If you don’t have this book in your possession, now is the time to buy your copy or get/request it at your library. If you own Written in the Stars, whether it’s on your shelf or in your kindle library, and you haven’t read it yet, push your plans to the side and make this your next read.

But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed-her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now! Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots.

When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. And until then, dating-even friendship with a boy-is forbidden. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up-but they will choose her husband. Has Naila’s fate been written in the stars? Or can she still make her own destiny? This heart-wrenching novel explores what it is like to be thrust into an unwanted marriage.

Note: This review is part of the 2016 Summer Reading Diversity Spotlight.

Written in the stars book aisha saeed