The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan: Book Review

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan is an unforgettable and heart-wrenching diverse coming of age novel that stayed on my mind long after I had read it.

At seventeen-years-old Rukhsana Ali has always been a whiz kid when it comes to learning the laws of physics and studying the vast and limitless universe around her. But her life at home isn’t so predictable or orderly.

Rukhsana has to hide who she really is because there’s no way that she can come out to her conservative Muslim parents without facing harsh repercussions. And as a result of that, she has to keep her budding relationship with her girlfriend, Ariana, a secret from them as well. Rukhsana is thanking her lucky stars that she just has to get through a few more months of being closely monitored by her parents and then her life will really begin when she starts Caltech in the fall. But Rukhsana’s future plans fall apart when her mom catches her and Ariana sharing an intimate moment.

Rukhsana’s parents are terribly angry and upset. They are willing to do everything in their power to ensure that their daughter stays on the ‘right path’ so they whisk her off to stay with their extended family in Bangladesh. Even though her grandmother and cousins are showering her with so much love and support, it’s still a whole new world for Rukhsana because she is faced with blatant homophobia, religious traditions and arranged marriages.

Luckily, Rukhsana finds unexpected allies while she is trying to figure out how to get back home and after reading her grandmother’s old diary—she finds the courage to put everything on the line so that she can take charge of her own destiny and fight for the love and happiness she truly deserves.

Pros And My Favourite Parts

This book gave me all the feels because it touched so many raw and vulnerable parts of me and I’m not embarrassed to admit that I turned into a sobbing mess while I was caught up in Rukhsana’s world. Plus, there were several times when I forgot that this was a work of fiction but that just made me love this story even more. Even though this story ends on a happy and hopeful note, I liked the fact that there were unresolved issues between Rukhsana and her parents because she had a lot of anger, resentment and trauma to work through before she could fully forgive them for the way they treated her. Sabina Khan deserves the highest of fives because she created solid, messy and well developed characters. This wonderful author also gave me a glimpse into Bangladeshi culture and I loved learning about their food and their customs.

Cons And Heads Up

This story contains graphic descriptions of physical assault, domestic violence, sexual assault/rape, incest, forced marriage, starvation, drugging, colorism, homophobia, islamophobia, hate crimes and murder of a gay character.

The Conclusion

If you don’t mind going on an emotional rollercoaster ride with a heart-tugging young adult novel that delves deeply into culture, complicated family relationships, identity and sexuality, then this is definitely the story for you!

Excerpt from The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

“I bet Aunty Meena will mention something to my mom,” I said when we took a moment to breathe. “She knew something was up.”

Ariana stared at me. “Are you ever planning to tell your parents about me?”

I cringed, not knowing what to say. We’d had this conversation before and it always went the same way.

“Ariana, you know how it is with my family. They’ll never understand.”

“So, what are you saying? That I’ll always be your little secret? Because I’m getting kind of tired of this.” She forcefully straightened her skirt.

“Ariana, what do you want me to do? If I tell them they’ll kick me out or lock me up or some other crazy shit. I can’t take that risk, not with graduation coming up. Things will be much different when we get to Caltech.”

I gazed deep into her eyes, willing her to understand. “You know how much you mean to me.” I squeezed her hands.

She didn’t pull away and I felt a small fluttering of hope. I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tight.

“I’ll tell them,” I whispered into her ear. “Soon, I promise. Just not right now. I can’t risk it.”

She tensed and pulled away from me, her hands slipping out of mine. “Rukhsana, I know how hard it is for you. But you have to understand how it feels to be hidden away. As if I’m something you’re ashamed of.”

And with that she left. I didn’t go after her because I knew it wouldn’t matter. She needed time to be alone and I needed to think. What if she was right?

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