Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know

In this, Ahmed's third novel, she introduces us to a young woman, Khayyam, who, much like the protagonists of the first two novels, "Love, Hate, and Other Filters" and "Internment" is a proud, unapologetic, if soul-searching Indian-American Muslim. She differs from Maya and Layla, respectively, in that she has another couple of layers of duality to her sense of self - she is bi-racial and bi-national, her mother being Indian, and her father being from France.And, of course, probably the most central to this story, Khayyam is a brilliant young woman, striving to make a mark on a male-dominated world. Her vehicle to do so is an essay competition, and she has decided to focus on the mysterious figure of Leila, who comes up in the work of three male artists of the 19th century canon: French novelist Alexandre Dumas, French painter Eugene Delacroix, and English poet Lord Byron.Even more masterful than Ahmed's use of the mystery genre to address the very important theme of male hegemony, is her use of the Young Adult (YA) genre itself. Ahmed has discovered a unique formula for herself as an author: she delivers highly political content -- concerning such prevailing themes as Islamophobia, racism, human rights violations, and sexism -- in a seemingly apolitical package; namely the Young Adult novel. My belief is that she does so knowingly. She is aware that she is reaching the very audience she needs to reach -- young people.It is this writer's hope that she will not only succeed in empowering the next generation, in all its diverse manifestations (which, by the way, I know, in my role as educator working with a very diverse student body, she has done), but that she will also politicize them, so that the young people reading her work will take on her themes and apply them to the world they live in, and the world they want their own children to inhabit.

I am a fan of alternating points of view, and this one is just so well done. The mix of the historical mystery and the present-day figuring it out, combined with these absolute nerdy teens (and Khayyam's nerdy parents!) and Khayyam's figuring herself out despite the love triangle she ends up in, had me zooming along to the end.

Samira Ahmed has done it again. When I looked at the cover of this book, I suspected it would be a cheesy YA romance, but then I saw Who the author was, and purchased it immediately. I have read both of Ahmed's other works and have been impressed by her honest, and straightforward portrayals of otherness, and feminism. This does not stray from that beat. This book is a daring riff on classic arts and later with a twist. She deftly paints a picture of Paris in the mind of readers in a way that makes it feel equally fantastical historic treasure and your own backyard. Her protagonist is realistic and flawed in a a authentic way, but it does not get in the way of her power in the story. She also weaves in references to literature, art and beliefs often cast off by the writers of history. This book is a worthwhile and inspiring read that leaves satisfaction tied up with the feeling of wanting to uncover stories long forgotten. #writeherstory #readherstory

Bought several more copies for my classroom. Diverse characters learning to deal with the world the way it is and has been for too long.

I bought this book for my granddaughter for her birthday. She loves reading this was one of the books she requested. Good pricing

Well-done, SA! Can’t wait to use this in class with my future teachers! I will say, Audible made it a bit easier to “get” the French than a straight read. Fun, smart, and engaging! #WriteHerStory

Fun to read--yet good message for young womenI gave it to my granddaughter

A summer in Paris. A girl with her life crumbling around her. A boy with a secret and a famous ancestor. A woman with raven tresses--but was she even real, or purely fictional? A painting that may or may not exist. A biracial French writer. A series of letters. And the Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know Lord Byron himself. What do they all have in common? A nearly two century old mystery.Khayyam Maquet is many things--sometimes too many things: Indian. French. American. Muslim. Biracial. A budding art historian. In Paris for her annual vacation with her parents, Khayyam is recovering from the stinging blow and potential end to her art historian career before it even begins after a failed entry to an essay contest; to make it worse, the boy she has been dating is refusing to put a label on their relationship, and posting selfies of himself with another girl. So when she bumps into a boy whose name is--100% legitimate--Alexandre Dumas, she finds herself accompanying him all across Paris to solve a mystery.Did Alexandre Dumas receive a painting from painter Eugene Delacroix? And what does it have to do with the Byron poem, "The Giaour", a poem that Delacroix created a painting based off of? And who was the woman with raven tresses? What is her story?Ahmed weaves a masterful story in two different time periods, with two different strong female protagonists--who are perhaps not as different as they seem. A delightful mystery that leads the characters--and reader--to go deeper, question more about life, love, art, and literature set in a glorious backdrop of the City of Lights (and Love). Grab some French pastries and curl up with "Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know!"

I found this a little difficult to get in to at first. It was slow-paced but it picked up when Khayyam met Alexandre. I got a bit tired of hearing about Zaid and I understand the author was trying to create parallels in the stories of two women by having a love triangle in Khayyam's life. But it made the novel cheesy as Khayyam's story read like a teenage romance. I would have liked to hear more from Leila as her story was a lot more interesting.