote awareness and safety for others like her, too. Ultimately, Zayneb’s bold and passionate spirit gives her the strength to fight for what she believes in and, in turn, teach others about her faith and culture.
Muslim Identity in Contemporary Society
Zayneb Malik and Adam Chen work to balance their Muslim identities with their contemporary cultural context throughout the novel. While Adam converted to Islam when he was 11 years old, Zayneb was “born into a Muslim family and [grew] up to want to become a visible member of [her] community by wrapping a cloth on [her] head” (28). Zayneb accepts the Muslim beliefs and traditions with which she was raised and therefore feels passionate about defending these facets of her identity. At the same time, Zayneb at times envies other people like the little white girl on the plane because “when people first saw her, a bunch of crap thoughts didn’t instantly load into their brains” (28). Zayneb therefore always lives with the expectation of judgment and rejection. This is particularly true because Zayneb chooses to wear a hijab, which is “a symbol of being Muslim” (125). The headscarf makes her Muslim identity obvious to those around her and therefore often threatens her emotional, psychological, and physical safety. In spite of these challenges, Zayneb refuses to abandon her faith or to cower in the face of the oppression or rejection she faces.
Both Zayneb and Adam experience bouts of self-doubt as they try to navigate their developing identities in their secular environments. For Adam, being Muslim means pursuing peace in every facet of life and examining “how the wonders [of creation] around [him] are connected” (219). However, Adam’s life isn’t always peaceful. His dad’s continued grief over his mom, his complex relationship with Zayneb, and his multiple sclerosis diagnosis and uncertain future upset Adam’s sense of balance and complicate what it means to be a Muslim man. Meanwhile, Zayneb often tries to balance her feisty, passionate tendencies with expected ideals of demureness and femininity. She often strives to be calmer, quieter, and less outspoken so as to please others. However, she eventually finds that these muted character traits are not her. With the help of both Adam and Auntie Nandy, Zayneb learns that being a Muslim woman doesn’t have to mean being meek or passive. Adam similarly learns that being a Muslim man doesn’t mean hiding his pain in order to appear strong. Therefore, both Zayneb and Adam’s shifting circumstances throughout the novel gradually evolve their definitions of what it means to be Muslim and to be themselves. The lessons they learn from their loved ones and each other grant them more balanced, holistic, and authentic senses of self by the novel’s end.
Unlock all 50 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
