School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Mina's senior year feels like the end of a prison sentence before she escapes New York City and her strict, unforgiving Bangladeshi Muslim parents for film school. Winning the Golden Ivy Film Competition is her ticket out, but she needs a celebrity cameo to seal the deal. Enter Emmitt Ramos, an up-and-coming indie movie star who happens to be undercover at Mina's school. Emmitt, of Chinese and Spanish descent, and Mina get off to a catastrophically bad start, but when he needs a local to help him scout spots for a photography contest, he and Mina come to an agreement. Soon, their forced friendship blooms into more, and Mina and Emmitt both learn that running away is harder when you've found your true home. This book is a love letter to finding your passion without losing yourself and was inspired by the author's own experience of Tom Holland attending her high school. VERDICT Ideal for upper-YA readers who are thinking about the future, enjoy authentic representations of depression, and don't mind a fair bit of cursing.--Aryssa Damron
Publisher's Weekly Review
Seventeen-year-old New Yorker Samina "Mina" Rahman dreams of escaping her hometown for greener pastures in Bhuiyan's (Counting Down with You) heartwarming novel. Mina's Bangladeshi Muslim parents feel that studying film at the University of Southern California isn't a practical life plan. Determined to prove that her dreams have value, Mina enters the Golden Ivy Film Festival, a student film contest whose grand prize is much-needed scholarship money. Struggling to cast a lead for her project, Mina approaches Chinese and Spanish indie London film star Emmitt Ramos, who's currently undercover at Mina's school preparing for a role. Though they immediately dislike each other, Mina and Emmitt strike a deal: he'll star in her film if she'll be his N.Y.C. tour guide. As the duo traipse across the city, they slowly warm to each other, and Mina realizes that maybe there are things in her own backyard worth staying for. Bhuiyan artfully blends Mina's eclectic Desi diaspora community and N.Y.C.'s racially diverse population with conversations about Hollywood's overwhelming whiteness to explore themes of home and belonging. Witty banter, energetic characters, and a bustling setting make for a hopeful read. Ages 13--up. Agent: JL Stermer, New Leaf Literary and Media. (May)
Kirkus Review
Samina Rahman can't wait to leave New York for California: Will she rediscover her love for New York City before she heads off to college? Seventeen-year-old Mina dreams of the day she can leave home and enter the University of Southern California, where she hopes to study business and film in the fall. The Bangladeshi Muslim teen's golden ticket comes in the form of a prestigious film festival that offers a scholarship for the winner of the student film competition. As co-president of the film club at her high school along with her gay White best friend, Rosie Hardy, Mina is laser focused on winning. Enter Emmitt Ramos, a Chinese and Spanish indie film star from London who has gone undercover at Mina's high school in preparation for his upcoming movie. Mina and Emmitt get off to a rocky start after she figures out who he really is, but with one another they slowly start to uncover parts of themselves that they keep hidden from the rest of the world. Mina has a well-developed and well-rounded character arc. Bhuiyan captures the internal struggles of belonging to the South Asian diaspora by exploring both Mina's strained relationship with her parents and her loving and protective relationship with her sister, Anam. An endearing story of rediscovery that brings out tears of both laughter and heartbreak. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Mina Rahman loves film and has three goals: win the Golden Ivy student film award, get into the University of Southern California's film school, and leave New York City. However, her traditional Bangladeshi parents constantly ridicule her dreams and insist that she stay at home for college. A glimmer of hope emerges, however, when Mina discovers Emmitt Ramos (a popular teen film star of British Chinese and Spanish descent) is doing undercover research for a role at her arts high school. Positive that Emmitt is key to winning the competition, Mina asks him to star in her short film. He agrees on one condition: Mina must show him around the city while he engages in a competition of his own--for photography. What Mina hadn't bargained on was seeing her city through new, less critical eyes. Loosely based on actor Tom Holland's undercover enrollment at the author's high school, Bhuiyan's tale covers Mina's emotional journey, ranging from heart wrenching to joyous. While Mina's parents seem excruciatingly self-centered, many teens will relate to Mina's struggle and resolution.
