Review Yes No Maybe So

Yes No Maybe So is a YA romance by Aisha Saeed and Becky Albertalli that follows seventeen-year-olds Jamie Goldberg and Maya Rehman as they are forced by their parents to canvass for Jordan Rossum, the Georgia state Democratic candidate for their district’s special election.

Jamie and Maya are reluctant to do so as both are dealing with their own issues. Jaime has crippling shyness and fears public speaking while Maya is dealing with her parents’ trial separation and her best friend Sara leaving for college, which exacerbates her anxiety as she doesn’t deal with change well.

However, as the summer progresses, they bond with each other and find the courage to stand up for themselves and what they believe in, leading them to the realization they love each other.

Overall, I loved this story and ship Jaime and Maya so hard. But I do have a few criticisms of the book. First, I couldn’t stand Jaime’s cousin Gabe; he was the worst. And as for the other characters they were all a little flat, except for Sophie, Jaime’s younger sister, who stole the show in every scene she as in and whose Bat Mitzvah played a central role in the story.

My other issue is that Maya’s being Pakistani and Muslim felt like an afterthought. While she is shown fasting for Ramadan, at no point in the story was she ever shown reading the Quran, praying, or attending mosque, aside from an iftar dinner that doubled as a campaign event for Rossum. And at no point did her being Pakistani affect the plot, aside from a few times her having brown skin and being a woman of color were mentioned.

My last issue is that so much of the conflict between Jaime and Maya later in the book could have been resolved much sooner had they told each other what they were feeling and going through.

That said, I still enjoyed this book and recommend it. I give Yes No Maybe So five out of five stars.