“Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic” — Alex Haley

(this book was also released in some places as When Michael Met Mina)

“I’m starting to realize that being born into this social world is a little like being born into clean air. You take it in as soon as you breathe, and pretty soon you don’t even realize that while you can walk around with clear lungs, other people are wearing oxygen masks just to survive.”

This is a boy meets girl, YA novel. In this instance, the boy is an Australian white kid who has inhaled his parents’ racism without a second thought. The girl watched her family die in Afghanistan, then escaped to Australia and has recently entered the boy’s school on a scholarship. Cultures clash — his family runs a protest group based solely on keeping people who “don’t conform” out of Australia, her family is running an ethnic restaurant — but they fall in love and well, you know the rest.

It’s a story that’s been told before, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be told again. Abdel-Fattah’s writing is beautiful, and I absolutely loved the character of Mina, who’s smart and courageous but also tormented by nightmares of watching her little brother die in a detention center, as well as fully aware of the weight of expectations on her shoulders. It’s easy to see that she’s torn between doing her family (and by extension, her culture) proud, and just wanting to be a teenage girl who goes to parties and hang out with her friends. Meanwhile, Michael has been raised by racists who truly believe that they’re doing the right thing by their country, without ever questioning what he’s been taught. He’s not evil, he’s just…oblivious.

I felt two things were handled very well in this story.

1: Michael’s parents, while absolutely racist (they think anyone not white and born in Australia ought to conform to their idea of Australia — so yeah), are not evil villains. Instead, they present their views (which, by the way, also discriminate against Aboriginal peoples — fun!) in a way that…kind of makes sense. Or at least makes enough sense that you can see why their children would just accept it as fact, even if you personally know better. You can also see how their child would meet a person with any kind of life experience outside their own and think, “Oh wait — my parents are asses to not treat all people like…people”.

2. I loved how Abdel-Fattah presented Michael’s younger brother. He’s obsessed with planes, takes a lot of what people say very literally and exhibits little to no filter when talking to people. Yet a no point are we given a speech along the lines of “[I can’t remember the kid’s name — Nathan] has been diagnosed with blah blah blah”. He’s just a kid and this is how he interacts with people and here ya go.