Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Hijab & Red Lipstick in exchange for an honest review.

Hijab & Red Lipstick really makes it feel like protagonist Sara is sitting next to you, telling her story. Narratively set up as Sara recounting her story to a reporter, Hijab & Red Lipstick follows her from childhood to adulthood as she grapples with religious & social pressures, a messy family dynamic, and attempting to forge her own identity in the middle of all that.

I'm still torn on how the narrative structure worked for me. At times I found the choice to move from scene to scene incredibly natural, at times it was jarring and pulled me out to the story. It also makes for very blunt to the point narrative which isn't what I tend to look for, but given the subject matter I'm not sure if a different style would have been better suited.

I do really like how Sara's journey of self discovery was set up and how Imran makes it extremely clear that she's not escaping her religion, she's escaping zealots who misunderstand it. I also loved how Sara's mother and her own struggles were framed.

A perfect book covering a young Muslim woman’s difficult quest to find her identity especially while having a mega strict Egyptian dad who tells her that everything is "haram" a.k.a. forbidden.

I truly enjoyed reading each and every page of this book!

Having spent almost my entire childhood and teenage years in the Gulf, I am aware of the patriarchy system that exists and have heard about a few incidents or experiences. I have never been able to read an entire story spanning across the years.

As we read about Sara's journey from childhood to adulthood, we are actually reading the different experiences and challenges that every young Arab Muslim girl goes through. The constant religious and social pressures are widely know and criticized but rarely defied. The inclusion of the stories of Sara's mother and her sister also highlight other important issues.

I loved the author's dedication at the beginning of the book. I truly believe Yousra Imran is a perfect inspiration for all the Arab women, her courage and determination is amazing!

This is one story which should be read and shared by all.

Thank You to NetGalley and Hashtag Press for this ARC!

Sara and her siblings were raised in London by their Muslim parents - her British mother and Egyptian father. Like most Middle Eastern men, Sara's father is strict in implementing Islamic teaching and Middle Eastern culture to his children - so strict that Western music was banned in their household ("the words in the songs are from the devil!"). As she was entering her teenage years, her father uprooted the whole family to a city in the Arabian Gulf. If she thought her life in London was restricted, she now finds her life in the Gulf even more confined with more rules to obey and a father who thinks he knows best in raising good Muslim children. Readers are in for a ride through Sara's teenage years, then as a university student and graduate as she embarks on a journey in finding herself and the true meaning of being a Muslim woman.

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Reading Hijab & Red Lipstick is like listening to a friend who is confiding in you about the story of her life. The way of writing is honest and straight-forward, yet you can feel the pain, the misery that the characters are going through and it's heart-breaking at some pages.
The story sheds light on women suffering in countries where the patriarchy rules supreme and it's eye-opening for me. I think religious extremism exists in all religions and this book shows a glimpse in that. Through her honest writing, Imran makes it clear that this story is not about a woman despising her religion, it's about a woman's quest in understanding the true teaching of Islam and escaping the extremists who misunderstand it and ultimately it led her in her journey to self-discovery. Hijab & Red Lipstick is a story that needs to be read by women and feminists - Muslim or not.

This book was so addictive! I read it in a day because I just had to know what was going to happen next - the storyline kept moving at a quick pace. The story was easy to read and understandable for me, and I found myself learning a lot more about life for a Muslim woman in the Middle East. I enjoyed the writing style where part of the story would be told, then it would switch back to the present before continuing; it worked well to stop the emotive aspect of the plot becoming too overpowering. Overall, this was a great read and I’d love to read more from this author.

I wanted to love this book, the story sounded so interesting, but the writing was super dry and matter of fact and didn’t feel like reading a story at all. I found myself bored most of the way through.

Hijab and Red Lipstick by Yousra Imran
Hijab and Red Lipstick
by Yousra Imran
1401819
Dianne Socci-Tetro's reviewOct 12, 2020
it was amazing
bookshelves: galleys-arcs, netgalley, 2020

Trigger warnings ---> sexual assault, rape, physical abuse.


This book was an eye-opener for me. I knew through media how many of these Gulf countries treated their women, but I have never read anything more in-depth and to my Western upbringing, horrifying.

I learned much but I still had issues. I realized that this was a semi-biography (the author explains this). My main issues were due to my Western upbringing and the fact that I'm in my 60's - one was the teenage rebellion, and the other was that the author never tells us what Gulf State she was writing about. The rebellion I can understand a bit since this was a half British teenager, so the Gulf States customs and rules are more difficult to deal with.


Right now this book can only be found in the UK (I think-since I cannot find it on Amazon US), I sure do hope to find it in the USA very soon. This was very much worth the read.

*ARC supplied by the publisher and the author.

I adored this book. Although it was an easy read I could not put it down and think it's such an important read for everyone today.

This book was such an amazing look into the culture that many people face, especially women, where they are treated as second class citizens because of their gender. I think it speaks to the bravery of anyone who escapes. There was some violence, abuse, and truly some heartbreaking moments. It was a little slow at times so it was difficult to keep going at some points but the overall story was interesting and well-written.

I literally could not put this book down! It was so good that I read it in a day. Yousra is so honest and open with everything she went through while growing up in the Middle East. She painted a picture of her desperation and difficult home life that broke my heart as I read the book, but I could relate in so many ways. Also, her personal accounts of dating within a patriarchal society were interesting, as I love learning about other cultures and countries. Yousra Imran is a champion for Muslim women and her story needs to be read by all women - Muslim and non-Muslim alike!