Author: Zakiya N. Jamal

Zakiya N. Jamal was born in Queens, raised in Long Island, and currently resides in Brooklyn. In other words, she’s a New Yorker through and through. She holds a BA in English from Georgetown University and a MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Writing for Children and Young Adults from The New School. She has been published in Romper, BuzzFeed, People.com, Thought Catalog, and more. Her non-fiction essay about her "Cuban Impostor Syndrome" can be found in the Latinx anthology, Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed. You can find her on Twitter at @ZakiyaNJamal.

Book Review: Illuminae

Posted on August 31, 2016October 21, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.
Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

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Review

*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2016 Reading Challenge.*

This is apparently the week of books written in unconventional writing styles. Although Illuminae is a very different book than The Boy is Back, it’s also told in the form of emails, IMs, and other various styles, which makes it really interesting and different. You know you’re reading an interesting book when you have to turn it upsides and sideways just to read it.

I was totally sucked into this novel. I’ve had this book on my shelf for months now and I have no idea why it took me this long to finally read it but I’m so glad I did. The main character, Kady, is such an amazing character. She’s goals. Seriously. The way she’s able to step up and take control when literally everything in her life has gone to crap is astounding and inspiring. I also really liked her ex, Ezra. He was so cute and funny and cheesy. Seriously, those two are relationship goals. Even when they fight it’s out of love.

Besides the romance, this book was a roller coaster. It seemed like every time Kady was getting her footing some other disaster would strike her world, turning it upside down (sometimes literally). This book was filled with plot twists and I had my heart broken multiple times throughout. If you think everyone makes it out of this book unscathed think again. I applaud Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff on keeping things real. This book is devastating but also filled with humor. It’s an interesting combination and I couldn’t put this book down.

If you love sci-fi, adventure, with a bit of romance and humor, you’ll love this book. I honestly had no idea what I was signing up for going into this book but I loved every second of this book and the sequel is just as good but I’ll get more into that in my next review. Until then, make sure to buy Illuminae and preorder the sequel, Gemina. Trust me, you’ll want it as soon as it comes out.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“You have me. Until the last star in the galaxy dies, you have me.”

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ARC Book Review: The Boy Is Back

Posted on August 30, 2016August 31, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

In this brand-new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a scandal brings a young man back home to the small town, crazy family, and first love he left behind.

Reed Stewart thought he’d left all his small town troubles—including a broken heart—behind when he ditched tiny Bloomville, Indiana, ten years ago to become rich and famous on the professional golf circuit. Then one tiny post on the Internet causes all of those troubles to return . . . with a vengeance.

Becky Flowers has worked hard to build her successful senior relocation business, but she’s worked even harder to forget Reed Stewart ever existed. She has absolutely no intention of seeing him when he returns—until his family hires her to save his parents.

Now Reed and Becky can’t avoid one another—or the memories of that one fateful night. And soon everything they thought they knew about themselves (and each other) has been turned upside down, and they—and the entire town of Bloomville—might never be the same, all because The Boy Is Back.

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Review

*I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book from William Morrow Paperbacks via Edelweiss. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be released on October 18, 2016.*

Meg Cabot is back! Not that she ever really left, but you know what I mean. I was so excited to hear about this novel. At first I didn’t even realize The Boy is Back is part of Cabot’s Boy series but once I realized that I knew I had to read it. For those that don’t know the Boy series are three (now four) books written in the form of emails, online chat rooms, text messages, journals, etc. Basically it’s an unconventional writing style and I’ve read and loved every single one.

I believe the first three are all connected somehow but I’m not sure how The Boy is Back is connected. Then again I haven’t read the Boy series in years so I probably missed the connection but I’m pretty sure Dolly and Tim were in the other books. Again, I’m not sure though. Anyway, the point it just as I loved the other books in the series I absolutely loved The Boy is Back. It was funny, romantic, and only took me a day to read. I couldn’t put it down.

I loved the cast of characters in this book. Becky and Reed were perfect and I loved Becky’s sister, Nicole. She was so funny and pretty spot on about everything going on in Becky’s life. Also, Reed’s family is a hot mess of hilarity. I loved them all, except Trimble. She was super annoying but she’s supposed to be so that’s fine.

The only issue I had with this book is you it shouldn’t read be read as an ebook. This may be because I have an advanced edition but the formatting of the emails and some of the texts looks a little off digitally. Plus, I think the formatting is way more fun when you can see it in print. That’s how I read the other books and loved it that way.

Other than that this book was amazing. If you’re looking for a cute, quick, and fun read make sure to check out this novel. You’ll love it.

Stars:

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Watch The Thrilling Book Trailer For ‘Against All Silence’

Posted on August 28, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog

The second book in E. C. Myers’ thrilling Silence of Six series, published by Adaptive Books, is available now, exclusively at Barnes & Noble bookstores. Against All Silence follows Max Stein as he finds himself pulled into another hacking scandal that puts his life in danger. With his kind of girlfriend, Penny, by his side Max while have to put his new found infamy and computer skills to the ultimate test. Check out the trailer above and the full synopsis below and make sure to grab your own copy today!

Synopsis

After being a key figure in the exposing of government corruption, Max Stein has spent a quiet semester abroad in Paris, studying, staying off the Internet, and looking for his long-lost mother. But just as he is about to fly back to the United States for the holidays, trouble manages to find him once again.

Max receives a call from Penny, his on-again-off-again girlfriend who is part of the expert hacking duo DoubleThink. She wants him to meet with Ada Kiesler, a high-profile whistleblower hiding out at a foreign embassy in Berlin. Max has no interest in getting drawn into another corporate conspiracy. But when airport security suddenly detains him on suspicion of cyber-terrorism, he has little choice but to get involved. Soon Max and Penny are tangling with a new group of shadowy figures who are determined to control how the world shares its information. And some figures from Max’s past resurface, including his own mother, whose life has mirrored his own in more ways than he’d realized.

In this action-packed follow up to The Silence of Six, Max and his hacker friends must fight to expose a corrupt corporation that has been systematically taking control of the Internet.

Book Review: Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

Posted on August 25, 2016August 25, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew–just in time for Amy’s senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she’s always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy’s mother’s old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she’s surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road–diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards–this is the story of one girl’s journey to find herself.

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Review

This is only my second Morgan Matson book and I loved it just as much as The Unexpected Everything. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour is a cute summer book that was fun and quick to read. I think I read the whole book in one day because I just couldn’t put it down. I really loved all the characters in this book and I could really relate to Amy. I found Roger to be really funny and he and Amy had great chemistry.

I also really enjoyed how this novel was written. At first when I saw doodles I thought someone had drawn in the book because I got it from the library but then when I realized the text was written around the doodles I realized that was part of the book. I’m curious to know if Matson did those drawings herself or if an illustrator did that. Either way it was a cool touch, as was the receipts, playlists, and other features from their trip. It made me feel like I was on the trip with them and now I want to go on a road trip.

Now that I’ve read it I absolutely want to buy this book. I’m already thinking about scenes I’d love to read again. It was so good and the romance is well earned and doesn’t feel forced at all, which is one of my pet peeves. Matson is a phenomenal contemporary YA author and I can’t wait to read more of her books.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren’t looking for them.”

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Book Review: Point of Retreat

Posted on August 23, 2016August 13, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Borrow

Synopsis:

Colleen Hoover entranced readers everywhere with her bestselling novel Slammed, the book that introduced Layken and Will, a young couple whose love overcame devastating hardships to emerge stronger and more resilient than before. Now, as Layken and Will’s emotion-packed story continues, a stunning and unforeseen revelation about Will’s past leaves them questioning everything that they thought they knew about each other. With the foundation of their relationship at risk, they must decide whether they are willing to fight for a future together, or to retreat back into solitude and heartache.

How far does Will have to go to prove to Layken his love for her will last forever? It will require something truly extraordinary to keep this couple together, and the decisions they make and the answers they find will change not only their lives, but the lives of everyone around them.

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Review

Clearly I’m on a Colleen Hoover binge and I have no regrets. It’s been pretty hit or miss for me when it comes to Queen CoHo and unfortunately Point of Retreat is a miss for me. As much as I enjoyed Slammed I don’t think it needed a sequel and I don’t plan on reading the third one, although my need to finish series might make me read it.

There were definitely a lot of cute and funny moments in this book and I loved the addition of some new characters but I couldn’t get past the somewhat ridiculousness of Will having to prove his love to Layken. He definitely makes a few mistakes but I couldn’t understand why Layken didn’t trust him and how what honestly was kind of small thing turned into a really big fight.

Additionally, without spoiling it I’ll just say there’s a major event towards the end of the novel that I didn’t think was necessary. To me it just felt like Colleen just wanted another climatic event in the story so she added this in but there was really no need for it. At this point it just felt like Colleen just kept throwing curveballs at Layken and Will just to see what would happen or just to shock us. It was too much.

Overall, I still really liked Layken and Will’s relationship and chemistry, I just didn’t like the plot of this novel at all.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“Love is the most beautiful thing in the world. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the hardest things in the world to hold on to, and one of the easiest things to throw away.”

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Book Review: The Silence of Six

Posted on August 22, 2016August 22, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Borrow

Synopsis:

“WHAT IS THE SILENCE OF SIX, AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?”

These are the last words uttered by 17-year-old Max Stein’s best friend Evan just moments before he kills himself after hacking into the live-streaming presidential debate at their high school.

Haunted by the unforgettable image of Evan’s death, Max’s entire world is upended as he suddenly finds himself the target of a corporate-government witch hunt. Fearing for his life and fighting for his own innocence, Max goes on the run with no one to trust and too many unanswered questions.

Max must dust off his own hacking skills and maneuver through the dangerous labyrinth of underground hacktivist networks, ever-shifting alliances and virtual identities–all the while hoping to find the truth behind the “Silence of Six” before it’s too late.

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Review

*I received a free copy of this book from Adaptive Books. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel is now on sale.*

To be honest I don’t read a lot of sci-fi books but The Silence of Six sounded interesting to me and gave me Mr. Robot vibes. However, I think my lack of really any knowledge about hacking and only a basic understanding of computer programming made it difficult for me to get into this novel. There were a lot of things that the main character, Max, did that I didn’t understand and had to just take the book’s word for it, which made this book a little unbelievable to me. Again, I don’t really know a lot about hacking but it felt like at the start of this novel Max had a really hard time trying to decode the mystery his best friend, Evan left behind for him. However, towards the end of the novel it seemed like everything just resolved itself pretty easily.

Like I said I think a lot of this book went over my head so maybe I missed something but I expected something more climatic from the ending that I just didn’t get. Confusing plot points aside I really liked the characters, particularly DoubleThink. You’ll have to read the book to know more about their personality because I refuse to spoil it but I thought that character was really well done and surprised me. I also liked Max a lot. I didn’t swoon over him or anything but he didn’t bug me in any particular way either.

Overall, I feel indifferent about this novel. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. I just thought it was fine. I probably won’t reread it but I will read the sequel because I’m curious. Hopefully the next book is a bit more exciting.

Stars:

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Book Review: Ugly Love

Posted on August 18, 2016August 13, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn’t think it’s love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

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Review

This may just be my favorite Colleen Hoover book ever. I raced through this book because I loved it so much and then after I was done I immediately wanted to reread it. Miles and Tate’s chemistry is absolutely amazing, and I must say this is probably CoHo’s sexiest book besides Too Late, which is in it’s own category. Seriously though Miles and Tate together was so steamy but that’s not what made me love this book. It’s the way it’s written that I found incredible.

As with the majority of CoHo’s books Ugly Love is written in alternating point of views between Tate and Miles, except Miles’ POV takes place in the past. While Tate and Miles “relationship” develops we also learn about Miles’ past and it’s written kind of like poetry and it’s beautiful. I love Miles. He’s climbed his way to the top of my book boyfriends list and I felt for him so much in this book. Similarly, I also felt for Tate who wanted to know about the past that only we, the reader, were getting. It was heartbreaking.

Colleen did an amazing job with this novel. The plot was so perfectly woven together and tugged at my heartstrings the whole way through. I teared up, I laughed, and I was frustrated. I loved all the characters, including Tate’s overprotective older brother, Corbin, and Miles’ best-friend, Ian, who I wish we saw more of. My favorite character was definitely Cap though. His words of wisdom were always spot on and I had to make a note in my iPhone for all the great quotes in this novel.

If you haven’t read this book yet please do so immediately. You will not regret it. I promise!

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“God gives us the ugliness so we don’t take the beautiful things in life for granted.”

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Book Review: It Ends With Us

Posted on August 16, 2016August 13, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Book Reviews, Books to Borrow

Synopsis:

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

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Review

I wanted to love this novel. Everyone told me I would love this novel. I was sure I would love this novel. I did not love this novel. That being said I think Colleen Hoover handled the subject matter really well and I could tell this was a very personal novel for her. Still, this is my second least favorite book I’ve read by her, followed closely by November 9.

The truth is my issues with this novel really comes from the fact that there was too much of Ryle (who hated) and not enough of Atlas (who loved). However, I don’t think Hoover could’ve written this book any other way to get her point across so I feel bad faulting her for this but it’s truly how I feel. I wanted to see way more of Atlas than what was given and that drove me crazy. I was not satisfied at all with how this book ended and I desperately wanted more than what I was given. Moreover, I really liked Lily but I didn’t really love her or any of the other characters in this book. I can’t even remember the name of Ryle’s sister (I checked, it’s Allysa) and her husband (Marshall) right now because they left no impression on me.

I’m not sure what I was expecting going into this novel. I guess I was expecting to cry like so many people said they did and that didn’t happen until I finished the book and read the note from Colleen, where she talked about how her mom inspired this novel. That brought me to tears but this novel did not. Again, I really wanted to love this book but for me this is definitely not a book I’ll be reading again. If you disagree feel free to tell me in the comments. I’d love to discuss this one.

Also, please note if you plan on reading this book it deals heavily with physical abuse so if that’s triggering for you please read this book with caution.

Stars:

Favorite Line:

“In the future…if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again…fall in love with me.”

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ARC Review: Interference by Kay Honeyman

ARC Book Review: Interference

Posted on August 11, 2016August 10, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in ARC Reviews, Book Reviews, Books to Buy

Synopsis:

As a Congressman’s daughter in Washington, D.C., Kate Hamilton is good at getting what she wants — what some people might call “interfering.” But when her family moves to West Texas so her dad can run in a special election, Kate encounters some difficulties that test all her political skills. None of her matchmaking efforts go according to plan. Her father’s campaign gets off to a rough start. A pro tip for moving to Texas: Don’t slam the star quarterback’s hand in a door. And whenever Kate messes up, the irritatingly right (and handsome) Hunter Price is there to witness it. But Kate has determination and a good heart, and with all her political savvy — and a little clever interference — she’ll figure out what it takes to make Red Dirt home.

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Review

*I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book from Arthur A. Levine at Book Con. This did not influence my review of this book in anyway. This is an honest review of the novel as I saw it. This novel will be released on September 27, 2016.*

I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen retellings so when I heard this was a retelling of Emma I knew I had to read this book. Kay Honeyman does an amazing job of putting her own twist on this classic romance and I absolutely loved it. Interference takes place in a small town in Texas and the main character Kate is a congressman’s daughter that thinks she knows it all. Just like Emma she tries to play matchmaker for her friends, while her new friend, Hunter, tries to tell her to stay out of everyone’s business. Naturally, Kate doesn’t listen.

Add in your typical high school hijinks, football games, and political campaigns and this book was a roller coaster of drama, laughs, and romance. I absolutely loved the characters in this book and Hunter gave me full on heart eyes. For anyone that doesn’t really like Emma because they find Emma annoying you will like Kate more than Emma. I found Kate to be very relatable and even though a lot of the time I would think, “Kate, no!” it was hilarious seeing her make so many mistakes.

If you’re looking for a cute and quick romance that will give you Friday Night Lights feels, you should definitely pick up Interference. You won’t regret it.

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Five Books That Actually Live Up To The Hype (Guest Post)

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Zakiya N. Jamal in Blog, Guest Post

*This is a guest post written by Darian Duckworth and she runs her own book blog, The Novel Millennial, and a BookTube channel of the same name . If you would like to do a guest post for To Borrow or Buy, please email me at toborroworbuy@gmail.com*

If you’re anything like me, you tend to get turned off by really popular or hyped up books and series. But I’m here to tell you that there are actually some popular books that actually live up to the pedestal they’re put on. Proof: I didn’t read Harry Potter until a friend forced me to read Prisoner of Azkaban in the third grade. (PS: it’s still my favorite book in the series). Recently, I caved and picked up some seriously popular books that I was extremely turned off from because of their popularity. Here are five books that I think actually live up to their hype:

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

ACOTAR is a retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast fairytale. If you’re looking for a strong female protagonist, don’t let the fantasy genre of this series deter you. Even if you don’t typically like fantasy, ACOTAR has something for literally every reader. There’s adventure, fantasy, romance, and lots of action, especially towards the end.

2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Okay, if you don’t like fantasy then you probably don’t like sci-fi with cyborgs and all that jazz either. Well, here’s the series that’s going to change that. Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella but the similarities between the two stories are few and far between. There’s cyborgs, a different race that lives on the Moon called Lunars, and a plague threatening Earth. It’s pretty intense.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

You’re probably sitting there like “Who hasn’t read THG?” but I know y’all are out there. If you haven’t read this series, do it now! I can’t say that enough. The political atmosphere alone is enough to make this book live up to the hype. Pro Tip: The rest of the series is pretty good too, and Catching Fire is the best one.

4. It’s Not Okay by Andi Dorfman

I’m not one for self help books and I’m definitely not one for self help books about breakups but I am a fan of all things The Bachelor. Andi Dorfman made waves on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and people were legitimately shocked when she and her fiancé called it quits nine months after the finale. It’s Not Okay is Dorfman’s raw and emotional journey at coping with the aftermath of that very public breakup and it is every bit worthy of you clicking “Buy Now” on Amazon.

5. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

I hate poetry, mostly because it takes too much effort to interpret, usually. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur is the exception to that first statement. The poems are raw and real and powerful and I damn near read the entire thing in the bookstore. I simply could not put it down!