"A poignant, prescient, compelling story of courage, friendship, family love and personal triumph in the face of Islamophobia"
Masterfully exposing the brutal realities of Islamophobia in Britain, Ayaan Mohamud’s You Think You Know Me debut is a moving, stirring triumph that sees a quiet, hardworking teenager journey through horrendous Islamophobic abuse to find a courageous voice and, in her words, “optimism and dreams and faith”.
Informed by the author’s experiences, the novel shares the story of Hanan, who lost her father as she and her family fled civil war in Somalia. Now living in London with her mum, grandmother, twin brother and little sisters, Hanan is a model student, dedicated to her loving family, and to the memory of her beloved dad.
Though Hanan has a close friendship group, her school life is marred by institutional racism and bigoted bullying. And she bears great pressure, too: “it sometimes felt like…I needed to be so perfect to secure my family’s future.” What’s more, she carries her “dad’s legacy; my parents’ sacrifices; my family’s hopes for a good life against the undercurrents of racism in a place where people are surprised I succeeded.”
When the school caretaker is murdered (someone who’d shown Hanan tremendous kindness), shockwaves shudder through the community. The perpetrator happened to be Muslim, and now all Muslims are under scrutiny, no thanks to wildly inaccurate, Islamophobic newspaper headlines: “School caretaker murder declared ‘full-blown jihadi’ by close sources”.
Add to this a terrifying, close-to-home attack, and school proposing a ban on headscarves in the name of “achieving integration”, and Hanan finds the strength to break free from being the quiet girl people think they know. She stands up and speaks out with words that’ll leave readers reeling with rage at the racism she’s endured, and inspired by her strength and courage. If that wasn’t enough, this novel is also brilliant on family love, grief, and the complexities of friendship, loyalty and forgiveness.