VanBrakle (Fatima Tate Takes the Cake) utilizes typical conflicts around teenage relationships and dating to contextualize conversations of Tariq s Muslim practices and attitudes surrounding gender roles, modest dress, and abstinence. . . . [A] complex depiction of one teen s yearning for more.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

VanBrakle realistically shows how religion can alienate, separate, and unite people. . . . An engrossing, emotionally rich meditation on faith, family, and the courage it takes to create your own story.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

VanBrakle sensitively centers the story on Leena and her struggle to learn about her family while also not alienating herself from her mother. . . .A story that is deeply empathetic, allowing its central character to grow and stake her own claim to her family s legacy and her own future.
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