What a season for new books! We on THP’s book team have been loving all the book and audiobook releases lately. Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar is just one of the many YA romances we’ve fallen for this year.
If you’ve followed us for a while, you can tell we enjoy all kinds of romance tropes: enemies-to-lovers, rivals-to-lovers, and childhood friends-to-lovers. But what about ex-best friends-to-lovers? The main characters, Tiwa and Said, in Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar’s Four Eids and a Funeral are exactly that!
In case you’re compiling your summer reading lists right now, we’ll help you out. Here are four things we love about Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar!
Book Overview: Four Eids And A Funeral
Content Warnings: character death (mentioned), divorce
Summary: The town of New Crosshaven has it all—even its own infamous love story.
These days, Said Hossain spends most of his time away at boarding school. But when his favorite hometown librarian, Ms. Barnes, dies, he must return to New Crosshaven for her funeral and for the summer. Too bad being home makes it a lot harder to avoid facing his ex–best friend, Tiwa Olatunji, or facing the daunting task of telling his Bangladeshi parents that he would rather be an artist than a doctor.
Tiwa doesn’t understand what made Said start ignoring her, but it’s probably that fancy boarding school of his. Though he’s unexpectedly staying at home through the summer, she’s determined to take a page from him and pretend he doesn’t exist. Besides, she has more than enough going on anyway, between grieving her broken family and helping her mother throw the upcoming Eid celebration at the Islamic Center—a place that means so much to Tiwa.
But when the Islamic Center accidentally catches fire, it turns out the mayor plans to demolish the center entirely. Things are still tense between the ex-friends, but Tiwa needs Said’s help if there’s any hope of changing the mayor’s mind, and on top of everything, Said needs a project to submit to art school (unbeknownst to anyone).
Will all their efforts be enough to save the Islamic Center, save Eid, and maybe even save their relationship?
Two Alternating POVs
Love stories with multiple points of view just hit differently for us. Four Eids and a Funeral starts with Said’s perspective as he makes the trip home and dreads running into his ex-best friend, Tiwa. Meanwhile, Tiwa isn’t even aware that Said’s coming home for the summer. The two former best friends must tolerate each other and work together to save their community’s Islamic Center. But they must also clear up the misunderstanding that led to their estrangement and hostility in the first place.
The Flashbacks
As the title suggests, there are four Eids and one funeral mentioned in this book. And we loved getting detailed flashbacks of Eid celebrations throughout Tiwa and Said’s past. It started with the first Eid when Tiwa moved into Said’s neighborhood to the last Eid they had celebrated together. The timeline then goes to the first Eid Tiwa and Said celebrated alone and finally to the first one they spend together again as best friends (and possibly something more).
New Crosshaven’s Muslim Community
In the fight to save their Islamic Center from being demolished, Tiwa and Said enlist the help of the Muslim community in New Crosshaven and beyond. They create a petition, raise funds, and attend town halls to make their voices heard. It absolutely warmed our hearts to see their families involved and everyone giving a helping hand wherever possible. And the community did not stop fighting, even on the day of the demolition. The strength of their bonds should never be underestimated.
The Romance
After seeing the flashbacks of Tiwa and Said’s friendship, it pained us to see them argue so much in the present. They have so much history and endless inside jokes that it only makes sense that they get together. The sweet romance in Four Eids and a Funeral was very subtle because we’re the only ones who know what both characters think and feel. And by the end, we couldn’t have imagined a better full circle moment than the one Tiwa and Said had during the Eid afterparty.
Four Eids and a Funeral weaves together a delightful love story around a rekindled friendship, a community’s fight for justice, and a chance to find your way home.
Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar releases June 4th, and you can preorder a copy of it here!
What do you think of Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar’s Four Eids and a Funeral? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FARIDAH ÀBÍKÉ-ÍYÍMÍDÉ:
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ADIBA JAIGIRDAR:
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE
