Newly Released: The Hijabi Club
In her first novel, The Hijabi Club, Shaylene Haswaréy has succeeded in blending entertainment and education, primarily for high school teenaged girls of the Muslim faith. Her characters seem true to life, through their struggles to gain acceptance by others, desires to experience the freedom that non-Muslim girls enjoy during their high school years, and problems that occur along the way.
This is not a preachy-teachy kind of story. The journey of two main characters – Yasmeen, an Arab American Muslim, and Josephine, a Caucasian convert to Islam (as is the author) – involves situations where their beliefs and morals are tested. One remains true to her faith, while the other one wanders from it, in the end creating a life-changing personal crisis.
Throughout the story, tastefully written, are lessons about Islam and how maintaining one’s belief helps them to surmount challenges and difficulties. The characters keep an open mind, however, and one of them belongs to an interfaith club which promotes understanding and tolerance, as well as good deeds in the community.
The title derives from the name of the girls’ Friday night sleepover at Josephine’s house, where they gather to watch movies, chat about school, eat pizza, and share their feelings about life.
Although the storyline will appeal to Muslim American Arab girls for the most part, anyone interested in learning about Islam in a most enjoyable way will find The Hijabi Club well worth their time. It is a delightful novel filled with fun, happiness, heartaches, and important life lessons.
The Hijabi Club is available for purchase at www.wastelandbooksonline.com for $14.95, plus shipping and handling. It is also available online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com, and can also be ordered from bookstores.
If you would like to order an autographed copy (or copies) directly from the author, please email her at shaylenehaswarey@gmailcom.