Sweet. Hilarious. Empowering. Yes No Maybe So is a gift to 2020. It is a book that inspires history changers.
Cecelia Beckman, Sheaf & Ink
The Story
It’s Jamie Goldberg and Maya Rehman’s summer before senior year. Both teens are miserable. Jamie didn’t get the summer internship because he choked (literally) during his interview and can’t seem to get over his fear of public speaking. Whereas Maya’s parents are separating, their family summer vacation plans canceled, and on top of that her best friend is leaving for college and is too busy to hang out with her.
With their schedules completely open, Jamie and Maya find themselves forced to do political canvassing in their district for the upcoming special election. Jamie isn’t looking forward to going door to door and having to speak to people and Maya’s only in it for a new car.
But as they begin their political journey together, Maya and Jamie find that going door to door isn’t that bad. And as the election draws closer, so do Maya and Jamie. It might be easy for these two to be the latest young activists making a difference, but trying to work out cross-culture relationships is perhaps even more challenging then these two could have imagined.
My Thoughts
I absolutely loved Yes No Maybe So. There are so many reasons readers should pick this book up and read it from cover to cover and do it all over again. Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed are a dream team, creating a story that is both relevant and relatable. Characters who are as awkward as they are adorable. Jamie and Maya feel like every day teens. They have the same emotions, thoughts, and problems teenagers have today. And with the added cultural background, we get a glimpse of what it means to be a Jewish and Muslim teen.
Albertalli and Saeed wrote a novel that teens can appreciate and admire while also inspiring young adults to be more actively involved on the political stage. They address real issues that we face today showing how proposed laws can have major effects on communities in a harmful way, while showing the bigotry and racism so prevalent.
Yes No Maybe So deals with topics ranging from Islamophobia and Antisemitism to coping with parents separation and changing friendships. Albertalli and Saeed poignantly and masterfully navigate readers through the rough terrain of life as a teenager.
I felt a whole rainbow of emotions throughout the novel, proud of Jamie and Maya for taking major steps for change, helping each other overcome their fears and doubts, while also growing closer together facing the uncertainties of their cultural differences.
I laughed. I cried. And I will never look at Tangelos the same way!
Happy Reading ̴ Cece
RATING: 
– Exceptionally Inked
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: February, 2020
Pages: 448
ISBN-10: 0062937049
ISBN-13: 9780062937049
Audience: Young Adult; ages 14 and up
Jacket Art: Soumbal Qureshi
Jacket Design: Chris Kwon and Alison Donalty
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I felt something missing in the ending. May be I expected something more from all of them, may be I needed a followup on what happens with their lives later on with their role in politics, just something more. Otherwise this was a really good book.
I get that. I almost felt like will there be a second book? Because if you read the author notes they mentioned their first round of canvassing and how the real candidate didn’t win, but less than 18 months later Lucy McBath defeated the Republican incumbent and was the first female rep in Georgia in forty years. So maybe they’ll write a second book picking up where this one left off in this one and write about the success of the following election after Rossum’s defeat. We can only hope.🤞🏽
Maybe there’ll be a second book but I don’t know how good that’ll be… This book had all the necessary content and timeline, it would’ve been better if everything was covered in this itself… Anyways🤞