A compelling story written from the perspective of three young Black Muslim women that are grieving the loss of their friend. We get to know them and how they practice their religion, showing us that there's different ways to practice. Because we have three main characters, we also get introduced to a lot of side characters as they have an involved community. I'd rather we focused on a smaller circle because I do feel like sometimes emotions got lost in the sauce. I appreciated the difference in how the grieve would show up with different characters, the manners in which the characters navigated mending relationships and healing felt realistic. A lovely story about love, loss and community.

I don't know where to start with this review aside from reiterating how strong of a debut novel this is. There isn't anything like this book on the market and everything about it is one of one. I loved the way Ambata Kazi wrote about New Orleans as a character in and of itself as a town bursting with tragedy and triumph, history and mystery as well as a rich and varied populace, one group in particularly that hasn't received the visibility they deserve - Black Muslims who as one character in the novel affirmed have been there since the very beginning of everything African-American.

I loved the characters, the writing style, the way it ended, everything about this novel was truly well-done. I wish I could offer more articulate words but now I just finished it 20 minutes ago and I'm in the awe-inspired stage where everything about it has me feeling all sorts of feelings. Thank you to She Writes Press, Ambata Kazi and NetGalley giving me the chance to read an early copy of this amazing novel.

5 ⭐️ !!!!

Far away from here is a book that explores grief, loss and its effects on loved ones. It’s a coming of age novel of sorts that explores finding yourself and overcoming adversities.

The books features black Muslim characters and as a black Muslim this was a welcomed read. I enjoyed the book immensely. Ambata aims to weave the complexities of being a black Muslim youth. Each character struggles differently when it comes to aspects of their faith. At the end of the book each character has developed in different ways and embraced aspects of the religion whole heartedly.

Unfortunately, I think when it comes to certain aspects of Islam the author fails to highlight implications of certain actions of even the fact that those actions are completely forbidden. Whilst no Muslim is perfect and highlighting the struggles we face is important, it is also important that the undertone should indicate that it is not acceptable.


Spoiler Alert

An example of this happening is when Fatima is struggling with being in a relationship with this man and he essentially disrespects Islam. However, I failed to understand why he was even an option when he’s not a Muslim. She can’t marry him at all. And even when she has a conversation with her mum the direction of the conversation was weird. Her cousin has 2 kids out of wed lock with a non Muslim man, and her only issue is that she had children with him when he isn’t even a marriage kind of man. I was very confused because it’s not like she can marry him anyways. I hope you can understand where I’m coming from.

I appreciate the author highlighting struggles of the black Muslim youth, however it’s inevitable that the audience of her book come from all works of life so things like this shouldn’t be vague and very clear.

Nonetheless, I still immensely enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from the author. A solid 3.5 stars only because of my reservations.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc copy of this book.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in August. This story was captivating. It took me a little bit to get it into but once I was in I was hooked. I could visualise the elders, the stories. I cried with the mcs. This story was absolutely captivating. Some of the sentences were so poetic.

This was a good example of writing about what you know for your debut and expanding on it. A distinct group but relatable outlook that made me feel like a welcomed guest into the author’s culture. The POVs effortlessly flowed from one another while seamlessly incorporating background info and background characters. There was a certain air of self-loathing from each of the main characters for different reasons–Fatima’s purpose, Tahani’s self-worth, Saif’s dual existence–that kept me engaged. Love and loss made them seem older. The synopsis was accurate, but the depth and relatability of the material that explored community and familial wounds was so much more and had me in my feelings at times before coming full circle.

Thank you to NetGalley and SparkPress for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Due to triggering content and dark themes, I am going to hold off on this one for now. I am grateful for the feedback provided by prior reviews giving readers a heads up about what to expect here, as sensitive readers who struggle with PTSD, anxiety, trauma, etc, may be impacted without prior triggers.

That being said, everything about this book looks phenomenal. The cover looks amazing. The synopsis looks intriguing. I want to purchase this for my shelf once I have the funds to do so, as I want to own this book forever. I also need to make sure I am in the proper headspace to enjoy and fully take in this story as intended. Because of that, I need to hold off on reading this one.

I am leaving a 5 star rating as I do not feel I have enough details to properly rate this book, but I am going to add it to my wishlist and purchase once able! Thank you for the opportunity to read this eARC! I appreciate the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily.

I was drawn to this book based on the description.

I have to.say it surpassed my expectations. This story follows the three friends as they navigate with their pasts and try to crave out a future for themselves. This book explores so many different themes such adverse childhood experience, sense of loss of identity, lack of love, parental.imprisonment, poor connections with step parents, favouritism between step children/biology children, difference in parenting girls vs boys, movement from nation to Islam.

I have never read a book which had such a strong Muslim theme running throughout it. This book is beautifully written, with so many gems of wisdom which stems from a faith in god. This book brought me to tear, made me laugh out loud and had he reflecting for hours. I loved how many Muslim principles were explained as this gave me greater.understanding of the Muslim faith and I was able to draw comparison in my Christian faith.

Thank you writing this book and allowing me access to read.

Incredible storytelling in this debut novel by Ambata Kazi centering the voices of Black Muslim women in America. Kazi allows the reader to enter into this world of tremendous and gentle faith, and tackles the topics of grief, forgiveness, faith, race, with sensitivity but also empowerment. I’m was blown away by the delicate prose and how the Kazi viscerally drew us into the sights, smells, and emotions of this resilient New Orleans community.
This novel follows our broken yet evolving protagonists, Fatima, Tahani, and Saif, in the aftermath of a friend’s death, and how these unlikely and complicated childhood friendships are grow in their respective journeys of adulthood. Kazi doesn’t shy away from sensitive topics, and truly weaves an intricate narrative that uplifts the historically underrepresented Black Muslim community. While I felt like the resolution felt a bit rushed, I know that this will be a story that stays with me for a long time.

A favorite quote: “Well, only you can answer that, baby, but I’ll tell you what I know. Your faith can wax and wane like the moon, turn from gush to tiny trickle and everything in between. That’s normal in life. The person you share your life with, you want them to be there holding you up through all the phases.”

I was honestly so bored during most of this book and wanted to DNF multiple times. it usually takes me only a day or two to finish a 400 page book. This one took me almost a week to finish. I love that it was set in my hometown and that it's written about an underappreciated demographic. The cover is beautiful and i appreciate the way the story is broken down into three characters and three parts but everything else about the book bored me.

I received an ARC via net galley for Far Away from Here.

A book on Black Muslim young folks post Katrina, this book is truly unique and fills a gap in our current fiction literature.

Even though my lived experiences are different than Fatima, Saif, and Tahani’s, they were relatable characters trying their best amidst trauma. I appreciated reading how they each practiced their faith and that faith doesn’t have to look one way. I also appreciate how we get to know their dreams and their strengths, their lives are a commentary on the systemic challenges of social mobility with being multiply marginalized in our world.

I think that some of this might be missed by a reader who doesn’t know much about Islam. There were things I needed to look up for explanation, which doesn’t bother me, but night give some readers trouble.

For me it would have helped to have more defined chapters and with three main characters, it would have helped to have person first chapters to fully capture more emotions and experiences. I had a hard time keeping up with all the additional family members/community members, but I guess this comes with the territory of having three main characters.

The author does a great job of capturing the enclave our main characters exist in. Lots of detail that tells me the author is intimately connected to this community.

3/5⭐️ for me