59 pages • 1 hour read
Samira AhmedLove, Hate and Other Filters
Samira AhmedFiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
CHAPTERS 1-3
Reading Check
1. What is the cultural identity of Maya’s family?
2. What is Maya’s hobby?
3. What does Phil need Maya’s help with?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why is Maya surprised that the bride agreed to an arranged marriage?
2. What is implied by the scar on Ethan’s head?
Paired Resource
- This 3-minute trailer shows clips from the movie based on the novel The Namesake, which is the book Maya and Phil discuss in this section.
- This source connects to the theme of Coming of Age Amid Social and Cultural Expectations.
- Based on the trailer and what you have read so far, what conflicts might Gogol, the hero of The Namesake, share with Maya?
CHAPTERS 4-6
Reading Check
1. What does Phil want to teach Maya to do?
2.Did Maya’s parents have an arranged or a love marriage?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Maya wish she lived in New York City?
2. How does Maya make herself more comfortable on her date with Kareem?
3. Why does Kareem have trouble getting through customs at the airport?
CHAPTERS 7-9
Reading Check
1. What part of her body does Maya hurt while filming at the preserve?
2. What career does Phil want?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Where does Phil teach Maya to swim?
2. What does Phil do instead of kissing Maya at the cottage?
CHAPTERS 10-12
Reading Check
1. What does Kareem try to do that is against the cultural rules?
2. Who supports Maya in her attempt to tell her parents about NYU?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Kareem react when Maya explains she doesn’t have feelings for him?
2. What is the analogy Hina uses to ease Sofia’s concerns about Maya and NYU?
3. When in lockdown, what are the two things Maya hopes for?
Paired Resource
“In India, Kissing Is Becoming a National Movement”
- This news article from 2014 explains the tension between Hindu culture and public displays of affection in India.
- This source connects to the theme of Indian Identity, Tradition, and Expectations.
- Why might it be important for Maya’s parents to continue traditions and expectations of their homeland in the United States?
CHAPTERS 13-15
Reading Check
1. What racist term does Brian use to equate Egyptians and Indians?
2. What group is the bombing actually tied to?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does Brian ask if Maya is related to the terrorist?
2. What act of hate happens at Maya’s parents’ clinic?
3. Why does Maya’s mother change her mind about NYU?
Paired Resource
“For Muslim Americans, a Spike in Hate Incidents Feels Reminiscent of Post 9/11 Islamophobia”
- This 2023 article draws connections between the Islamophobia experienced due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and 9/11, similar to the connections drawn within the novel.
- This source connects to the themes of Racial Discrimination and Cultural Division Among Peers and Terrorism, Islamophobia, and Hate.
- Why do you think people are so quick to act against groups who don’t actually have anything to do with the conflict?
CHAPTERS 16-18
Reading Check
1. Where does Maya go to try and hide from her parents?
2. How old was the terrorist, Ethan Branson?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Phil finally manage to talk to Maya again?
2. Why does Brian attack Maya?
Paired Resource
- This resource explains the premise of The Turner Diaries, the book found in Ethan’s hotel room and known to have inspired the Oklahoma City Bomber.
- Thie source connects to the themes of Racial Discrimination and Cultural Division Among Peers and Terrorism, Islamophobia, and Hate.
- What is the author trying to explain by including an allusion to this novel in the text?
CHAPTERS 19-21
Reading Check
1. Where does Maya have proof of Brian’s assault?
2. Which family member comforts Maya the most after she runs away?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why did Ethan’s father get arrested?
2. Why does Maya say she’s hiding in the cottage?
3. What does Phil apologize for regarding Brian?
CHAPTER 22-EPILOGUE
Reading Check
1. Who gives Kamal Aziz’s eulogy?
2. What kind of prom does Phil ask Maya to?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How do Maya’s parents react when she says she’ll be going to NYU without their permission?
2. How does Maya show she’s attempting to repair the relationship between her and her parents in the Epilogue?
Recommended Next Reads
- Set in a close dystopian future, Layla and her family are forced into an internment camp for Muslim Americans.
- Shared themes include Racial Discrimination and Cultural Division Among Peers and Terrorism, Islamophobia, and Hate.
- Internment on SuperSummary
- Bijan is a varsity basketball player who becomes the target of hate and Islamophobia when a classmate photoshops him as a terrorist.
- Shared themes include Racial Discrimination and Cultural Division Among Peers; Coming of Age Amid Social and Cultural Expectations; and Terrorism, Islamophobia, and Hate.
- Shared topics include high school culture, Muslim identity, and hate crimes.
Reading Questions Answer Key
CHAPTERS 1-3
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. She assumed that since the bride went to college, she wouldn’t follow the same “outdated” cultural traditions. (Chapter 1)
2. He was abused (likely by his father) as a child. (Chapter 1)
CHAPTERS 4-6
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. She says that if she lived in a big city, she wouldn’t be the only non-white student at her school and in her community. (Chapter 4)
2. She films him as if she is making a documentary. (Chapter 5)
3. His name is common in Muslim communities, and so the TSA assumes that he may be connected to terrorist organizations. (Chapter 5)
CHAPTERS 7-9
Reading Check
Short Answer
1. He teaches her at the pond behind his cottage in the woods, which he has never shown to anyone other than family. (Chapter 7)
2. He leans in but pulls a leaf out of her hair instead of kissing her. (Chapter 9)
CHAPTERS 10-12
Reading Check
1. Kiss Maya (Chapter 10)
2. Her aunt, Hina (Chapter 11)
Short Answer
1. He comforts her and says that it’s okay. He understands that you cannot force someone to like someone else. (Chapter 10)
2. She calls Maya’s trip to NYU a “big journey” similar to the one that Sophia took when she left India to come to the United States. (Chapter 11)
3. She hopes that everyone is okay and that the terrorist isn’t Muslim. (Chapter 12)
CHAPTERS 13-15
Reading Check
1. “Raghead” (Chapter 13)
2. A white supremacist group (Chapter 15)
Short Answer
1. He is making a racist assumption because she shares the same last name as the one on the passport found at the scene. (Chapter 13)
2. A brick is thrown through the window, injuring her dad. The brick has a threatening note, calling the family terrorists. (Chapters 13-14)
3. She believes that Maya will be safer if she stays closer to home, which means sending her to the University of Chicago. (Chapter 14)
CHAPTERS 16-18
Reading Check
1. Phil’s cottage (Chapter 16)
1. 19 (Chapter 16)
Short Answer
1. After she boards the bus for the field trip, he corners her by sitting next to her. She had been avoiding him prior to this. (Chapter 17)
2. In a racist manner, he blames “her type” for the injury his brother received fighting in Iraq. (Chapter 18)
CHAPTERS 19-21
Reading Check
1. Her video camera (Chapter 19)
2. Her aunt, Hina (Chapter 21)
Short Answer
1. He locked Ethan out of the house for several hours. When the police arrived, he assaulted both the officers and Ethan, which led to his arrest. (Chapter 19)
2. She says she is trying to escape reality. (Chapter 20)
3. He says he heard the mean comments Brian was making earlier and didn’t tell the football coach as he should have. (Chapter 20)
CHAPTER 22-EPILOGUE
Reading Check
1. A senator (Chapter 22)
2. A “nontraditional” prom (Chapter 23)
Short Answer
1. They give her an ultimatum. When she continues to choose NYU, they tell her she has to leave the house as soon as she turns 18. (Chapter 22)
2. She excitedly asks for a hat her mother offers even though it isn’t actually her favorite. (Epilogue)
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