Blog Tour: Mark My Words by Muhammed Khan

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Mark My Words by Muhammed Khan. This is a young adult story that puts important themes under its microscope. If you are looking for a short and thought-provoking read, I would look no further.

Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Dua Iqbal has always had trouble minding her own business. With a silver-tongue and an inquisitive nature, a career in journalism seems fated. When her school merges with another to form an Academy, Dua seizes her chance and sets up a rival newspaper, exposing the controversial stories that teachers and the kids who rule the school would rather keep buried.

Dua's investigations are digging up things she shouldn't get involved with about family, friends and her community and as exams rattle towards her, she needs to make some hard decisions about when to leave things alone. But when she discovers that some kids at school are being blamed for selling drugs when the real perpetrator is right in front of their noses, she can't keep quiet any longer.

Mark My Words explores social inequality through the mixing of private school and state school teenagers. I was hooked early into the story by Dua, our main character, who fights to have her thoughts and opinions heard through her writing. This eventually leads her to start a school newspaper that aims to bring a voice to those who have not been given the opportunity to do so. Throughout the story, I enjoyed Dua's passion, relentless spirit, and courage to stand up for what she believes in. At points, I forgot that she was only fifteen years old! I would have loved my younger self to read this book and feel empowered by Dua's character and actions.

The writing style was rooted in pop culture references and slang. While at the beginning this took some getting used to, it did well setting the scene of a secondary school and the atmosphere of being back in the classroom.

This story feels very relevant to today's climate and tackles a wide range of themes including drug abuse, classism, racism, as well as family and friendship dynamics. They were used to flesh out the plot points as well as prompt character development. By the end, the story had shaped into something that felt very real and reflected the struggles a young person may indeed face in the world today. I would definitely read more by this author!

Links to find out more about this book can be found below.

Goodreads
Amazon UK
The Book Depository
Waterstones

Thank you Pan Macmillan for the invitation to be a part of the blog tour!