A heartwarming and comforting read | Barakah Beats book review

In 2021 I decided to be bold and have been reaching out to authors for some of my most anticipated reads, as I simply could not wait until the publication dates to sink my teeth into them. One book I reached out for was Barakah Beats, and I very luckily got sent a digital ARC to read and review. This is an absolute gem of a book, which makes me so happy that I took the chance to reach out and ask. The book made me so happy and has just increased my excitement for the release of the full book in October. So, without further ado, this is my review for Barakah Beats, spoiler-free of course.

Book: Barakah Beats
Author: Maleeha Siddiqui
Released: 19 October 2021 (UK)
Genre: Fiction (middle grade)
Rating: 5 stars

Barakah Beats is a book to be released in October 2021 and as usual, the goodreads synopsis is below:

“Twelve-year-old Nimra Sharif has spent her whole life in Islamic school, but her grandparents – who have never quite seen eye-to-eye with her parents on how to raise her – think it’s time she goes to “real school.” Nimra’s nervous, but as long as she has Jenna, her best friend who already goes to public school, plus with her trusty sketchbooks, she figures she can take on just about anything.

But middle school sucks. The teachers are mean, the schedule is confusing, and Jenna starts giving hijab-wearing Nimra the cold shoulder around the other kids. Desperate to fit in and get back in Jenna’s good graces, Nimra accepts an unlikely invitation to join the school’s popular 8th-grade boy band, Barakah Beats. The only problem is, Nimra was taught that music isn’t allowed in Islam, and she’s pretty sure her parents would be disappointed if they found out. So she devises a simple plan: join the band, win Jenna back, then quietly drop out before her parents find out.

But dropping out of the band proves harder than expected. Not only is her plan to get Jenna back working, but Nimra really likes hanging out with the band—they value her contributions and respect how important her faith is to her. Then Barakah Beats signs up for a talent show to benefit refugees, and Nimra’s lies start to unravel. With the show only a few weeks away and Jenna’ friendship hanging in the balance, Nimra has to decide if winning her friend back is worth giving up everything—and everyone—she cares about”.

This book was adorable and heartwarming. That’s all I can think of when I want to describe it. How utterly sweet and charming it was and how comforted I felt when I read it. It felt like a hug in book form. My heart broke and went out to Nimra so much. Going to a new school is a challenge in itself, let alone when you’re seen as ‘different’ to your peers (a muslim shouldn’t be seen as different, but we live in a world where sometimes, that still is the case). Add in that Nimra has only been to Islamic school until this point and her friend she thought she could rely on is acting strange…that’s really tough! I just wanted to hug Nimra and make everything all better for her!

I loved every page of this story. It transported me back to how scary it feels going to a new school. It reminded me how mean kids can be, how much it can hurt and how it feels, and how tricky it can be wanting to be true to yourself, but also wanting to fit in. As I have mentioned previously, I have Turkish heritage – I was born in the UK, my dad is Turkish and my mum is British. I was subject to my fair share of unkindness at school, as I am sure so many others were too. It is an isolating and disheartening feeling, and reading this book was a reminder of that. Not only a reminder, but reading the book felt reassuring. This is also the kind of book I only wish I’d been able to read when I was younger and going through these struggles. I know if I had read this at school, it would have been comforting to read someone else going through what I was, and it would have eased my feelings of loneliness.

I can easily see Barakah Beats being comforting to younger readers, no matter their heritage. The good thing about a book such as this is yes, it is about a Muslim girl, so will definitely provide comfort for other Muslims who read this; however no matter what heritage or religion someone has, everyone can relate to that feeling of unkindness, isolation and wanting to fit in. 

What I loved about Barakah Beats is Nimra never felt ashamed of who she was, or tried to change it. Nimra is a Muslim. She wears a hijab. She practices, loves and respects her faith. She is an artist and doesn’t ever give up despite what others say. And absolutely none of this changes despite what others think. When her best friend treats her strange, she doesn’t change herself to fit in. Yes, she joins the band, but her faith and values still stay at the heart of all she does. And she doesn’t feel the need to constantly explain herself – it is who she is, and that is it! On this subject, it’s also worth mentioning that the ending of the book is different to what I expected, but it is an ending I loved so much. I won’t say what happens, but I love that Barakah Beats is not predictable. After reading books of people hiding their faith to fit in or keep their friends, it was so refreshing to read Barakah Beats and have Nimra not do this.

This is a book that I think whether you’re a Muslim or not, familiar with the religion or not, is still hugely enjoyable. Throughout the whole book, Nimra’s faith is interwoven and is a big part of the story. We read about Nimra’s relationship with her religion, how she practices it, and what it means to her. She is proudly, unashamedly and happily a practising Muslim. This is something that’s somewhat of a rarity in books in itself, even more so reading in detail such as in this book about someone practising in their faith. It never felt like it was too much, and the detail given is necessary for the story, but also – why shouldn’t it be included? It’s not something to be ashamed of, it’s a part of normal life for a lot of people, and not only does this book provide good representation for people, but it normalises reading about others’ religious practices and others cultures in fiction work for people who may otherwise not have this exposure. I think this is actually a really sweet and fun way to learn about a new religion and culture that may be different to your own. 

The way Nimra’s faith and practising has been written about has that familiarity if this is a religion you practice or know about, but also in a way where if you know nothing, you don’t feel left in the dark, and it’s still easy enough to understand. This is a middle ground I think is tricky to navigate, especially in a middle grade novel, but Maleeha Siddiqui has written it beautifully. 

Something else I adored in this book was reading about Nimra’s family. This is such a strong theme throughout the book (we all know this is one of my favourite themes in books so this won me over instantly!), and the whole way through, Nimra has such strong connections and feelings of love to her family. I’ve read a lot of books with muslim characters where there’s family conflict – and I understand why these types of stories are important, but they’re not the only types of stories to be told. Barakah Beats differs where Nimra has a really good and strong relationship with her family. They’re supportive, they’re open with how they discuss their faith, their feelings – and they never pressure Nimra to be someone she’s not. Whilst the relationship Nimra has with her family is not a main plot point, it is added detail and character relationships I really appreciate, especially as a supportive, strong and loving family isn’t something I’ve read about huge amounts.

On the subject of character relationships, I want to mention the friends Nimra makes through Barakah Beats. I want them to be my friends too, they sound awesome! Nimra meets such a lovely and welcoming group of friends when she joins Barakah Beats, and the more we read about them, the happier I become because they’re exactly the kind of friends not only that Nimra needs and deserves, but that everyone for that matter. They share the same religion as Nimra, but putting that aside and were that not the case, they’re everything friends should be: supportive, kind and accepting. An amazing thing about school is meeting people who are not only similar to you, but different to you. Whereas some of the people Nimra meets are cruel because she is different, her friends in the band accept her despite her being different to them. They treat her the exact same, and respect her differences. She instantly becomes an equal in their group, and I really enjoyed reading their friendship grow and seeing how they’re all there for, supporting and changing each other for the better.

This book is filled with so many beautiful messages for readers of all ages and cultures: Be unapologetically proud to be your true, authentic selves. Our differences shouldn’t divide us but should be something we celebrate. No one is perfect and that’s okay; what is important is how you treat others and how you face your mistakes. And that’s only the first 3 I thought of, off the top of my head!

And that’s it! When I started reading Barakah Beats, I knew I was going to love it, but I didn’t realise it would have this much of an impact on me; as you can tell, it has absolutely captured my heart. Nimra is such a loveable character and I can’t wait for everyone to read this book, meet and hopefully love her as much as I do.

Barakah Beats is out in the UK on 19th October 2021. 

Maleeha Siddiqui (author’s) website: https://maleehasiddiqui.com/