Definitely an auto buy author for me now 👏 I loved this story so much & the characters just had my heart the whole time.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's for approving me for this ARC. I absolutely love both authors so I was very excited to read this, but unfortunately, this was a bit of a bust for me. Even though it was a bit of a bust, I was still hooked and read it in a day, which is rare, but it is such a quick and easy read, and I didn't want to put it down. Ex best friends, Tiwa and Said work together to save their Islamic Center from being demolished. Tiwa and Said were best friends for years until Said goes off to a board school and the two eventually stop talking. They both have no idea why the other hates them, but it ends up making them sworn enemies. When Said unexpectedly stays for the summer, Tiwa acts like he doesn't exist, until they both have to end up taking care of a cat, save the Islamic Center, and have Eid celebrations together, Will their efforts of working together save their friendship?

The book literally says "Let’s get one thing straight: this is a love story," but I don't feel that way. They don't end up getting together until the last few pages of the book, so I don't see how this was a love story. It felt more like a found family/friendship type of story than a romance story. The miscommunication trope is TERRIBLE. It was the main reason why I rated this three stars rather than anything higher. The fact that Said's sister is the main reason why Tiwa and Said had a falling out was inexcusable. I understand where the sister was coming from, but no one should ever control someone else's life.

Other than that, I did enjoy the story itself. I love the sense of family themes throughout the book. You can tell they truly love their culture and how much they embrace it. I personally am not Muslim, so I can't comment on that part of the story, but I love peeking into different cultures in books. It makes you realize that family and friendships are important in life.

This was such a cute book! Said and Tiwa are two interesting and fallible characters, whose big hearts make you love them right off the bat. The drama with the town demolishing the Islamic Center makes the reader invested right away, and you're reading quickly to try to figure out what's going to end up happening. The way that the story flashes back to the Eids of the past to show you the damage that's been done to their friendship means that you're learning more throughout the entire book, and you become even more invested in their relationship. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romance, stories about overcoming challenges, and those who are looking to read more diverse books. I'm presenting this book for a committee at work, and I'm really looking forward to it. Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for this ARC!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Four Eids and a Funeral tells the story of Said and Tiwa who used to be best friends but then Said went to boarding school and they stopped talking. When their favorite librarian passes away, Said comes home and during the funeral procceedings the Islamic center catches on fire. Tiwa and Said are forced to work together to save the Islamic center. To save their friendship, the Islamic center and community Tiwa and Said must find out what happened to their relationship and repair it to move forward.

I'm not a rom-com girlie, but I loved Faridah Abike-Iyimide's previous work, so I decided to give Four Eids and a Funeral a shot. And I'm glad I did. This book was a lot of fun. I loved the main characters and the chemistry they had between them. And the prose was wonderfully written, as I expected.

Usually YA books with romance have to keep reminding you that they're more than a romance book. Four Eids and a Funeral has to multiple time reminds you that it's a love. It's about the love of family, the love of friends, the love of community, the love of cats, the love of cookies, the love of murals, and the love of Said and Tiwa. As an ELA teacher, I enjoyed all of the nods to Shakespeare. I'm often not a fan of dual perspectives in books, but this was a text where it felt utilized so well and gave dimension to each of the characters.

Both Said and Tiwa care a lot about their Islamic community, and that is one of the loves that feels most central to the text. The book also does a beautiful job expressing the intersections of identities- how being Muslim is an important element of identity for each of the character, but that is not the only thing that makes them who they are (and even that shared identity doesn't necessarily present itself in the exact same with or with the same traditions and interpretations).

There's a lot of dimension to this book- there were scenes that made me laugh, and there were also parts of the book with much more of an emotional punch than I was expecting. The books depth and heart shone through consistently, and I'm so glad to have this text in my classroom library. Though it features older high school characters, the content is still appropriate for a middle school audience (though younger students might need some sort of heads up about some of the aspects of tragedy and bias).

Despite not knowing much about religious practices in Islam, this was a very relatable story and easy to follow and gain context as I read. I wasn't sure about the alternative POVs, but it worked well for this story and helped give more details as events unfolded without bogging down the reader with exposition. The plot is one readers have seen before, what with finding a way to help their community and learning more about each other in the process, but with a unique identity in normalizing their Islamic faith with suburban American values and accepting the LGBT relationships of their friend. By the end, I felt like Tiwa and Said were as familiar as some of the movies I watched in middle and high school. A wonderful read that fits right in and simultaneously stands out.

This charming YA book finds friends-turned-enemies Said and Tiwa growing close again while working together to save the Islamic center in their small town. I loved how they reconnected while working to save their culture, and how this helped with them growing and finally truly opening up to one another.

This is a great book for teens (it’s PG rated) to learn about the lives and religion of Muslims (extra props for the discussion of racism within the Islamic faith) or to see their own experiences and lives represented within a sweet romance.

An uplifting and worthwhile read (perfect for reading with your tween!).

the authors may say that this is a love story, but still this i’d say that this isn’t a romance. the story is more focused on the struggle to save the Islamic center in New Crosshaven after it burned down. even the funeral that started it all, that made it to the title, didn’t talked about much after it happened. i didn’t really enjoy the dynamics between Said and Tiwa. sometimes their banters were interesting but that’s just that. it was just okay.

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Four Eid’s and a Funeral follows Said and Tiwa, friends turned enemies a few years ago after Said transferred to a boarding school. However, when a librarian who was a mentor to both of them dies, the Islam Community Center burns down, and the mayor doesn’t plan on rebuilding it, the two former friends come together and end up mending their friendship and finding love.

This was a cute and sweet YA romance novel. Said and Tiwa were both vibrant characters and watching the two of them grow back towards each other was lovely. This would be a great book to add to any middle/high school library.

Whew, there was a lot going on in Four Eids and a Funeral: two authors, two points of view, an out-of-order timeline (with a heartbreaking reveal), so many steps in a quest to save the town's Islamic Center from being torn down...

I wanted to like it. But I just never got a sense of who these characters were and why they loved each other.

This book was a refreshing change of pace, especially after reading some heavier material. The friends-to-enemies-to-lovers storyline was exactly what I needed. It's a great read for young teens, particularly in its exploration of acceptance and the complexities of navigating friendships.

I appreciated the thoughtful commentary on the experiences of Black Muslims and how they are sometimes treated differently. The book does a good job of highlighting the racism Black Muslims face, making it an important read for young adults.

While Tiwa and Said's miscommunication could be frustrating at times, I ultimately enjoyed seeing their relationship evolve. The story was wholesome and left me with a sense of warmth.

3.5 stars rounded down

When I started this title I was pretty excited to see where Àbíké-Íyímídé would take us after the Islamic Center burns down. And honestly, while I loved being inside both of their heads, I was confused about the lack of involvement from the rest of the community, as well as the strength of miscommunication between our hero and heroine. I was along for the ride, and interested enough to finish, but it definitely felt like Àbíké-Íyímídé had a ton of great ideas, and just struggled weaving them into a story that felt real. I was rooting for them romantically, and yet it all tied up so quickly! Definitely mixed emotions with this one.

A slow burn romance of Said and Tiwa where they were friends growing up, they stopped being friends because of a miscommunication, and during a summer when they had to come back together, became more than friends. And it all started with the death of the beloved librarian.

As Said returns from boarding school and spends the summer at home, a misunderstanding is revealed that has kept the two of them away from one another but they come together when the mosque that is central to their Eid festivities as well as community events year round burns. Rather than save it and rebuild, the mayor is going to tear it down and the teenagers decide that it is not acceptable and rally around petitions and fundraising.

It's got all the hallmarks of a good YA, but it doesn't add any particular sparkle in the setting, characters, or plot however I know we'll add a copy to our library both for the romance as well as the representation.

It was fine. I appreciate the representation, but it didn't do much for me overall. It felt like it was trying to heard to touch on current topics, and so it didn't feel organic.

Thank you NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends Publishing for this ARC. I've read two other books by Faridah Abike-Iyimide and really liked them so I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately I really didn't like it.
Here are some things I did like: The cover art! It is really cute and it was one of the reasons, besides the author that inspired me to request this book. The other thing I liked was the dual pov story-telling. The narrator's voices were very easy to read.
The things that made it hard to read/finish this book were many. First, the fact that these two best friends were able to throw their friendship away on a quick to fix problem really made the story drag. Second, his sister stealing the letters really didn't make much sense. Finally, the fact that the whole responsibility of saving the muslim center falls on the two main characters (Where were all the adults?!?) was super unbelievable, As was the fact that the demolition crew is minutes from demolishing the center and Said's mural is the thing that saves it was just too much.

This book was just okay. As a lover of YA, I was overly wowed or disappointed. I would recommend if someone was new to reading YA.

Who doesn’t love a good rom-com? Reinventing Four Weddings and a Funeral, Adiba Jaigirdar and Faridah Abikelyimide wrote the sweet YA rom-com, Four Eids and a Funeral. Starting with the funeral of their beloved local librarian, both Tiwa and Said have do deal with loss, growing up, making hard choices, fighting for what’s right, and love, of course. Both characters’ individual POV were wonderfully captured with very distinct viewpoints. Once you begin reading, it’s hard not to cheer for these two!

This was so so cute! I was beyond excited to read this and I am so glad that it lived up to my expectations because I was a little nervous. I have been looking for more YA muslim novels and have loved Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé in the past so I was super ecstatic to see this book on here! I hope these two collaborate more in the future and give us more super cute novels.

An adorable love story that meets the excellence of other Adiba Jaigirbar romances. The characters felt so real, and there were enough twists and turns in this YA romance for me to constantly keep reading. This book has a lot to say about identity, family, religion, and race--and does so in a really honest and easy-to-comprehend way. Jaigirbar is a now an auto-read fo rme!