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.
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