Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed

MAD, BAD & DANGEROUS TO KNOW by Samira Ahmed is the first YA book that I have read in a while, although I have plenty on my “to be read” list and plan to post about more soon.  Ahmed’s earlier works (Internment, and Love, Hate & Other Filters) received multiple starred reviews and I have recommended those titles in earlier posts. MAD, BAD & DANGEROUS TO KNOW is not quite the same quality – I particularly disliked the way that the protagonist seemed defined by her relationship with a former boyfriend and a potential new one.  However, this book, too, could have appeal for young adult readers – in much the same way that the show Never Have I Ever gained popularity while offering a somewhat distorted look at high school experiences and a young girl’s struggle to define herself.  

In MAD, BAD & DANGEROUS TO KNOW Ahmed has chosen to tell the story of Leila, a woman oppressed centuries ago, contrasting it with the adventures of Khayyam Maquet and a descendant of Alexandre Dumas in modern day Paris as those two work together to solve the mystery and to search for Leila’s story and her connection to Dumas and painter Eugène Delacroix. Khayyam’s objective is to learn enough to rewrite an art history application for college while Alexandre wants to help preserve his family’s estate. It seems that each may be using the other and that is even more complicated due to the appearance of previous romantic partners. Leila and Khayyam alternate as narrators in a novel that works due to a large number of coincidences while telling the story of a brave, resourceful woman, and of a young girl who comes to appreciate that strength and the need to tell a previously hidden story.