Na’ima B. Robert has done a fantastic job yet again. This time, it was on her book, Boy vs. Girl. The novel started off normally enough, then it grew really interesting, becoming my second favourite book.

Boy vs. Girl is about two Muslim teenagers (twins, brother and sister) who can’t decide what they want to do with their lives. They have been doing some haram (Islamically impermissible) things for a long time. They want to change but it’s really hard for them.

Farhana, the sister, is secretly seeing a boy. Faraz, the brother, is in a gang. Ramadan is coming and they want to become better Muslims. Farhana has not been wearing the hijab (headscarf) and she tries to start. Despite the stares from everyone at school, she puts it on, wondering what Malik, the guy she likes, will think of her now. Malik is also Muslim so she hopes that he will understand. Everyone knows how hard it is to start something new when you have been doing the opposite for a long time.

Her brother Faraz had started going out with Skrooz and company, the gang, and had been doing bad things like stealing and dealing in drugs. Now that it’s Ramadan, Faraz wants to quit the gang. But, he doesn’t know how Skrooz is going to take it. Skrooz doesn’t take kindly to quitters, especially when he’s done so much for them. He even got Faraz a new phone. It was the newest model, too.

The book describes the struggles the twins face as they try to get closer to God. Faraz starts going to taraweeh (special night prayers held in Ramadan). Farhana is working on her Islam, too. The two help each other become better Muslims. They pray together at suhur (morning meal before the start of the fast) and try to fast. It’s not easy for either one of them. They both face hardships and peer pressure that all Muslim teenagers face in non-Muslim society. They both have difficult choices to make, just like we do at times. Still, they try to get onto the right path even after all their mistakes in the past. And we should all do the same so that inshaAllah (God willing) we can all make it to Jannah (paradise).

This book is mainly for teenagers aged thirteen or fourteen and up. Boys could enjoy reading it as much as girls because the book is about a boy and a girl. I highly recommend this book. If you have read From Somalia With Love, also by Na’ima B. Robert, then you have had a taste of how she writes. If you liked that book then you should read this one. I hope you read Boy vs.Girl and like it as much as I have.

Yasmeen Amer is a grade seven student at Abraar School. ■