All My Rage
In Sabaa Tahir’s latest novel, teens growing up in present-day California emotionally intersect with their parents’ experience from late-20th-century Pakistan. Told from two contemporary perspectives and a third perspective set in the past, this character-focused story explores immigrant experiences in contemporary America.
Salahudin—called Sal at his predominantly white school—is sensitive and protective of his friends and family, even in the face of addiction, intolerance, and violence. As his mother succumbs to illness, Sal takes on the challenge of saving his family’s Mojave Desert motel, which struggles under his father’s mismanagement. Noor is his best friend, orphaned as a young child by violence and unrest in Lahore, and now facing racist cruelty at school and the harsh guardianship of her uncle. Her greatest wish is to get admitted to college and escape their isolated hometown, where her only emotional respite comes from Sal’s kindness and her love of rock music. The two storylines are intercut by the story of Sal’s mother Misbah, who tells a confessional account of meeting Sal’s father, leaving Pakistan, and coming to America to eke out a living running a motel.
In leaving behind her successful fantasy series for this contemporary novel, Tahir proves that her talent for hitting emotional nerves easily traverses genres. She deftly moves the plot of Sal and Noor’s struggle to make it out of their senior year while also covering such heavy topics as childhood trauma, domestic violence, and the ethics of criminal activity. Sal, Noor, and the recollections of the younger Misbah are fraught with major and minor tragedies, giving into or combatting their personal rage in believable and heart-wrenching moments. Their hard-won perseverance will have young adult and older readers alike rooting for them until the end.
