That Can Be Arranged

May 15, 2020
At 25, Huda, an avid reader, college graduate, and queen of sarcastic wit, is already past her marrying prime. Her conservative Muslim family respects strict mores of gendered behavior, so dating is only allowed if the end goal is matrimony, and all courting, even emails, are supervised and chaperoned. This sweet graphic memoir reveals a complex world of modern Islamic coupling and the long and arduous pursuit of self-knowing. Readers will undoubtedly fall head over heels in love with Fahmy's self-deprecating charm as she toes the line in testing her mother's patience with her cheekiness. The simplified, cartoony artwork, colored in bold washes, is low on detail and uses figures that suggest human forms but is nonetheless expressive. Any work that sheds more light on the nature of arranged marriage, demystifying traditions and practices surrounding the Other, is a gift to the Western world. Hand this to teens, young adults, and anyone interested in comparative religion or humor in general.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)