Publisher's Weekly Review
Living just outside Atlanta, Allie Abraham is the daughter of a Texas-born American history professor who is Circassian. Allie has hazel eyes, pale skin, and blonde hair, and she's always been encouraged to keep her Muslim heritage secret for safety and convenience ("I don't trigger people's radar"), but when she's out with her father, people "take one look and decide he's clearly From Somewhere Else." Now, feeling compelled to embrace the religion her father turned away from, she begins to explore what it means to be Muslim while encountering prejudice in the American South, including from those who don't consider her "Muslim enough." At the same time, Allie begins falling for cute fellow student Wells Henderson, who happens to be related to a nationally known Islamophobic bigot. Courtney (Romancing the Throne) examines matters of subtle and blatant Islamophobia, privilege and erasure, and questions of faith and identity with a sensitivity born of experience and respect. Ages 12--up. Agent: Jess Regel, Foundry Literary + Media. (Nov.)
Booklist Review
From her looks, people don't suspect Allie is anything but an ""all-American"" (that is, white) girl. But when her family settles in Providence, Georgia, the Islamophobia she has until then only witnessed from a distance forces her to find the strength to tell her friends and boyfriend whose dad is a fearmongering TV talking head that her family is Muslim. The road to claiming her religion through study is rife with bigotry but also rich with support. There's a lot to unpack here, but isn't there always when it comes to religion and politics? Courtney does so with poise, naturally integrating genuinely informative context into the story. Allie's inner turmoil about having it all while still abiding by her religion resonates, and her choice to be a practicing Muslim is particularly moving during a time when that choice can seem dangerous. Passages debunk misconceptions about Islam, addressing the topics of feminism, equality, and more, urging one to consider how the Western gaze can lead to misinterpretation. Readers trapped between two worlds, religious or not, will find solace here.--Mahjabeen Syed Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--For Allie Abraham, "hiding is easy: reddish-blond hair, pale skin, hazel eyes," in other words--white. That she looks "textbook Circassian…from the Caucasus region. (Hey, they don't call it Caucasian for nothing)," is her ethnic inheritance from her immigrant Circassian Jordanian history professor father. He's Muslim, as is her mother, an American psychologist who converted when they married, but they raised Allie without religion. After multiple moves, the family finally seems settled in Providence, just north of Atlanta, and Allie appears content to be an all-American girl who might even be ready for her first romance. But as Islamophobia--from microaggressions to vitriolic racism--expands, Allie's reaction is to eschew passing and actively pursue the cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage she feels she missed. Perennially youthfully voiced Priya Ayyar embodies Allie's journey with empathic insight, from quiet frustration to careful confrontations, from calm devotion to vocal confidence. She's as affecting with Allie's detractors, from ignorant strangers to unexpected opponents--including her new boyfriend's father who turns out to be a bigot. VERDICT Versatile narrator Ayyar adroitly amplifies an already resonant novel.--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
Kirkus Review
Allie Abraham is tired of being a "receptacle for unguarded Just Between Us White People ignorance" and discomfort.Moving from place to place with her Circassian Jordanian professor father and white American psychologist mother, Allie has been a chameleon, blending in as the perfect all-American girl. Very few people know that Allie is actually Alia and that both her parents are Muslim. Her mother converted upon marrying her no-longer-practicing father, who encourages his daughter to take advantage of the pale skin and reddish-blonde hair that help her avoid being profiled. Allie yearns to connect to her religion and heritageand to her Teta, the grandmother with whom she is only able to communicate in broken Arabic. Her new boyfriend, Wells Henderson, seems so genuine and likable, unlike his father, a conservative, xenophobic cable newscaster. As Allie embraces all the parts of who she is and confronts Islamophobia, she wonders if others can fully accept her growth. The book handles the complexity and intersectionality of being a Muslim American woman with finesse, addressing many aspects of identity and Islamic opinions. Allie, who has a highly diverse friend group, examines her white-passing privilege and race as well as multiple levels of discrimination, perceptions of conversion, feminism, sexual identity, and sexuality. While grounded in the American Muslim experience, the book has universal appeal thanks to its nuanced, well-developed teen characters whose struggles offer direct parallels to many other communities.Phenomenal. (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
