This book is comprised of two “novellas” which revolve around three high school aged girls in a Muslim community in North America. Crisp writing and a brisk plot highlight challenges faced by modern day teenagers. These include relationships, trust, sibling rivalries, devices, and secrets.
Lena, Hana, and Aliya are best friends. Hana’s family is well off while Lena and Aliya’s families have lesser means. Aliya is jealous of Hana’s new phone. Catastrophe strikes when Hana’s expensive new phone turns up missing. The girls go over to Hana’s house to help her look for her phone. Lena notices a bruise on Sara’s wrist. Sara is Hana’s little sister. Sara tries to pass off the bruise as an “oops” from her ice skating class. But readers feel like there's more to the story. And they would be correct.
When Hana’s parents refuse to replace her newly lost phone, Hana’s whole world caves in. Meanwhile, Lena soon notices that Aliya may have had motive and opportunity to take Hana’s phone. Would one of her best friends take another best friend’s phone??!! The plot thickens while the salient questions remain: Who took Hana’s phone, and why?
The story takes a dramatic turn when readers discover that Sara has a secret. Turns out she has more than one. And the second is a biggie.
Show Yourself features strong writing, an engaging plot, and well-rounded, three-dimensional characters. The big sister/little sister friction between Hana and Sara is spot on. (Anyone who has a sister or is a sister will recognize it.)
This is a quick read with an agile storyline. The author moves the action along at a good clip, skillfully interspersing dialogue both internal and external between action. The meaning of the title comes into focus later. Without giving too much away too soon, let’s just say it echoes the soundtrack of a popular movie.
Themes of friendship, kindness, loyalty, forgiveness and understanding are all in the mix. So are theft, betrayal, silent suffering, unregulated video gaming and screen time. Also depression and mental illness.
In terms of structure, Aliya’s back story as a ten year-old and what happened to her mother and why is presented in the second novella, A Wound Like No Other. That’s unfortunate. Some readers may feel this follow-on breaks the rhythm of the initial story and disrupts its flow. It’s like a hiccup or an afterthought. It would’ve been more effective if this portion of Aliya’s history had been wrapped into the first story.
Even so, Show Yourself will strike a chord with its target audience of young adults as it dives into the YA world of cell phones, Air pods, status updates, video gaming and social media. This story could thus be set in just about any high school in North America. Indeed, the scenes in which parents insist that their kids put the phone away – and the consequent eye rolls - will ring true for many. So will the sibling rivalries, competition for attention, peer pressure, and high school cliques. Ditto high schoolers who are ready to whip out their phones and record everything and anything for social media use.
A worthwhile read with a timely message.
My rating: 3.5
