26th January 2018 • article
Samira Ahmed's debut novel on a young woman fighting hate becomes NYT best-seller
Image: SamiraAhmed.com
Samira Ahmed has clearly struck a nerve.
Just weeks after her debut novel - Love, Hate and Other Filters - was published, it has hit the New York Times best-seller top-ten.
The author wrote on Twitter the news was "surreal and amazing".
"In one of the most virulent ages of Islamophobia, a book about a young woman fighting against hate & finding her way made the NYT Best Seller list. Hope is real. And all of you made this possible," she added.
Her debut novel was published by SoHo Teen on January 16th, 2018. The New York Public Library named it one of their most anticipated debuts of 2018.
Samira Ahmed was born in Bombay, India, and now lives in the American midwest. According to her biography, she taught high school English for seven years and worked to create over 70 small high schools in New York City.
She has also been a campaigner for funding public schools throughout New York State.
This is Love and Hate's summary, from its publisher:
"American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.†And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school."
"There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs."
It took her years to finish her first book.
She is already working on her next novel, Internment, based on a future when American Muslims are forced into an internment camp.
Just weeks after her debut novel - Love, Hate and Other Filters - was published, it has hit the New York Times best-seller top-ten.
The author wrote on Twitter the news was "surreal and amazing".
"In one of the most virulent ages of Islamophobia, a book about a young woman fighting against hate & finding her way made the NYT Best Seller list. Hope is real. And all of you made this possible," she added.
Her debut novel was published by SoHo Teen on January 16th, 2018. The New York Public Library named it one of their most anticipated debuts of 2018.
Samira Ahmed was born in Bombay, India, and now lives in the American midwest. According to her biography, she taught high school English for seven years and worked to create over 70 small high schools in New York City.
She has also been a campaigner for funding public schools throughout New York State.
This is Love and Hate's summary, from its publisher:
"American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.†And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school."
"There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs."
It took her years to finish her first book.
LOVE, HATE & OTHER FILTERS is an American story, about an American girl. Whose world is shattered by Islamophobia.
— Samira Ahmed (@sam_aye_ahm) January 23, 2018
I started this book 8 years ago. And stopped. And started. And doubted. And believed.
And found @ericsmithrocks, who believed, too.#LoveFiltersHate
She is already working on her next novel, Internment, based on a future when American Muslims are forced into an internment camp.
About us
Barfi Culture is a news-magazine on people of South Asian heritage living in Europe and North America. We don't cover South Asia directly.
Sign up!
We publish Updates and Articles to our website every day. At 5pm every Monday - Friday we also post them to Twitter and WhatsApp. Weekly updates by email.
Email (weekly)
WhatsApp (once a day)
Your number will never be shared.
Your number will never be shared.
Twitter (daily)
Follow @barfi_culture
Follow @barfi_culture
Facebook (daily)
Instagram (daily)