Boy vs Girl–the power of faith to change one’s life

Part thriller and part social-issues novel, Boy vs. Girl by Na’ima B. Robert–set in Great Britain among a Muslim immigrant family–explores the power of  personal faith to transform’s your life, even when the stakes may cost you your physical life.

Farhana has decided to take her faith seriously during this Ramadan season, even though it means giving up the boy she loves. Her twin Faraz, likewise, has decided to give up the gang life in order to pursue his faith in Islam. Farhana finds that her family opposes her decision to wear a head scarf, while Faraz discovers that the drug gang is unwilling to let him go easily. Opposing ideas swirl in the atmosphere as Farhana and Faraz learn the difference between internal faith and external symbols of faith, decide to choose faith over family,  and become willing to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs.

I appreciated Robert’s willingness to let Farhana and Faraz express unpopular sentiments, given the modern secular attitude toward Islam in the United States and Great Britain, as well as the real struggle the twins experience in deciding to choose faith over friends and belief over popularity. It’s a decision many teens face, though not all of them in an Islamic context. I also appreciated the way Robert plunges us into the world of Muslim immigrants in Great Britain–a world that is steeped in family values, a world where families often experience wrenching poverty, and a world of neighborhoods that struggle to define themselves apart from the pervasive violence associated with the gangs that use those neighborhoods as their home bases. This is a great book to introduce kids to Islam, immigration, and the realities of gang violence.