Title: Yes No Maybe So
Author: Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed
Rating: ★★★★
Synopsis: YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.
NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.
MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.
Huge thank you to Harper Collins Canada for this ARC!
Sam’s Review:
I love me a cute and unlikely romance. I am not a huge romance reader per say, but I have enjoyed many stories by Becky Albertalli, though this book was my first real foray into Aisha Saeed’s works.
Yes No Maybe So is a book about voting, societal values, and political action. The friendship turned romance in this story is definitely one readers will root for. Jamie and Maya’s friendship is chockful of fun, humour, and it’s completely genuine from start to finish. While Jamie and Maya spend time going door-to-door to canvass in an upcoming election, both characters find commonality in their backgrounds — Jamie being Jewish, and Maya being Muslim.
What I loved about this story is how genuine both perspectives in the story feel. I feel like readers could easily be friends with either Jamie or Maya, and I feel like they are real people and more than just fictional characters. With this story being politically charged, it offers readers a glimpse into looking at issues of racism, prejudice, and even just how broken the American voting system is. I will say, I loved Maya’s chapters over Jamie’s, but I think it’s because Maya is a bit more closed off and the reader has to work a bit harder to feel like they know her. Saeed does an amazing job of making Maya into this onion who needs each layer to be peeled back until you get to her very kind core.
I think most readers will definitely enjoy Yes No Maybe So. It’s just such a fun story, and I think it handles the political elements very well to readers who may be unfamiliar. This book also makes me want to check out more by Aisha Saeed, as a feel like I’ve now discovered a new author to enjoy. Yes No Maybe So is charming, entertaining, and it will pull your heartstrings in such a wonderful, if predictable way.