Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali (Muslim)

Bargain Books are unsold books returned to publishers. They are marked as "reminders" with a dot or slash across the pages. They can then be repurchased by indie bookstores and resold at discounted prices. There may be stickers, which I will make sure to carefully remove. They are typically in otherwise like-new condition.

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Saints and Misfits is an unforgettable debut novel that feels like a modern day My So-Called Life . . . starring a Muslim teen.

There are three kinds of people in my world:

1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They’re in your face so much, you can’t see them, like how you can’t see your nose.

2. Misfits, people who don’t belong. Like me - the way I don’t fit into Dad’s brand-new family or in the leftover one composed of Mom and my older brother, Mama’s-Boy-Muhammad.

Also, there’s Jeremy and me. Misfits. Because although, alliteratively speaking, Janna and Jeremy sound good together, we don’t go together. Same planet, different worlds.

But sometimes worlds collide and beautiful things happen, right?

3. Monsters. Well, monsters wearing saint masks, like in Flannery O’Connor’s stories.

Like the monster at my mosque.

People think he’s holy, untouchable, but nobody has seen under the mask.

Except me.