This novel offers a fascinating, albeit unsettling, look at the radicalization of ISIS brides. It's a dark comedy that masterfully blends humor with a serious topic. Nadia, a UN employee tasked with deradicalizing these women, is a frustrating yet endearing protagonist. Her tenacity, while admirable, is ultimately tested by the bureaucratic hurdles and conflicting agendas she encounters.

While the pacing occasionally felt uneven, this likely reflects the author's background in academia and policy, lending a sense of authenticity to the narrative. Despite these minor hiccups, the novel is creatively conceived and provides a thought-provoking exploration of a complex and challenging issue

I have seen two different covers for this book, I like them both but if I have to choose, I prefer the more stark, minimalistic one with just the eyes. The other cover is kind of pop art-esque and has a female with makeup blowing chewing gum bubbles. Both are striking covers and hint at the modern, sometimes humorous, sometimes ironic story within.
Nadia and Lydia are in competition against each other at work for a lectureship job. These jobs are highly sought after and difficult to get, so Nadia needs to impress!
Nadia writes a paper on ways to deradicalize ISIS women, it’s a big hit, it’s published in a criminology journal and lands her the offer of the job she wants but it also lands her another job to do prior to the lectureship beginning. Recently having had her heart broken she is eager to get away but rather naïve about what will be expected of her in her new job.
Nadia finds herself in Iraq on a military base trying to head a small team tasked with deradicalizing a group of women in a local camp. The pressure is on as if Nadia’s deradicalisation programme works it will be rolled out in Syria where the problem of Isis women is even greater.
Nadia quickly finds herself in a causal kind of sleeping arrangement with the head of military security (and her security) Tom. He’s a straight to the point kind of guy and for Nadia it’s an uncomplicated fling.
Nadia tries to convert her on paper plan into action, but is met with obstacles in every direction! She faces misogyny, bureaucracy, racism, extortion and an uphill struggle! Nadia’s team are sceptical about her and her ideas is an understatement, however they do eventually rally behind the cause.
Nadia befriends a young ISIS woman called Sara who followed her British friend over who told her it was a great life and place to be. Sara soon becomes an ISIS bride and then realises life in Iraq is not at all like it was promised to be. Her friend, husband & child all died in attacks. Then Sara’s husband is also killed in an attack leaving alone with their daughter Habibah. Sara is sent to the camp with her baby daughter to live in less-than-ideal conditions. Her husband’s parents arrive at the camp one day and forcibly take Habibah from her to live with them in Mosul. Sara is powerless to stop them as she has very little rights and they have the law and people on their side. Nadia becomes attached to Sara, almost seeing herself as she was once talked into becoming an ISIS bride herself. On one hand Sara is serious about staying a Muslim and bringing Habibah up in the faith, then on the other hand she’s a sassy, loud mouthed, sweary, conniving individual who tells Nadia what she wants her to know and no more.
When its strongly suggested that Sara marry another local powerful man to get Habibah back and she goes through with it but immediately regrets it. Nadia ends up coming to the rescue and with help from her local guide Farris, she smuggles herself, Sara and Habibah out of Iraq. You’d think that Sara would be grateful but Nadia finds she has a secret phone and has been communicating with her ISIS friends the whole time. Though Sara insists she isn’t a danger and is not about to attack anyone she insists on observing all the practices of a good Muslim. Something Nadia had given up on years ago when she became estranged from her mother and family. Though suddenly out of the blue her mother had been reaching out and talking to her more. When it seems Sara is about to go off the rails and possibly do something she’ll regret Nadia rings her own mother asking her to approach Sara’s parents who had disowned her in the British media. There’s success when Nadia’s mother talks them into reconnecting with their daughter and the grandchild they have never seen.
Fundamentally has two strong, yet flawed female characters, Nadia who is a lapsed Muslim, initially disowned for her lifestyle by her family and Sara taken in by the dream of being an ISIS bride and the supposedly fantastic lifestyle that came with it, only to discover it was all a lie.
Nadia’s determination to reunite Sara with her baby daughter and rescue her from the camp via repatriation clouds her judgement and puts the repatriation and futures of the other women at the camp in serious jeopardy. Nadia is very close to losing her job over her obsession with helping Sara. When Sara reaches out again from her new home with the important Iraq Official in exchange for being reunited with her daughter desperate for a way out. Nadia feels compelled once again to help. Nadia takes an illegal route of getting Sara and her daughter out of Iraq to a place of safety to start a new life, though she cannot understand the way Sara wishes to remain a practising Muslim after all that has happened to her
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were that though it was about a heavy, serious subject it had been quite a light read. There were occasions in the book were I felt irritated by the characters, the way UN money was being spent to wine & dine local officials when it should have been spent on other things. There were times I wanted to reach into the book and give both Nadia and Sara a good shake by the shoulders for them to think before acting.
Summing up, Fundamentally, was an interesting, humorous, human take on a fictional UN representative trying to create a test programme in Iraq for ISIS brides and the possibilities of their deradicalisation & return to their homelands & family.

An interesting read about the difficult topic of radicalisation which was also surprisingly funny at times.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

'Fundamentally' is surely one of the funniest and cleverest debut novels of 2025. The novel is narrated by Dr Nadia Amin, a British criminology lecturer who finds herself working for the UN in Iraq heading up a project to de-radicalise ISIS brides so that they can be repatriated to their home countries. Despite the challenges she faces in terms of obstructive colleagues, needless bureaucracy and government corruption, she ends up forging a close bond with one ISIS bride, Sara from East London, which leads her to take some extreme actions.

The subject matter is about as dark as you can get, but Nussaibah Younis manages to imbue her narrative with huge amounts of humour - often of the gallows variety - and genuine emotion. The prose is laugh-out-loud funny from the outset, often due to Nadia's caustic and foul-mouthed narrative voice. Early on, she muses, "Your mother doesn't want you, the love of your life doesn't want you, well ... how about a random failed state?" She describes the detainment camp they visit as being "as planned as Milton Keynes, if Milton Keynes were designed to indefinitely detain ISIS wives." She reflects on one officious colleague, "When people start using the word 'purview', that's when you know you're working with c***s." And I enjoyed her comparison to food at the UN compound to "school dinners before Jamie Oliver" ("Everything was yellow".)

There are plenty more excellent one-liners, but this novel also works because of its omnidirectional satire: Younis is happy to skewer just about everyone Nadia meets (and Nadia herself), from the ISIS terrorists to jobsworthy officials (Nadia rails at the British government's "inclusion strategy" that will only support the project "if we found a secret pansexual lurking in one of the tents") 'to well-meaning liberals - one of the funniest characters is Sheikh Jason, the progressive imam brought over from Berkeley, California, to deliver religious education to the brides, who believes in "communing with nature, receiving the energy of crystals, yogic breath work and movement" ("This man is a Buddhist", observes one of Nadia's colleagues). The novel never preaches or sentimentalises, and Sara, who becomes the focal point of Nadia's energies, is arguably its most complex and intriguing characters.)

Younis has worked in the same field as her characters - and in the afterword provides clear indications of what is fact and what is fiction - and so this novel offers a powerful insight into the lives of these women who are all too often fortgotten, and those who work with them. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this novel to review!

Was looking forward to this but was a DNF after a couple of chapters,what seemed to be the beginning of a good story was ruined for me by the ‘shock value’ thatwas overdone very quickly and the book lost it’s appeal for me

I had intensely mixed feelings about Fundamentally, Nussaibah Younis's debut novel. It follows academic Nadia, who, dealing with her estrangement from her Muslim mother and a sudden break-up with her long-term girlfriend, takes a job with the United Nations deradicalising ISIS women in Iraq. This serious subject-matter is at odds with Nadia's voice, which is deliberately irreverent ('I was in my thirties and I'd had enough sex to know that devout Muslims have tedious chat and give crap head'), especially when bantering with Sara, a three-time ISIS widow at just nineteen who's originally from East London ('"I vote for Bin Laden," she said, without missing a beat./"I know. That's the entire problem, babe."'). I think what Younis is trying to do here is, in some ways, really interesting. Nadia obviously has very heavy-duty psychological defences, and her flippancy is a way of dealing with deep pain, especially around her relationship with her mother. It's a shame, though, that when she lurches into honesty, the writing becomes a bit turgid. Witnessing an anti-government demonstration in Baghdad, she reflects 'A sickly feeling rose through me, the unmistakable sensation of being in the wrong. I wished I was out there with the protesters... It felt shitty being on this side of the bulletproof glass; institutionalised, feckless and corrupt'.

Younis is trying to pull off something very difficult in balancing Nadia's raw internal journey, her satirical struggle within the UN, and her relationship with Sara, which blends the two. It's not surprising that it doesn't always work, and I felt the pacing was a little at fault. The novel spends too long in the UN base (it's about 40% of the book) before Nadia gets to the women's camp, drawing on what is clearly a wealth of funny stories from Younis's decade working in Iraq, though she was not herself employed by the UN. The tone becomes almost farcical, which is well and good, but it doesn't leave enough time for the more interesting material nearer the end of the novel, when Nadia's negative attitude to what was once her faith is challenged when she realises she and Sara have vastly diverging views on Islam.

Given that Nadia was a devout Muslim into her twenties, her knowledge of Islam feels shallow and, as other reviewers have pointed out, risks playing into Western stereotypes. This obviously wasn't Younis's intention and, as she clearly knows far more about Islam than I do, I think the idea here was to show how Nadia's mental blocks have led her to use lazy quips about the religion rather than deal with the pain of her mother's rejection. I wish Younis had left herself more space to explore all this in the final third, as I found the climax of the novel really moving, and it was a shame that it felt a little rushed. Fundamentally is refreshingly original and ambitious, even if it makes some missteps, and I'm looking forward to Younis's next. 3.5 stars.

Fundamentally is a comic novel about an academic-turned-UN aid worker who travels to Iraq to establish a deradicalisation programme for the so-called ISIS brides - women (well, mostly girls actually) who are interned indefinitely and considered a terrorist risk, and often refused leave to return to their country of origin. Loosely based on real events, with particular influence from the notorious case of Shamima Begum, a British teenager who was groomed and abused but nevertheless had her citizenship stripped, leaving her stranded.

Younis, being an academic-turned-UN worker herself, is uniquely well-placed to write this book and, despite the broad comic touches and suspenseful episodes, it does ring true as a result. In its combination of laugh-out-loud humour and a cynical, coruscating takedown of international aid programmes and UN corruption, it reminded me somewhat of Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding. An enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

I’ve seen lots of reviews extolling the importance and brilliance of this debut novel and I love the fact that the author is someone who is genuinely writing about something she knows and that few readers will have firsthand experience of.. However, that made this novel even more disappointing when it failed to deliver any real insight into the aid workers or the camps.

The protagonist, Nadia, travels to Iraq after a bad break up with her longtime girlfriend. On sabbatical from her newly won lectureship, she plans to put her thesis on the de-radicalisation of Isis brides into practice. My issue with is that she is never especially serious about the cause, it feels like a convenient niche for her to run away to rather than a genuine commitment.

Nadia’s sexual incontinence juxtaposes uncomfortably with the joyless unions of the Isis women but doesn’t offer any kind of meaning. Both seem to be merely stereotypes that both sides of the divide would use against each other.

The UN, Save the Children and every other aid agency depicted comes across as peopled by hordes of immature, selfish and avaricious individuals more interested in their own interests than in the job in hand.

Similarly Sara, seemingly the sole focus of Nadia’s placement, comes across as an Isis bride version of AliG. I found the dialogue implausible and the humour puerile. Nadia constantly swearing and behaving like a ‘90’s ladette whilst supposedly representing serious issues in negotiations felt (I hope and pray) unbelievable.

I felt as though this book was trying to be too many things at once and so ended up not delivering on any of them.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Funny ISIS story, mocking and biting look behind the scenes.

Reading this, it makes sense why we are in so many national situations we find ourselves in. Why division is rife and extremism more common. I'm not overly politically minded but this story hit home and while it laughs at the characters and makes light of some of the situations, it does make some valid points.

Firstly, our protagonist is a lapsed Muslim. Kicked out by her mother for apostacy, then putting herself through university and into an academic path, enjoying one-night stands and same-sex relationships, Nadia has now written a theoretical paper on how to deradicalize British ISIS brides that the authorities want her to test in practice. Well okay then. Easy peasy.

Now in Iraq with no experience of the culture or country, fresh from heartbreak, Nadia must navigate the colleagues and systems, the camps and intense weather, put her ideas into practice and meet the women stuck in tents after leaving their homes and families for a promise of purpose and love.

There was a feel of Yes Minister in how the UN works, which Nadia soon realises isn't as easy as she hopes to work with. There's a sense of absurdity in her recruitment of a religious man to guide the women to the less fundamentalist teachings of Islam, which featured one of the best characters in my opinion.

And there's the very human side of this all, facing Nadia, when she meets Sara. 19, already married three times, a London girl radicalised and now disowned by her parents, Nadia sees herself in this younger woman, and focuses on her as the way she can prove her ideas are right and get these women home. Or at least, the mouthy Sara.

There is a great collection of personalities in the camp, and I could picture this as an ensemble TV series very easily. Nadia herself is a fairly complex character with a history that explains to us gradually who she is and why she identifies with Sara so strongly.

The absurdities of the situation did make this very funny, though later on there are scenes that offer tension and show the darker side of the whole affair.

This manages to show Sara's point of view in contrast to the ex-religious Nadia, and neither comes off as 'wrong'. Belief and faith are handled respectfully, and as a non-religious person myself, I do like the insights into other mindsets.

Well-written and confident, this was an excellent read with memorable and likeable characters.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

I loved this book. It's hard to believe that a story about terrorism and international relations could be so lighthearted and funny, but this really is. Obviously, the book isn't without its more serious moments as well, but these give the book a lot of depth, and it's a reminder that even the most complex situations will always be full of life and humour as that's what makes us human. I don't know how accurate the book is to real life, but either way it was eye-opening to see from a perspective and experience that's so different from my own.

The plot of this novel is well constructed (and clearly very close to the author's own experiences, which I have a huge respect for) but unfortunately I found it incredily over-written - people are constantly doing the most unrealistic physical actions, like literally falling off their chairs laughing, that it took me completely out of the action. Not to my taste but many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I finished this last night and wow, the most incredible story with some of the most memorable characters I think I have ever read, I felt so bereft once I finished and I couldn't know even more about them and what comes next.

Firstly, because I feel a lot of people may miss this when they read & judge the blurb, but this book has such funny moments, the humour is sometimes subtle or niche but often just very important and tension breaking and so endearing.

There are also of course very difficult and serious topics, heartbreaking experiences, the sheer reality of continued patterns of abuse, violence, bigotry and corruption, all written so powerfully, where you see the lines that blur, the unavoidable truths, and the grey areas of humanity.

What held me so fiercely was the recognition and bond between Nadia and Sara, but also between the other characters who were perfectly flawed, made mistakes, but loved deeply, especially Farris, Nadia's Mum & Sherri.
This is an incredible story with its roots in very everyday themes for so many women; emotions, sufferings & longings that transcend countries, religions, generations.

Fundamentally is sharp, crucial and addictive, with the power to sit with you and possibly change you.

I was asked by NetGalley to review this book. Not a book I would normally pick up - but that is the beauty of book reviewing. I was so glad I did.

Nadia leaves london after losing her best friend and someone she had at times as a lover. She goes to extremes by working for the UN to reabilitate ISIS brides in Iraq. There is as would expect a lot of politics involved here. Of course Nadia questions herself as to why she has done this. Never the less she puts her heart and soul into this thinking this will be straightforward rehabilitate these woman who were readicalised and did not really comprehend what they were signing up for ! Nadia befriends a 19 year old former-ISIS bride Sara who reminds her of herself. Then things get out of hand.
It is a minefield, warts and all and an insight into a topic I thought I knew but really did not.

Well written and a book to look out for on publication date -25 February 2025.

This was an amzing read that I did ont want to finish, but wanted ervything to turnout really well, what a conflict thatis!
The story is scary in places, eye opening, insightful , emotional and thought provoking but in many places very funny as well. The author has done a great job of mixing such an intense topic with mild humour..
Following her PHD, Nadia has a job with the UN to rehabilitate ISIS brides. The UN is portrayed as a useless and non functional organisation which is how many people portray it. An organisation to try to do somehing but through its lack of ability to work with its integral parts nothing ever gets completed. The scenery and characters were so well decribed that I could feel the living conditions in the camp and the total frustration of those who were trying get a system to be processed effectively.
I would recommend this to everyone to read to get a small glimpse into how easily girls can get groomed.

I was very interested in the concept of the rehabilitation of Isis brides and with the author’s professional experience I had high hopes for this book .
As an outsider I’d always assumed that the United Nations was a well run efficient organisation but of course I was wrong and it suffers from the same management and organisational problems of any big organisation. I recognise some of the issues raised in the story from my own work in the UK Nhs

Knob, bellend, Cunt all in three pages? there’s a charming irreverence in this authors writing style which I wasn’t at all expecting

Some sentences really did make me chuckle“ when people start using the word purview that’s when you know you’re working with cunts” this did make me laugh. It’s so correct isn’t it
Personally, I felt that the novel rather lacked in character development. The characters seemed more two dimensional north than the situations that they were finding themselves in.
It reads more like a biography than a story of fiction which I suspect comes from the fact that the author works so closely to the job of the narrator in the story .
It’s hard to find a another book that I’ve read recently that I could compare it to. I did read a book frontline midwife. By Anna Kent in 2023 which was a biography and had some similarities to this story.
I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK in return for a review. The book is published in the UK on the 25th of February 2025 by Orion publishing group.
This review will appear on Goodreads StoryGraph and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com after publication will also appear on Amazon UK

Nadia has been given the heady task of de-radicalising ISIS brides after she wrote a theoretical paper on the subject.

After travelling to Iraq What ensues is her own personal growth while trying to "save" Sara a young woman who could have been Nadia in another timeline.

This book was stunning. Fast-paced, Emotional & funny with well rounded characters who you absolutely rooted for while also detailing the ridiculous bureaucracy of the UN.

I absolutely want everyone to read Fundamentally.

This book had me gripped and I devoured it in a day! It was dark, witty and told the story of Nadia, an academic who is given a job by the UN of deradicalising ISIS brides who are being held in a camp in Iraq. As it’s a subject I know very little about, it had me gripped from the beginning with the sprinkling of humour making it easy to read. The main character, Nadia, is troubled and is struggling with her own identity which adds to the plot and her personal battles mean that she is more vulnerable in this hostile environment. A great read!

Nussaibah Younis’ Fundamentally is a sharp, heartfelt, and darkly funny exploration of identity, morality, and resilience. Set against the backdrop of an intensely challenging and morally complex environment, the story follows Nadia, a British academic attempting to rebuild her life and find a new purpose after a painful heartbreak.

The novel deftly weaves Nadia’s struggles—her unresolved feelings for her ex, her fraught relationship with her mother, and her self-reflection on life’s “what ifs”—with the heavier themes of de-radicalisation and humanitarian work. Her assignment in Iraq is not only a physical journey but also an emotional and ethical labyrinth, as she becomes entangled with Sara, a young refugee whose fate challenges Nadia’s professional boundaries and ideals.

Younis’ writing is a masterful blend of wit and poignancy. Nadia’s inner monologue is deeply engaging, filled with self-deprecating humour and incisive commentary on modern British culture. References to things like Strictly Come Dancing and Tory MPs ground the story in a relatable context while serving as a sharp contrast to the sobering realities Nadia faces in her new role.

What truly stands out is the novel’s cast of characters. Every individual, from Nadia’s hypocritical colleagues to the resilient Sara, is well-drawn and complex. The book strikes a fine balance between humour and weightier themes, making it compelling without ever feeling heavy-handed or overly simplistic.

Fundamentally is a brilliant exploration of cultural intersections, personal growth, and the shades of grey in ethical dilemmas. It’s both a deeply personal story and a broader commentary on the intricacies of motherhood, religion, and sexuality. A must-read for fans of character-driven novels with heart and humour.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

I’m finally bringing you my thoughts on Fundamentally by Nussaibah Yonis, which had me laughing out loud and very impressed considerations the main topic. The plot centres on the main character, Nadia, who’s sent to Iraq on a UN job to rehabilitate ISIS women. Then Nadia meets Sara who reminds her so much of herself, until she confesses a secret that forces Nadia to make a decision.

As an Iraqi Kurd who currently lives in Leicester but grew up in London, this was a great read but serious when it needed to be. The writing was good and I could envision this being adapted to screen.

Watch out for this new edition to the new year as it comes out in February 2025, but I was lucky to be able to review it in advance.