Aamna Qureshi

4.5 Stars

This book is currently only available (or will be as of June 17, 2024) in the UK and Canada. I don't know if/when the publishers will release it in America.

A Pakistani retelling of the classic book Emma by Jane Austen.

After spending a little time with this book, I found myself dying to rewatch Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam! This book was a very close copy of that movie but with Pakistani players and a bit more modern background.

It was a bit difficult for me to actually like Humaira Mirza (Emma), for she was, as she admitted, a spoiled rich girl who had everything she ever needed. But once the story got rolling, Humaira kind of grew on me. However, it's not enough to give this a full 5-star review. Fawad Sheikh as George Knightley (Emma) was perfect in the author's retelling.

This book was amusing, clever, and emotionally satisfying. It was a fast read and would be perfect for your summer vacation.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter, the author, and NetGalley.… (altro)

So, there are things I'd like improved in the prose. Mostly I found the point of view wobbly: it definitely needed to be flexible, as the prologue needed to be a bit outside of the main character and the rest of the book needed to be very much inside her until very near the end, but it was hard to know whose thoughts we were listening in on at the beginning, and even throughout I wasn't always clear whether it was the main character who was self-aware about her spoiled nature and need to be worshipped, or if that was an omniscient narrator's commentary.

But I really appreciated the different cultural setting putting a different lens on the YA themes here. And I loved the ending - both despite the fact and especially because I think I know what the author's doing with it. It's a similar dilemma to the one she poses the reader: if I'm right, I'll probably enjoy the promised sequel less; but if I'm wrong, I'll feel disappointed in this one. I may choose to remain in blissful suspense, but strongly suspect that those who enjoy YA themes will be safe to continue.… (altro)