Written in the Stars: A Novel

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Astrology and magic and soul mates.Darcy has had to deal with her overprotective younger brother for all her life...and recently, he's become more meddlesome than she can handle. "Quit trying to marry me off like I'm some Regency spinster in one of your favorite Austen novels." But no matter what you tell yourself, no matter what society wants you to be, sometimes you cannot help fall in love. I have been in a relationship for seven years – SEVEN – with a guy in Pakistan. I moved to the US almost three years ago, and since then I’ve been in a long-distance relationship. I have seen him twice since I moved, and if I were to count all the hours I’ve spent with him in the last three years, I’d say it’s less than two days. Less than two days. Does that make my feelings less valid? Moving on from the subject matter, I thought I’d talk a little about the portrayal of Pakistani culture. It’s a shame, but I’ve never read a YA novel revolving around Pakistani characters, and the familiarity was refreshing. Aisha Saeed, a Pakistan-American herself, steers clear from stereotypes while also refusing to cover up the darker parts of the culture. Her unapologetic use of cultural phrases, integrating Urdu language into her narrative and dialogue so effortlessly is something worth taking note of. Her vivid descriptions of scenery, of clothes and food, the things our characters say, their expressions and norms- everything is so spot-on.

Quit trying to marry me off like I’m some Regency spinster in one of your favorite Austen novels.” “Your name is Darcy.” “And I might be a single woman in possession of a good fortune, but I’m not in want of a wife.” When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship. For the first several chapters, the reader learns about Pakistan and the people, a lush depiction of their simple values and ways including their food, clothes and the place which kind of remind me of home.Fun fact — the moon doesn't actually produce any light of its own. It reflects light from the sun, making it appear bright at night. So, if I look like the moon, I guess that means I'm reflecting the light thats around me.” Everything seems fine until it isn’t anymore as Naila’s life drastically changes or more accurately, her whole future is taken away from her and she herself is taken away from the boy she loves when her parents decide to marry her off to some man and leave her in Pakistan for good. Secondly, I did not like the chemistry brewing between Naila and Saif. Little more work on their relationship would have been splendid. Rather I liked the slow understanding creeping between Amin and Naila. A huge thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books, and Alexandria Bellefleur for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. You can chooses many things. You can choose what you want to be when you grow up, the types of shoes you want to buy, how long you want your hair to be. But your husband, that's different. We choose your husband for you. You understand that, right?

It’s Nalia’s senior year and she’s months away, scratch that days away, from heading to college with her secret boyfriend, Saif and her best friend, Carla. Nalia’s family is very strict of Pakistani descent. They have their own expectations of their only daughter. What harm could one lie to get her to the prom be? A sapphic rivals to lovers rom com for fans of Ted Lasso and A League of Their Own, where two soccer teammates are at odds before falling in love as their team gears up for the World Cup. I hate keeping secrets from her. But how can I explain that I see the world a little differently and my way of looking at the world isn’t bad, not if it means their daughter has found someone she loves, someone who makes her completely and unbelievably happy? I also don't know how to rate this. Whether it is five stars or four. I've gotta think about it bc at some parts my heart hurt for Naila but I wasn't able to relate to this book which has left me disappointed. This is a tough book for me and I'm going to take some time and think about how to rate this.Written in the Stars is not an easy book to read, despite its rather vanilla start. Initially, Naila’s parents come across as unusually strict, but ultimately people who love their child. Naila’s story may seem unusual to people coming from those cultures where arranged marriage is virtually non-existent, but her parents’ behavior in the start, their feelings of “honor” and “reputation” and “shame” are so authentically portrayed. As a Pakistani myself, I felt like I was reading the life story of so many people I know. People who are free to do whatever they please, but cannot dream of falling in love and marrying who they are in love with. God, no, they couldn’t dream of dishonoring their families that way. The novel is set in rural Pakistan within the boundaries of an ultra-conservative family. All aspects of a village culture- the lifestyle, dressing, food, beverages, et cetera are brilliantly covered.

This obsession with marriage might seem weird to a person who hasn’t grown up in this culture, but in desi communities or Islamic ones (and the crisscross between these two is too tangled up to properly make clear, even to our own communities) marriage is seen as a representation of community, of good will. A marriage doesn’t only bring the bride and groom together but also their families. Joint living systems encourage more than two people to have stakes in the marriage, with elders considering it their responsibility to solve disputes, and daughters seen as representations of the family honour. In such settings, it is the right of the elders to choose who will marry whom amongst the young, since the young are considered too naïve and inexperienced to make such a decision on their own. Questioning this system isn’t encouraged. we have an adorable astrology theme keeps things fun and whimsical, and we have realistic angst as well. and there's a fleshed-out cast of friends and family members for both elle and darcy. We love you. We want what’s best for you. If we see you doing wrong, we have to stop you. Even if you hate us, and I know you do right now, one day, you will see we did what was best for you. That is what we have always tried to do.”That’s not how it’s done,” she had said. “Just because we live in a different place doesn’t change how things should be.”