What an incredible book! The Bad Muslim Discount chronicles many years in Anvar and Azza’s lives, as they intersect and interact in unexpected ways. This own voices story was an incredible way to hear more about the Muslim American experience, one I am eager to read and learn more about. Masood’s writing is sharp, hilarious, heartbreaking, and poignant. This book touches on so many themes- love, loss, immigration, family, identity, faith, Islam, politics, what it means to be American. The plot moves quickly and the cast of characters is lovely. I would recommend this book to anyone! A truly great read.

I kindly received an ARC from Doubleday Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is an interesting novel where we follow two teens into their adult lives as they travel across oceans for a better life. In those travels they also face complexities to their religion and how they face it within these modern times. We follow Anvar as he not only faces questions about being a "good muslim" but also has questions about who he is and what he should do with his life. Along with that we follow Safwa as she struggles to fight for her rights, be an individual, and love herself through all her decisions. This is a great novel that really helps you to question and feel as these characters go through their lives.

Trigger Warnings: Mental abuse, Physical abuse, and PTSD

I enjoy reading fiction #OwnVoices stories because it gives me a chance to learn more about a culture or community that I am unfamiliar with. I enjoyed the story here, and found myself wondering how it would end. I do feel that I am unsure of the portrayal of the Muslim faith, as in how would other Muslims feel about the depiction of their faith and their people.


I did enjoy the writing and Anvar's humor, and will read more stories by this author as they become available. I have recommended this story to other friends.

Thank you for the copy of this story.

this author's previous novel is an all-time favorite of mine, and so i had really high hopes going into this one! and boy, did it not disappoint! however, a similar theme I'm seeing in this author's novel is the odd portrayal of Muslims.i t seems like the Muslims that really practice the religion and stick to its teachings are portrayed as abusers, evil, and control freaks-which i think is extremely problematic and harmful for that group of people. that being said, I'm not comfortable giving this a higher rating!

📚Book 16 of 2021: The Bad Muslim Discount by Syed M. Masood

🗣Who is this for: Romance lovers and anyone who is down for a character growth journey

💬Reader’s Digest Version: The Bad Muslim Discount details the Muslim immigrant experience in America. The two main characters: Anvar and Safwa, both come to America under different sets of circumstances. This book dives into the different ways these characters assimilate into American culture and the toll it takes on their beliefs, family life, and romantic relationships. When Anvar and Safwa’s journeys collide, fate takes them down a harrowing, enlightening, and healing path that no one could see coming.

🏃🏻‍♀️My Take: I loved this book. The Muslim immigrant experience is not one what I have read much about, and it’s an important one for everyone to dive into. This quote summed up the experience that I think many immigrants and other marginalized Americans feel living in this country.

“We live on stolen land, I finally said, “in a country built on slavery and reliant on the continued economic exploitation of other people. The oppressor always lives in fear of the oppressed. Americans have always been afraid, first of people native to this continent, then of black men, then of the innocent Japanese citizens they interned and now of Muslims and immigrants. So the real question, I think, is who is next?”

This book is funny, sad, and romantic. It’s a love story. It’s a story about perseverance and faith. Everyone has a story. It’s important to listen to these stories before we cast judgement.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🙏🏻🙏🏻Big thanks to @netgalley and @doubledaybooks for the ARC

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In all honestly, this is not a book I would have ever picked up, but the cover and the synopsis intrigued me, and I was so glad that I read it. The story follows two main characters, Anvar and Safwa as they navigate being the world. Anvar’s journey begins in Pakistan and we follow him and his family as they come to America. Safwa story is much sadder. Being a Muslim women is hard enough, but with a father who hits her and living in Baghdad, her life is, well hard. I couldn’t imagine dealing with the things Safwa dealt with, but she is strong and resilient. She eventually gets to America, and it is here that the two meet. For a book that deals with such hard subject matters, it was surprisingly light and funny. I really enjoyed this one and looking forward to reading more from this author!

Entertaining and lively but a little bit less lyrically written than I usually like. A little workman like in its prose and could have been crafted a bit more but is funny and engaging, sure to appeal to a broad swath of readers.

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Like a wizened attorney, Syed M. Masood's "The Bad Muslim Discount" manages to be both pedantic yet arrestingly charming. The story weaves together the very disparate worlds of Anvar, an immigrant from Karachi who makes his life in San Francisco, and Safwa, an Iranian refugee who is fleeing from more than her warn torn homeland. As the lives of these two characters unexpectedly intertwine under the watchful eye of Hafiz Bhatta, the God-like owner of their derelict apartment building, some things start to unwind dangerously. With sly commentary on faith, relationships and family, Masood creates an immersive & honest portrayal of Muslim America. I enjoyed most of this book, but would have liked less pedagogy and more action from the humble protagonist.

I absolutely loved this novel and have not been able to stop talking about it! While the title and description led me to believe it might be a little more lighthearted - and there were certainly humorous and fun moments - this story felt so powerful and profound. I absolutely adored the interludes with Anvar and his grandmother, but I felt connected to all of the characters and could hardly put this one down. Highly recommend!

If there’s one thing to do this spring, READ THIS BOOK. Like The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and A Woman Is No Man...I LOVED this book!

Written by a Pakistani born immigrant to the United States, it is a modern day fictional #OwnVoices story of two families of different circumstances who have immigrated to San Francisco, California. There is love, betrayal, betrothal ...fanaticism, agnosticism, and racism. There are family struggles, relationship troubles...but also renewal and reward. At times funny and sarcastic...and at others heartbreaking and realistic.

Don’t let the cover or title fool you... this book was DEEP and WONDERFUL!

[4.5 stars]
This debut novel is a deeply layered story of two families, the Muslim faith (and struggling with it), being an immigrant in the U.S., discrimination against Muslims following 9/11, and fighting for the life that will make you happy...told in an irreverently humorous voice. Masood tackled so much in this story, but it felt totally organic and not cluttered at all. The humor in this story is subtle, snarky, and made my chuckle (the way I like my humor).

Provocative yes, a comic novel, I don't think so. Even though the lead character Anvar Faris has a smart, sarcastic way about him I would not call this a comic novel. Another character, a young woman refuge from Baghdad arrives in California with her conservative, abusive father and her threatening boyfriend. Somehow she manages to meet Anvar and they develop an intimate relationship that is dangerous for both of them. Muslim traditions and arranged marriages were beautifully detailed in this book and I learned a great deal about family life.

I really wanted to love this book. It got of to a good start explaining why a young Muslim boy from Pakistan and a young Muslim girl from Iraq immigrate to the US. Anvar, the boy, shuns his religion and takes up with an equal liberal Muslim girl. When their romance ends, he becomes a lawyer. Azza, the girl comes to the US with her father illegally. She doesn’t want to live up to her end of the bargain for her illegal passage by an abuser.without giving away spoilers my lack of enthusiasm is due to my disliking both of the main characters. I also felt the ending was a bit lacking. I thank NetGalley and Doubleday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Doubleday via NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Bad Muslim Discount first caught my interest because of its cover art; I initially thought it was a graphic novel. I was drawn into Anvar and Safwa's stories, and appreciated Masood's rich characterization of each of them, constructing layered main characters with more substance to them than just their shared religion. Secondary characters also brought a range of experiences and humor to the story. I struggled with the length, feeling like parts were longer than necessary, but recommend this as an entertaining look at a range of Muslim American experiences.

This one was almost a 5-star for me. This story follows two families from Pakistan and Iraq in the 1990s to San Francisco in 2016. Anvar is an attorney in the city, having moved there years before with his devout family. He himself is not as devout and takes to referring to himself as a bad Muslim. Meanwhile, Safwa, a young woman in war-torn Baghdad, escapes with her very devout father to San Francisco. But as a condition of their escape, they must accept new names and, for Safwa, an unwanted marriage. Eventually, their worlds collide and, without giving away too much of the plot, they need to help each other. This book was completely different than I was expecting it to be, mainly based on the cover. There were some humorous portions, but it wasn't as funny as I thought it would be - which was fine; the story didn't lend itself to a lot of humor. The end kind of dragged for me - there were parts that were a little too political and lecturing. But that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. Thank-you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Wow- I loved this book. TBMD goes between two characters, who eventually intermingle after immigrating to California from the Middle East. This is full of family drama, inner conflict with religion, war, tragedy, immigration difficulties, etc. I couldn’t put it down and wanted more or Anvar and Azza as they navigate life as Muslims in America. There’s so much more to this novel that I cannot explain but I enjoyed it and I highly recommend.

One of those books where the cover doesn't match the contents... Between the gut-wrenching scenes and the laugh-out-loud one-liners lies a powerful story of culture and family and tradition. This didn't take me where I thought it would, but I'm grateful it took me where it did.

*I received an ARC from the publisher via netgalley

I wanted to love this book, partially because I've been a fan of Hanif Kureishi's work in the past, and this book was compared to his works - but also because the plot seemed so vibrant. Though the writing has humor to it, and the plot wasn't bad at all, it never quite grabbed me fully. Liked but not loved.

I started reading this but I don't think I was in the right frame of mind for the heaviness of the beginning of this book. I liked Masood's first book which is why I applied for this one but just couldn't wrap my mind around this one currently. The beginning paints a very real picture of devout Muslim life as told between two different people. I assume their storylines will eventually intertwine. My heart broke for Safwa and what happened to her in Baghdad.

Anvar's father decides in 1995 that he has had enough of the fundamentalist fever gripping his country and moves his family to the US. Not everyone in his family were in favor though. While Anvar and his father thrive in their new home, his mother and his brother remain extremely devout and often critical of those who weren't like them. Still Anvar and his family lead a relatively comfortable life; on the other part of the world, Safwa and her family are trying and failing to survive in war-torn Baghdad. She and her father eventually make it to the US but not before accumulating heavy losses that forever alter their lives. When her path crosses with Anvar's, they each have something to learn from the other while also battling the bonds that hold them back.

I know my summary is extremely vague but there's so much about this book I cannot give away. Before I go into that, I will say that the cover of this book does not do it justice. I was expecting a hilarious rom-com. Yes, half the book is funny but the other half will make you weep and hold your loved ones close. There is romance but it is not even front and center of the story. It is so far from a boy-meets-girl as that cover may lead you to believe.

The Bad Muslim Discount alternates between Anvar and Azza's POV. Although the novel is entirely in third person, the two perspectives also reflect their very different personalities and experiences very well. Anvar jokes a lot, sometimes at other people's expense. As a result, he is often in situations that he needs to dig himself out of. Safwa, on the other hand, has seen so much tragedy that I often had to put aside the book at the end of her chapters. The kind of decisions she had to make even before she hit the double-digit age made me cry for little kids everywhere who don't have anyone looking out for them - no child should ever have to make those decisions. You can feel the weight of that in her every action as she grows older.

It will be hard to read, but I promise the book still pulled me in. In some ways, Anvar's sarcasm and humor makes it easier to stomach.

The war is what leads both families to make certain decisions but you can see how it has barely touched one family and hardly left the other one alone. It is to the author's credit that this is portrayed very well. Through it all, I thought that the Muslim communities were represented well. There is so much about faith without it really being about faith. Who is a good Muslim? Does that even matter? Depends on who you ask. On the one hand, there is Anvar who is by his and others' definitions, a bad Muslim, and then there is his brother Aamir, the model Muslim. Along with parental doctrines of religion come theirs and societal expectations of what thou shalt and shalt not do. Both Anvar and Safwa struggle to fit in the molds designed for them, and it is in some ways their reluctance to follow the path laid out for them that brings them together and helps fight their demons. For Safwa, this is her father and for Anwar, his feelings for his old flame.

This is not to say that I loved it without a fault. I was disappointed in how the women in this book were portrayed. There is certainly a lot of sexism, which unfortunately is not unusual for either Iraq or Pakistan (or almost every country in the world, for that matter), so you need to know this going in and also realize that real women from many of these countries are often treated as property. However, the sexist attitudes (whether it is limiting women's freedom or glorifying their sex appeal) are kept unresolved and treated as matter-of-fact, and so I felt we lost an opportunity here to show how better attitudes could prevail.

One thing that I enjoyed tremendously in this book is how it is structured like a checkers game. Anvar and his grandmother are huge fans and the chapters in the book are organized as an homage to the game. There's a whole section that reads like a fast paced game. All this made the geek in me extremely happy.

All in all, this wasn't perfect but it was good and I very much appreciated the fast pace and how there was never a boring moment in the story.