[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Every year the core class teachers at Aligheri Prep choose a senior to represent their subject in a Renaissance Man competition. And every year excited parents and bored students listen to the presentations on English, math, physics, biology, chemistry, geography, and economics. It is the kind of thing that looks good on a college application for the few who are chosen. And the winner gets $5000 and doesn’t have to take the final for their subject area. But none of that mattered to Danyal Jilani because he was not the sort of student to ever be chosen for the Renaissance Man.
Except he IS chosen. By his history teacher. Mostly out of spite.
Danyal is supposed to speak about Winston Churchill. His history teacher is a major Churchill fan. But as Danyal starts reading about Churchill and talking to his father, he finds out about Churchill’s role in the Bengal Famine. Danyal feels a responsibility to talk about that part of Churchill’s story. But Danyal’s parents say he needs to deliver the story his teacher expects so he can graduate. His crush says the same. She likes him, but her parents won’t even consider a match between them if Danyal is going to settle for squeaking through high school and becoming a chef. He needs to wow them at the Renaissance Man, go to college, and follow the expected path.
If Danyal’s going to go against his parents, his teacher, and the girl he wants to someday marry, and live to tell the tale, he has to crush his speech at the competition. And Danyal’s rarely excelled at anything non-food related in his life. But his new friend Bisma might be just the help he needs.
Review
In the beginning, Danyal felt like an underachieving screw up. He’s not driven except when it comes to cooking. He struggles at school, both academically and with motivation. He goes for the laugh in awkward moments or when he’s caught unprepared. I thought I had him all figured out.
Then he defends Bisma, a girl he barely knows, to her father. And my whole understanding of Danyal shifted.
I am a character driven reader. If I love a character, I will excuse a lot of things that might not work for me in the storytelling. If I don’t like a character, it’s hard for me to be excited about even a well-written story. In that one moment, with Bisma and her family, I fell in love with Danyal. And he only got better as the book went on. And I loved it.
There’s a lot happening in this book. There’s the Renaissance Man speech that Danyal gets roped into. He has to decide how to approach his topic, do the research, write and prepare his presentation, and then deliver it in front of a crowd. In the midst of that, he has his “dream girl,” Kaval, pushing him to be someone he’s not. His parents are looking for a marriage match for him yet at the same time his father basically tells him that he’s a loser. Cooking is Danyal’s passion and something he is good at, but few people in his life value that about him (unless he is feeding them). Then Danyal meets Bisma, whose father shames her repeatedly. Danyal is decent to her – a true friend – and in friendship she helps him with his contest preparation.
The Renaissance Man contest and one of Danyal’s friend’s deep faith raise fascinating questions about colonization, history, and sin that weave in and around the people in this story and in their relationships with one another. And I thought it was perfect. There’s so much to enjoy here – don’t miss it.
(Language, TW: Shaming over sexual behavior) NOTE: While I thoroughly enjoyed this story, some Muslim reviewers have had a different opinion of the story and raise issues with how their faith is represented. Be sure to check out their reviews as you consider this book.
