Hana Khan Carries On

Jalaluddin follows Ayesha at Last with another charming contemporary romance, which maintains a fun, energetic mood while tackling serious themes of prejudice. Twenty-something Hana Khan hopes her radio internship will lead to a career telling important stories, and enjoys the distraction of her online flirtation with the top listener to her anonymous podcast, Ana’s Brown Girl Rambles, on the side. But her mother’s halal restaurant in Toronto’s Golden Crescent faces imminent collapse, forcing Hana to refocus her energies on helping to save it. The situation is exacerbated by the arrival of a new gourmet halal place whose proprietor, Aydin Shah, works to get close to Hana, even as his gentrifying father plots to take down her family’s business. After a video of an anti-Muslim hate crime against Hana and Aydin goes viral, their community comes together to protect them from internet trolls and in-person harassers. Hana and Aydin’s late-in-book romance feels like a bland but believable add-on to their budding friendship. The social dynamics at the radio station and in Toronto’s Indian communities are the real highlights, bound by just enough plot to move the story forward smoothly. Jalaluddin’s fans won’t want to miss this. [em]Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary. (Apr.) [/em]