Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This is a difficult review to write. I feel like this book had SO much potential…it just wasn’t executed well.

To begin, I loved the representation in this book. I think that A LOT of young people out there will feel seen by these characters/this family! I also liked the main character, Mafi. She seems like a typical teenage girl with her crush on/obsession with Jalen, problems with friends, and trying to figure out her place in her world. So, super relatable characters and situations. Personally, I loved Baba. His character really came alive for me, and I felt like I intimately knew him. I loved the minor details and how involved he is as a character.

Here’s what I didn’t love: the pacing of the book and the overall plot. I actually couldn’t tell you what the overall plot of the book was. I’m not entirely sure. It’s supposed to be Mafi serving justice but that barely happened…and then the pacing was hard to keep up with in general. I wasn’t sure when things happened in relation to each other. One minute it was Halloween, the next it was something else, except it wasn’t but that wasn’t always clear. The writing seemed to take on a stream of consciousness style which probably contributed to my difficulty in keeping up with the pacing. Truly, 5-6 chapters would pass by and everything that had happened was all within 10 minutes. If it sounds confusing, it’s because I was confused.

So, this book was okay. This is an eARC, so it’s possible it felt like an early draft of this book because it was an early draft. I am curious to see the finished product! I have a good feeling about the author, so I am planning on keeping up with her.

Thank you PenguinTeen and NetGalley for this eARC.

My Views - The book is about 16 years old Mafi Shahin, an Afghan-American girl in her sophomore year. She has many secrets to hide and the most dangerous one is that she seeks revenge for those who aren't able to do it themselves under the name Ghost of Santa Margarita High. She has a strict Afghan father who always keeps one eye on his children for their safety and tells them to blend with the Americans and hide their ancestry. Mafi also has an older brother, Rafi who is a high school basketball player and Mafi has a high crush on her brother's friend, Jalen. She was always on the invisible side until this year when she accidentally exposes her family secrets, putting her family back in Afghanistan in danger.

The book is not just about the teen life crisis or identity crisis, it is also about standing for what is right, family issues, mental health. This book tells more about the Afghan community and their crisis.

I love how the author has given a strong voice to the protagonist character. Her life is messy, her decisions are sometimes flawed but she is not afraid to stand for what she feels is right.

The book has a very interesting plot with authentic characters. The writing style is also quite funny. It is a great coming of age book.

This was a pleasant surprise. At the start of this book I thought that it would be similar in someways to another recent read, Ride or Die [ my review here ]. Mostly because in both books we are introduced to main characters that we are told do things that might be a little risky.

We're introduced to Mafi as the school's ghost, a person that is known to get revenge on those that have been done wrong and who Mafi believes to be telling the truth. In getting this revenge she might do things that are a little impulsive, but it's never the less fun in some capacity. It's something that I could get behind, and I fully expected the book to be full of Mafi going on these missions precipitated by the notes left for her.

What I got instead is something more akin to a traditional contemporary book. The element of Mafi getting vengeance was still there of course, but so was a well crafted romance between Mafi and her brother's former friend and teammate, a new friendship with a classmate, a complicated family story that really managed to take center stage while never feeling like it was taking time away from any of the other developments happening.

I started off feeling as though I fully understood everything that was going to happen. As I started to read I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Mafi and her world opened up in a way that was a joy to read about, even when things started to get. more complicated for her and things weren't going at all in her direction.

This feels like one of the books that has slipped through the cracks, a truly underrated gem that I think a lot of readers would get something out of and I hope that young readers in particular do eventually manage to get their hands on it because I think it is most definitely a story worth experiencing for yourself.

I enjoyed Free Radicals and feel it will be an important story for many to pick up. This book covers tough topics such as bullying, racisim, threats, etc but also teaches you to embrace yourself and learn to love who you are. You see how everyone has their own version of their self and how they identify throughout this story.

2.5 stars.

i am ... not quite sure what to say. i hate giving ownvoices books low ratings but this book was so confusing and scattered, and i seriously considered dnfing at multiple points. the one (1) thing i enjoyed throughout this book was mafi's relationship with her brother, rafi. they both want to protect each other while also hating each other, and i don't have siblings but they felt so real. now, for why did i not like this book:

(short answer version)
plot: nonexistent
the romance: a little gross
pacing: killed the potential of this book

(long answer version)
plot:
the synopsis of this book makes it seem like mafi being the "ghost" will be a much bigger thing than it actually is. in reality, mafi does two (2) ghost missions across the whole book, and only the second one has actual consequences, which are resolved almost immediately and have no relation to the rest of the story. so since her being the ghost isn't the plot, what is? i still have no idea. this book has multiple moving parts: jalen and mafi's romantic relationship, mafi's straining relationship with her siblings, her relatives in afghanistan trying to escape. but the book doesn't weave them together in any meaningful way. all the events seem to just happen, and don't really impact one another until the very end of the book, when something *rafi* does endangers their family. the synopsis makes it seem like mafi's the actor here, but that's not true; mafi mainly just reacts to what other people do, which doesn't make for a very interesting main character. the only thing she actually does is gush about jalen and how much she wants to date him which, fair enough, she's a sophomore. but that takes me into...

the romance:
right off the bat, jalen is a senior and mafi is a sophomore. this might be a me thing, but i really hate that. sure it's only two years, but in high school that gap is *wide.* that aside, their relationship was kind of sweet, except that it developed out of nowhere. towards the end of the book we kind of get a reasoning for that, but it's so shoehorned and doen't get any time to breathe before the book moves on. jalen's character was actually really touching sometimes, but other times i was so confused on why he acted the way he did and why mafi even liked him.

pacing;
i mentioned that jalen reveals something at the end of the book that gets brushed over, and that happened multiple times throughout the book. there would be something really important or impactful that was revealed, or a scene that actually made my heart hurt, but then the character would all just move on or the scene would abruptly end. it was really jarring and really took me out of the book because the characters just... didn't react like people, they reacted like characters in a book. there was potential for hard-hitting moments, but they weren't given time to properly develop, so they fell flat.

there's more that i disliked about this book, but i think the three elements i described sum up most of my thoughts.

This book packed an incredible emotional punch. This book was so fast paced and full of plot that I was not given a chance to breathe in the story but in the best way possible. I loved this multicultural story and can't wait to read more from Lila Riesen!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦
𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 .”

Free Radicals by @lilariesen

As soon as I found out that this book has an Afghan representation, I was immediately drawn into it. So I signed up for this gorgeous book in a book tour hosted by @coloredpagesblogtours . Thank you so much for approving this book.

This book follows Mafi Shahin, an afghan- american girl with a lot of her experiences as a sophomore student and as a daughter in a family who she has no idea about their background in Afghanistan.

The first chapters did amazed me as it talks about what is radical and what it means to be a person with the label "free radical". As the plot expands, the romance story—which is something I wasn't really hoping to happen—becomes more in-depth. I was thinking, "I need to know more about what's happening in Afghanistan and what it's really like for Afghans to live in America." However, I didn't give up easily, and I finally found what I seek in the end. The family issues and the friends' drama were brilliantly portrayed. I also like how the characters had grown so much better.

I loved this book no matter what, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary fiction with multicultural interests.

“𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵
𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.”
“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”

3.5 stars! Free Radicals is a coming-of-age story that follows an Afghan American teen, Mafi Shahin, as she learns more about her family and culture, tries to move forward from past bullying experiences, gets closer to her crush, and figures out firsthand what's right and wrong. The premise of the book is interesting and you'll find that there's never a dull moment. The characters feel authentic because much like real life, their actions and decisions are messy and imperfect. This book brings up many important topics of discussion and reflection, and as it is debut novel, I look forward to what Lila Riesen will write next.

TW: Bullying, Drug use, Family issues/Parenting, Mental health/Mental illness, Military themes
Racism, Sexism/Misogyny/Toxic Masculinity, Sexual assault (referenced), Sexual content (mild/moderate), Violence (mild) and Xenophobia

"We deserve to know when where we come from-who we are!"

Free Radicals is an powerful coming of age debut novel that packs an emotional punch. It's about an Afghan American teen named Mafi Shahin. Her father is constantly telling her to hide her Afghan ancestry. Mafi has an older brother named Rafi who plays on the high school basketball team. She has a crush on her brother's friend, Jalen. Mafi is targeted with vicious untrue rumors, she seeks revenge under the name Ghost of Santa Margarita High (A student who employs revenge on people).

It's about family, identity in the United States, our fears, threats and racism which causes people to live in the shadows. It highlights the Afghan community right in the middle of one of their crisis, another about misogyny and how rumors can destroy you. We must stand up for our identities. Free Radicals is an important book that everyone should read.

Thanks to Colored Pages Blog tours and Penguin teen for the book and a chance to review this debut novel.

I just loved this book so much. I adored the concept of this one and I loved the message of it so much. I loved how the book made it clear that fighting for your truth is always better than suffering in silence. I loved how this message was so integral to the book and how it was shown in every scene of the book.

This was an absolutely brillant reading experience for me and I absolutely adored the message and the story of this book. Every little detail in this book was just masterfully crafted in a way that everyone came together in the most satisfying way possible. Reading this book just felt like such a powerful reading experience.

Free Radicals is a story that balances this idea of justice with transparency. On one hand it's a story about Ghost and Mafi as she enacts justice on her classmates. While she's happy to help right the scales, especially after she was targeted with vicious untrue rumors, but she's itching to do more. On the other hand, Free Radicals is a story about identity and family. About our fears, the threats, and racism which causes us to live in the shadows.

What starts off a story about Ghost becomes a story about the intricacies of family, identity in the United States, and our future. The ways in which her father, father, and brother all relate to their identity in different ways. But which, are all at its core, related to the ways we are perceived, safety, and our past.

thank you so much to penguin teen and colored pages blog tours for gifting me an early copy in exchange for an honest review!!

i have no idea what was i expecting from this book, but it was not this. a conversation about Afghans right in the middle of one of their crisis, another about mysoginy and how rumors can destroy you, the importance of a legacy and feeling that you have a home somewhere... my heart broke every time i learned something new about this family. and i could get myself in Mafi's shoes: it's the typical time in your life that you would do anything for a boy, just like Taylor Swift said: "for you i would ruin myself a million times." i loved the concept of the title and how it translated to little details in Mafi's life. it felt real in the reaccions, the thoughts and actions, driven by the desire of being unseen but seen at the same time. also, Brit is my fave character, i started shipping her and Mafi at some point because of their interactions but i loooved how their friendship developed and i loved their scenes together. and the ending... i was starting to think the author had decided to use the question "what is the worst thing that can happen?" a lot of times and i was genuinly scared for everyone 😱
this is a very important book, specially for Afghans. i really hope it was a good representation because i truly enjoyed those hystorical pieces that we got from time to time. a good contemporary, totally necesary, if you ask me 💞

DNF at Page 216

I'm so sad to be giving up on this one because when it started, I was fully invested. I wanted to know so much. I was actually invested in the story of Mafi and her family. Sadly, this investment didn't last.

I think this is due to Mafi being both bland and unlikeable. Even though I just put this book down, I can't describe her in any depth. She was defined by her infatuation with Jalen (I'll get to this later), and because that was so shallow, she came off as shallow. Because she had no friends and no hobbies, she was an incredibly boring character to read about. Nothing about her was interesting or new.

As for Jalen, I'm not sure what's going on there. Honestly, I don't care. He's also bland. I didn't get Mafi's love for him, because he kinda creeped me out. I'm hoping that the rest of this book removes him as a love interest, but I won't be continuing to find out.

Even Mafi's Ghosting hobby thing was weird. Partly because it is apparently such a large thing she's doing yet we see almost none of it. And what she does do is pathetic. (view spoiler)

The one bit of this I actyally liked was Baba, but his endearing presence was entirely overshadowed by the irritation everyone else caused. I wanted to love this one because I was on a tour for it, but it fell way short.

Colored Pages Book Tours provided a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Mafi is in her sophomore year of high school, and she’s got a lot going on. She’s half Afghan and half white, and her Afghan dad sort of renounces his culture and embraces Americanism. Which is difficult when HIS dad, Mafi’s Baba, who lives with the family, is very in tune with Afghan culture. She hates her brother’s girlfriend, is annoyed by her brother and sister, and has a crush on her brother’s childhood friend Jalen. She has no friends after an incident at a party the year prior. She’s also the Ghost, an anonymous student who employs revenge on people.

This book follows Mafi throughout her year as she makes a new friend, does the things she thinks are right, and gets closer to her crush (and eventually her siblings). The family drama is intense: her parents don’t like each other anymore, her Baba is getting increasingly forgetful, and her Baba’s brother is meant to be in contact once they’ve escaped Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and they haven’t heard from him.

The writing is really funny and all the side characters are so fleshed out. None of the topics ever feel too heavy - partially due to the fact that Mafi, as she comes to find out, has problems with over-compartmentalizing her personal issues and just kind of pretends they don’t exist. relatable

I really liked learning more about Afghanistan, the US’s military presence there, then the sudden lack thereof, and the consequences it had on the country. Especially from Mafi’s point of view as someone who is only half Afghan and doesn’t feel that she deserves the connection to the country as much as other more “authentic” Afghans.

Definitely worth a read if you like coming of age stories, inclusivity, and messy (but lovable) protagonists 🥹

Thank you, partners @lilariesen @penguinteen and @coloredpagesblogtours for my complementary advance electronic copy

Mafi Shahin is sixteen and has a secret--well, actually several. Her dad is constantly telling her to hide her Afghan ancestry and just fit in, because it's safer that way. She's also got a secret crush on her brother's friend Jalen--he's a high school basketball star, and why would he want to date her anyway? But the biggest secret of all is that she's a vigilante, meting out revenge and justice under the name as the Ghost of Santa Margarita High. But as her secrets become lies and the lies become entangled, she starts compromising more than her own conscience--she's now putting her family in Afghanistan at risk. So how does she stand up for what's right when so much is at stake?

What a strong voice Riesen has created! I felt the tension and the power and the chaos roiling within teenage Mafi, a potent mix is something essentially adolescent. Teens can feel pumped up on hormones and out of control, and that's the energy this book is infused with. Plus, teenagers are mean. All people are mean. And vigilantes are, almost by definition, flawed heroes. As centered as Mafi is on revenge she sometimes forgets justice. She's struggling with family tension, school stress, bullies, sex, reputation, and rumors. The story was alive with everyone rushing around, making bad decisions and hurting each other just like the free radicals in the body. I also appreciated that Riesen was so good at capturing dialect and accent, which also helped the story come alive. It was so alive that when it ended, I felt like everything wrapped up too quickly and everyone was strangely content in the end, even though we've been watching them all striving for so long. It made me wonder if there is a sequel coming? This was well-written and palpably real, and I recommend it for its good writing, for its authentic perspective, and for bringing a beautiful refugee/immigrant perspective to popular culture.

#FreeRadicals #NetGalley #FreeRadicalsbooktour #coloredpagestours #partner

We need more Afghan-American stories in literature in general; I'm so glad to see a book like Lila Riesen's FREE RADICALS in young adult fiction. It's a perspective I haven't read much of at all and hope to read more. Where I struggled with this story was Mafi's treatment of her brother's girlfriend, referring to the girlfriend as "It" and seemingly shaming her for having sex. This began in the earliest pages of the book, which made it hard to care about Mafi's story at all. Unlikeable characters are great, but there was something about Mafi that just didn't work.

I have a complicated relationship with this book. At first, I thought it was lackluster and dry because a large chunk of the book was just Mafi pining for Jalen. Also, I don't like how their dad just dumped everything on them at the end. I understand that it was the climax but logically if he told the kids from the beginning a lot of the conflict wouldn't have happened. I do understand why she wrote it like this though especially because keeping things to oneself is very common in Asian Culture. Another issue I have with this book is that excluding the end of the book the main character's Afghan heritage felt sparsely mentioned at most everything was just dumped at the end. When their father dumped all that information on them my jaw literally dropped. It broke my heart because though this is just a book in my eyes this is the reality for many Afghans, poor Baba.

I loved Baba with my whole heart. His dementia related accidents broke my heart because he was just so sweet to all of his grandkids and was just so fun throughout the whole book. At first, I REALLY didn't like Mafi but as I continued to read the book, I realized that the two of us are quite similar. She allowed me to do some reflecting on myself. One thing I can't get past is the fact that Jalen used Mafi to get back at her brother and Mafi didn't consider this a HUGE red flag. It doesn't matter if they ended up together at the end that is still so wrong and it's just weird.

Overall, I am happy that we got an Afghan American as a main character, but I can't overlook all of my dislikes for the book.

An interesting discussion on Immigrant life and the “American Dream” and what it means in a post-911 world. I liked the way they introduced the family, how Americans look at people with brown skin. It took a little too long to introduce some of these things within the first third of the book, but overall a satisfying and introspective look at immigrant families and diverse living.