Hello everyone! With one week to go until the start of Ramadan 2019, I’m sharing my TBR for the third annual #RamadanReadathon. In the announcement post, I mentioned how the challenges this year are based on a bingo board themed around the five pillars of Islam. Each pillar has four prompts and one free space and you can choose as many pillars as you’d like but I’ll be completing the first pillar – Faith/Shahadah. Don’t forget to sign-up to the challenge once you’ve decided which pillar(s) you’re going to complete!
MY TBR
THE LIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD BY LONDON SHAH
At the end of the twenty-first century, the world has changed dramatically, but life continues one thousand feet below the ocean’s surface. In Great Britain, sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope; fear of what lurks in the abyss, and hope that humanity will soon discover a way to reclaim the planet.
Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Leyla McQueen has her own problems to deal with. Her father’s been arrested, accused of taking advantage of victims of the Seasickness—a debilitating malaise that consumes people, often claiming their lives. But Leyla knows he’s innocent, and all she’s interested in is getting him back so that their lives can return to normal.
When she’s picked to race in the action-packed London Submersible Marathon, Leyla gets the chance to secure his freedom; the Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. The race takes an unexpected turn, though, and presents her with an opportunity she never wanted: Leyla must venture outside of London for the first time in her life, to find and rescue her father herself.
Now, she’ll have to brave the unfathomable waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a secretive, hotheaded companion she never asked for in the first place. As she discovers a world drowning in lies, how much longer can Leyla hold out hope for the truth? If she fails, or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture—or worse. And her father might be lost forever.
I’ll be reading this for the FREE SPACE prompt. I’m so excited to have an early ARC of this October release, and even more excited to read this story about a British-Muslim teen because they’re still so rare in UKYA.
THE SEALED NECTAR BY SAFI-UR-RAHMAN AL-MUBARAKPURI
Scholars of Ahadith (narrations) and writers of the biography of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allâh, have explored his life from every angle and aspect from birth to death. Every event and incident of his life has been described and narrated in detail, but no one can claim to have rendered the Prophet’s biography its full right. Hundreds of books have been written on the life of Muhammad (PBUH) and this endeavor will continue till the Day of Resurrection.
I’ll be reading this for the NON-FICTION prompt. This biography of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has been on my TBR for a really long time. I don’t know if I’ll finish reading it within the month but I’d at least like to start.
A GOD IN EVERY STONE BY KAMILA SHAMSIE
S
ummer, 1914. Young Englishwoman Vivian Rose Spencer is in an ancient land, about to discover the Temple of Zeus, the call of adventure, and love. Thousands of miles away a twenty-year-old Pathan, Qayyum Gul, is learning about brotherhood and loyalty in the British Indian army. Summer, 1915. Viv has been separated from the man she loves; Qayyum has lost an eye at Ypres. They meet on a train to Peshawar, unaware that a connection is about to be forged between their lives – one that will reveal itself fifteen years later when anti-colonial resistance, an ancient artefact and a mysterious woman will bring them together again.
I’ll be reading this for the HISTORICAL FICTION prompt. I didn’t get around to it during the last #RamadanReadathon so it’s definitely one of my top priorities. I absolutely adore Kamila Shamsie’s writing from what I’ve read so far and I’m sure this book will be no exception.
THE BOY AT THE BACK OF THE CLASS BY ONJALI Q. RAUF
There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now a new boy called Ahmet is sitting in it.
He’s eight years old (just like me), but he’s very strange. He never talks and never smiles and doesn’t like sweets – not even lemon sherbets, which are my favourite!
But the truth is, Ahmet really isn’t very strange at all. He’s a refugee who’s run away from a War. A real one. With bombs and fires and bullies that hurt people. And the more I find out about him, the more I want to be his friend.
That’s where my best friends Josie, Michael and Tom come in. Because you see, together we’ve come up with a plan.
I’ll be reading this for the RECOMMENDED TO YOU prompt. Even though no one actually recommended this to me, it did win the 2019 Blue Peter Book Awards and Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. That’s enough to make me want to read it.
AYESHA AT LAST BY UZMA JALALUDDIN
AYESHA SHAMSI has a lot going on. Her dreams of being a poet have been set aside for a teaching job so she can pay off her debts to her wealthy uncle. She lives with her boisterous Muslim family and is always being reminded that her flighty younger cousin, Hafsa, is close to rejecting her one hundredth marriage proposal. Though Ayesha is lonely, she doesn’t want an arranged marriage. Then she meets Khalid who is just as smart and handsome as he is conservative and judgmental. She is irritatingly attracted to someone who looks down on her choices and dresses like he belongs in the seventh century.
When a surprise engagement between Khalid and Hafsa is announced, Ayesha is torn between how she feels about the straightforward Khalid and his family; and the truth she realizes about herself. But Khalid is also wrestling with what he believes and what he wants. And he just can’t get this beautiful, outspoken woman out of his mind.
I’ll be reading this for the MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEW prompt. I think it’s more of a third person omniscient narrator so I’m not entirely sure that it counts but this book has been on my TBR since last year and just came out in the UK so I’m super excited to read it.
That’s my slightly ambitious (as usual) TBR for #RamadanReadathon 2019! Are you taking part this year? Which pillar(s) are you aiming to complete? What will you be reading?
headscarves & hardbacks 
AYESHA AT LAST IS SO GOOD!! I definitely need to go write my sign up post right now!
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