The story centers around two teenage characters whose POVs switch throughout the book. There is Jamie Goldberg, a boy who is stuck helping plan his sister’s bat mitzvah. Then there is Maya Rehman, who is struggling through a tough Ramadan.
The two end up having to volunteer for the Georgia State candidate. Although Jamie does not mind it, Maya is unhappy with it. They end up discovering that it is not so bad.
However, the state bans people from wearing head and face coverings while driving. Maya sees this as a form of disrespect to her religion. She and Jamie go to a local government office and try to get that law abolished. Sadly, that does not happen since the person in charge does not see it as being prejudiced to Muslims. But the two remain determined to work together and help their politicians.
Reading both this on the page and listening to the audiobook along with it made it much easier to understand the narrative. It made the character interactions feel more real. For example, it made me like Jamie’s grandma due to her gentle nature.
The characters were likable, regardless. For example, when Maya was forced to volunteer for the Georgia State candidate against her will, her mom promised her a car only if she agreed to volunteer. I considered that a fair deal.
Jamie and Maya made a great team. They got along well for the most part, including a time when Maya got upset over failing to get the head and facial covering ban lifted.
There are also a lot of real-life pop culture and place names in the book. Generally, I support that, and acknowledge that it is okay to have them inside stories to a certain level of extent. However, here, I considered there to be too many. There is also the mention of a particular real political figure and the characters’ opinion of them. Something like that should not be in a novel.
I also wish the characters’ physical appearances were stated no later than a few pages after the characters were introduced.
Overall, though, I enjoyed Yes No Maybe So. Note that there is some mature language in this book. So, even though it’s written for teenagers, it is best for those 15 and up.
I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.