Love and Politics in the Age of InstaGram

I knew I was going to love this book before I even started reading it. For so long I have wanted a good YA book that talks about Judaism but isn’t about the Holocaust or having a religious awakening. Sometimes you just want Jews being Jews. Jamie was exactly what I needed to fill that craving. What I didn’t know was that I also needed Maya, whose trouble with changing friendships hit harder than I expected it to. When you put the two characters together, they are an unstoppable team. But beyond the characters, my favorite thing about this book is how Aisha Saeed and Becky Albertali make such a strong statement about unity and the political reality that we live in.

Not to brag, but I’m going to brag. I feel like I read this book at the best time I possibly could— while on a Jewish teen trip to Washington DC to learn about and lobby for various political issues. (Just before the trip I also read a short story by Laura Silverman called Be Brave And All, which was very fitting for the idea of social action. The short story is from a book I highly recommend called It's A Whole Spiel) It was interesting to compare my experience to that of Jamie and Maya who were canvassing for a local candidate, Rossum, to see how we each tried to have our voices heard in politics (even as minors), and how we each reach to learn about current political affairs. The picture below is one I took of the Library Of Congress in DC at sunset (January 2020).

In YNMS, true to our world today, the characters use social media sites like Instagram to spread information about local politics. Even better, they use the influence of Jamie’s Grandma (better known by her Insta handle @/InstaGram) to promote Rossum’s campaign. Oh and her dog Boomer probably helped too (insert “okay boomer” joke). An old woman and social media? An old woman knowing how social media works? An old woman who is insta-famous? Can you say adorable?

On top of helping the political agenda of Rossum, the two teen protagonists are dealing with, well, teen stuff, an extra layer to the story I enjoyed. Throughout the course of the novel, Maya is forced to deal with the fact that her best (and pretty much only) friend is going away to college a year before she is, and so she is in need of new friends senior year. I personally went through something similar on the opposite end of high school, so Maya felt very relatable to my experience.

(Due to Maya’s gushing, I really want to read Saints And Misfits by S. K. Ali now.)

Jamie, on the other hand, is feeling a lot of pressure in the preparations for his sister’s Bat Mitzvah. He was asked to give a speech, which he really doesn’t want to do. In fact, Jamie would rather not speak to anyone, at all, putting him into an awkward position when he gets voluntold to canvas for Rossum. I wasn’t able to canvas this year because of, you know, COVID-19, but reading this book has made me really want to try and speak up more and actively work to have my voice heard in politics.

Another aspect of this book that I find really interesting is that some of the ideas of this story came from Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed’s own experiences canvassing together for a special election in Georgia. It also feels perfect that this book was published just about a year before the Georgia Runoff elections, which I think was perfect for helping make more young people aware of politics.

Seeing the world we know reflected so clearly in the novel truly hurt as the characters experienced incidents of islamophobia and antisemitism, but their perseverance and protest gave me hope.

Around all of the messy truth of politics, Aisha Saeed and Becky Albertalli were able to craft a beautiful story of old friend reconnecting that made my heart warm and unleashed plenty of giggles while reading.

The last thing I want to leave you with is one of my favorite quotes from the book, and one that I think can inspire anyone in anything that they do.