Sometimes, we just want to read something light that also aligns with our Islamic beliefs. If that’s what you’re looking for, here are four YA romance books currently available on Scribd (UK) that portray Muslim characters in the West doing their best to live their lives according to Islam with a dash (or a heap) of romance thrown in!

There are other books on Scribd that could potentially be added to this list, but since I haven’t read them I can’t be sure that they qualify.

That Can Be Arranged

by Huda Fahmy

A graphic novel that follows the author’s journey to decide what she wants from marriage and find a person who fits! Read my review here.

Blurb:

Chaperones, suitors, and arranged marriages aren’t only reserved for the heroines of a Jane Austen novel. They’re just another walk in the park for this leading lady, who is on a mission to find her leading lad. From the brilliant comics Yes, I’m Hot in This, Huda Fahmy tells the hilarious story of how she met and married her husband. Navigating mismatched suitors, gossiping aunties, and societal expectations for Muslim women, That Can Be Arranged deftly and hilariously reveals to readers what it can be like to find a husband as an observant Muslim woman in the twenty-first century.

So relevant in today’s evolving cultural climate, Fahmy’s story offers a perceptive and personal glimpse into the sometimes sticky but ultimately rewarding balance of independent choice and tradition.

She Wore Red Trainers

by Na’ima B. Robert

I read this book in one sitting, eyes streaming at 2am, determined to find out what happens at the end!

Blurb:

When Ali first meets Amirah, he notices everything about her — her hijab, her long eyelashes and her red trainers — in the time it takes to have one look, before lowering his gaze. And, although Ali is still coming to terms with the loss of his mother and exploring his identity as a Muslim, and although Amirah has sworn never to get married, they can’t stop thinking about each other. Can Ali and Amirah ever have a halal “happily ever after”?

If I Should Speak

by Umm Zakiyyah

Published in 2001, this book was written and published a good while before any of the others on this list and before the genre became relatively normal in Western Muslim literature. I read it in my teens and it was the first experience I had of reading a romance novel featuring Muslim characters based in the West and who were dedicated to their faith. I discussed it briefly in this episode of the podcast.

This book is part of a trilogy and parts 2 and 3 are also available on Scribd: A Voice and Footsteps.

Blurb:

After a fight with her roommate, Tamika is forced to move out of her room and finds herself living with Dee and Aminah, two Muslims on opposite ends of their commitment to Islam. Tamika is immediately drawn to Dee, who shares her love for singing and her frustration with an overly religious, unsupportive mother. Captivated by Dee’s magnetic personality and powerful singing voice, Tamika has found both a friend and mentor in life. As the seeds of friendship are sown between them, the doors of fame are beginning to open for Tamika. But a religion class assignment incites spiritual turmoil, and Tamika is unprepared for the one obstacle that stands in her way to success…

Love from A to Z

by S.K. Ali

This book is perhaps the most traditional in its alignment with romantic YA style combined with refreshing Islamic conviction. I’ve reviewed it here and discussed it in this episode of the podcast.

This book is available as an ebook and audiobook on Scribd. Two other YA novels by the author, Saints and Misfits and Misfits in Love, are also available on Scribd as ebooks.

Blurb:

A marvel: something you find amazing. Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom used to make together.

An oddity: whatever gives you pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims are.

But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.

When she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.

Fueled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.

Then her path crosses with Adam’s.

Since he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things. Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.

Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.

Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.

Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…

Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.