Yes No Maybe So
Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed
A Fifty word review
Young
Teen
Campaigners
In a Meet Cute
Target
Spending time together
Knocking on doors
Learning cultural differences
Finding oneself
Finding one’s voice
Disappointment
Parental Separation
InstaGran-ny
High school ‘politics’
Real Wold Politics
Discovery
Underdogs
Plucky 13 year old sis
Misunderstandings
Target gaming, target meetings, target mishaps
And redemption, redemption, redemption
Dr. Bookworm with YES NO MAYBE SO by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed in front of the Tour the States poster from Marbles the Brain Store.
The Longer Story:
I started Yes No Maybe So during election time. I love Becky Albertalli’s work—she has the enviable ability to sketch teens who are multidimensional, likable even with their faults, and, most importantly, relatable. Her sense of humor doesn’t hurt either. If I could label Albertalli, I would call her a musician/a metronome, because she has such a great sense of timing and rhythm in her characters, in her dialogue, and in her novel pacing. Sometimes with other writers, I get pulled out of the novel world, or just feel the mid-book slump. With Albertalli, I just keep strolling along, strumming along to the rhythm of her characters. And, somehow, Aisha Saeed + Becky Albertalli is the perfect band mash-up that you never knew you needed. (Kind of like how the recent Jane’s Addiction/Smashing Pumpkins tour showcased two of my high school era bands in perfect harmony. Okay enough musical references….)
I don’t come from the same background as either of the main characters. Maya is Muslim, Jamie is Jewish. But somehow I related to both of them in different ways. Jamie has a matriarchal family with his Gran at the helm, and Maya is an only child coming from a minority family in her area. I grew up like this: with an ever present extended family and a Lola who always spoke her mind and feeling like an outsider in a community that I grew up in.
Maya’s faults and mistakes somehow aligned with my own. As a introverted extrovert, somehow I felt shy and awkward even as I was very involved in everything at my high school. Maya clinging to one best friend (partially due to insecurity) just rang true for me as a twin whose best friend was ever-present. Add in her over-judgment and sometimes rash temper and I can see myself walking in her shoes.
What I loved so much about Yes No Maybe So was the seamless way that Saeed and Albertalli weave the storylines. The background of a local election, the subtle-yet-not-so subtle racism in the community, the gaslighting of certain events, the bottom-line messaging. I love that through Jamie and Maya, they both somehow explain the importance of local and not-so-local politics without making it seem like they’re standing on a soapbox. We come of age with Maya and Jamie. And I enjoyed every step of the ride.
Note: I listened to Yes No Maybe So via audiobook during my commute times after dropping off my kids. But I also read sections in Mini Me’s copy of the novel as I was too impatient to wait for my next drive to see what happened next. If you like audiobooks, Tiya Sircar and Michael Crouch do a fantastic job.
Should you read Yes, No, Maybe So?
✓ Yes
No
Maybe So
