A book about people ,their dreams and their realities.The journey and relationship of Amina and Omar is engaging.A bit slow for my liking but worth reading.

This was a great story that followed Omar, a young teen trying to figure out his identity as an Indian-American, and his aunt, Amina, who is also trying to find her identity but within her own life. They journey together as Amina assists Omar and is there for him when his own parents seem to be losing their way. It was such a nice look into the lives of others who may be struggling with something similar.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Beautiful prose and great character development. I truly enjoyed the perspectives of Amina and Omar. I think that she was able to capture the inquisitive lonely nature of a little boy who is trying to find his place in the world. Growing up in an Indian household in the United States, I could completely relate to the struggles of the characters who are trying to retain their culture but still fit in. The post 9/11 perspective from a Muslim family is a voice that needs to be heard more. I also loved Prakash's character. Very few people in the US even know the difference between Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. We are all just considered different. I am so sorry to know that this author is ill. She has so much talent and clearly has a wonderful voice and talent and I really would have enjoyed reading more of her work.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

The story is about second and third generation Indian Muslims caught between their ancestral heredity and the country that they were born in.

I have mixed feelings about the book and wavered between 3 and 2.5 stars. While the story was interesting, the main character seemed a little weak and very indecisive. What annoyed me the most was that the chapter told from the 11 yr old kid's perspective make him seem like a 5 year old. His inner thoughts are expressed as for someone who is much less mature than an almost-teenager. He thinks in short sentences that seem out of an infant storybook or a cartoon meant for babies.

Some other inaccuracies showed that the author may not be very familiar with Indian culture. Amina asks her nephew to call her "chachi" which is not the right term for father's sister ("bua"). Amina's mother is mentioned as using red powder in her hair and on forehead which is not accurate for muslim women. Not to mention casket burial, drinking at a funeral and pork/ham/bacon eating at various points. The characters were more atheists than traditional muslims. The whole muslim angle seems very forced just to talk about racism in a post-9-11 world.

Overall, the point of the story seemed unclear with threads like the fabricated royal past of the family just used intermittently with no purpose. There was a lot of blaming on "all the Abduls" by various characters.

Thank you to the author, Forest Avenue Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read, and much more nuanced than I was expecting. Yes, the disconnect between cultural and racial stereotypes being applied to those that know no other culture than the one trying to set them apart, was a big topic. But the emotional cost of human relationships, the gender issues involved in taking a different path than the expectations of others would put upon you, the hope of belonging and being happy... all a part of this family saga, and all done so well. Both of the main characters, Amina and her nephew Omar, are complex and so well-drawn - this is not necessarily the case for secondary characters, but these two carry the book. There are no easy, pat answers given, and the ending leaves things open - but still manages to satisfy. Highly recommended!

5 shining stars!

Ummmmmmm wow. This book was so good. Like, stop reading this review and go mark this as "t0-read" right this second good.

I'LL WAIT.

Ok now that you've done that, let me tell you more about how amazing this book was.

This is the story about an American-Indian family living in America four years after 9/11. The main characters of this story are Amina, a brilliant and self-isolating scientist who is not close to her family, and her nephew, Omar, a 12 year old boy trying to understand his family history, and who he wants to be. They develop a special bond, yet both still feel so lost and alone.

This story is truly heartbreaking. There's a lot of really heavy stuff that happens throughout the book and you'll find yourself rooting so hard for the characters but also so unsure of what you want them to do. It's very raw and real.

This is a story about family, racism, loss, decision-making, isolation and so much more. You will fall for characters, yet be so angry with them at times. You will be totally engrossed in the story of the Abdul family and not want it to end.

I should know, I sat my butt on the couch for seven hours and couldn't put this book down. I loved it so much. I think you will too.

A big thanks to Forest Avenue Press and NetGalley for the ARC and wanting my honest opinion!

Thanks Netgalley for an ARC! The plot had potential but the more I read, the less I liked it. Many situations seemed unrealistic and I couldn't bring myself to like any of the characters. Others who have read the book seem to love it so it must be just me.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #ForestAvenuePress for the advanced readers copy!

The Royal Abduls centers around the bond between Amina, an overthinking self sabotaging botanical scientist, and her nephew Omar, an lonely middle schooler outcast. Each brief chapter is narrated in turn by one of these two loveable if frustrating characters as they struggle to figure out the family's Indian heritage, Islamophobia, divorce and death.

What I loved the most was the way Koya was able to successfully navigate an eleven year old's innocent way of accumulating knowledge, showing the reader how Omar grows throughout the piece. The startling similarity between his thought process and thirty something year old Amina's is slowly revealed.

While the plot progresses in a steady, measured rate, the ending broke my heart completely and almost felt unreal. Regardless, this is a book that will make you laugh and cherish your family a little bit more.

I did not finish this book. I enjoyed the writing style and I enjoyed the characters, especially Amina! However, the plot was too dry for me, and even though I felt bad for putting the book down, I just couldn't manage to keep going. Like I said, I really did enjoy the writing style and the characters, though, and I loved that it was set in Washington DC, since I grew up in Northern Virginia/the DC metro area!

Biologist Amina Abdul moves to Washington, DC leaving a six-year relationship behind to complete her post-doc and also as a bonus be closer to her nephew, Omar.

Omar is fascinated by stories of his paternal Indian heritage and believes himself to belong to an India that is richly endowed with both culture and wealth.
Disturbed with the events of 9/11 he moves closer to his idea of belonging with Indians and takes on an Indian accent and spins a make-believe story of being royalty.

Meanwhile his parents marriage is crumbling and Omar is confused about his identity even more.
He gets expelled for bringing an ornamental knife to school and the story continues.

This book had a very interesting premise but it also felt like a huge lost opportunity.

Everything mentioned in the synopsis is not exactly a major part of the story and the exact point of the story felt unclear.

Carrying a knife and threatening a student could end in an expulsion even if instead of “Omar” it was “Oscar” who did it.
The story of racism would have been more believable if he’d been carrying a few batteries or something.

Anyhow, Mo and Marcy (shallow, narcissist, entitled and conceited characters) were already having problems with their marriage regardless of Omar’s activities though it’s presented that way.

Also, every time Mo or Amina do anything wrong blaming “all the Abduls” sounds childish and ridiculous.

I don’t really understand why the protagonist and their family are referred to as muslims when in all ways they happen to be atheists.
Not judging just by their frequent wine drinking (even during a funeral memorial meeting of an important family member) or the fact that the first meal mentioned in the story involves pork, but by their own admission and activities.

The story is basically about how their names and the color of their skins groups them with people of arab ethnicity and makes people discriminate against them because they look like them.

I would have preferred a story where there are actual believable instances of racism and believe me there are more than a lot of them!
This is in no way the story of a muslim family.

Another huge mistake in the book is that Omar calls his paternal aunt, Amina, “Chachi”, when she is his “bua” (in Hindi or “Phuphu” in Urdu).
Chachi is the term used to refer to the wife of your father’s brother.
That “chachi” bit irritated me quite a bit.

The story had potential.

What an important and enjoyable book. It deals with the complexities of family relationships, gender discrimination, and racial stereotypes, but in such a gentle and nuanced manner. Never preachy or whiny. No answers, just issues laid out in a way that will make you rethink what you think you know. I found Amina to be a sympathetic character and just want to give Omar a huge hug and tell him it will all be OK. The ending leaves you to fill in the blanks as you'd like, which is a treat and in no way unsatisfying. The writing was simple yet powerful and I had a hard time putting this down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.