My one sentence summary for this book in my notes is, "Paw Patrol for adults (princess version)." I must admit, I'm a big fan of Paw Patrol.

Fun and a little existential, this is a delightful read to slip into your day when you need a breather. Though I have not watched Sailor Moon, the whole magical girl idea as its expressed here made me want to. The page count means that not all of the plot is as fully expressed as the reader might like, but you'll have fun anyways.

4.25 ⭐ While Loved One is a debut, Aisha Muharrar is a writer I won't forget.

I sometimes think literary fiction can get a bad rep, either because things are too predictable or not relatable enough. When the synopsis tells you one of the main character dies, tragically, unexpectedly, you think: "Well I obviously already know what this story is about." And then sometimes, you truly don't, and you're very grateful for that.

Loved One standouts not only in it's simple, yet effortless writing, or the "Are you me? Am I you?" relatableness in the characters, but in the true essence of the theme: how grief and life and our choices are so intertwined, how can you not reflect back on the what if's and find peace within the decisions made.

Julia is one of those characters that sits with you. That makes you think, "Would I do the same in her situation? Would I feel similarly?". Julia makes you think because she isn't sure either; she's figuring out her grief and her love and life, and the ways the simplest of things build up to the most grandest moments. And even those can feel like they are forever changing because so are we, and sometimes most importantly, so are the people in our lives. I'm stunned with how much I feel I know Julia adamantly. If you are someone who reflects on how one single choice could have changed the tracteroy of small to big things, you will know her adamantly too, flawed and loved and all.

I appreciate Aisha Muharrar's intention with messy, imperfect interactions. As a character-driven story, this is less of watching how the story unfolds, and more focused on having the reader at the table visibly uncomfortable, shaking with laughter, or gasping with the characters as they hash it out. While Muharrar's prose felt straightforward, I believed the authenticity to it. The genuine voice of each character felt rich, knowable, and familiar.

With the pacing spread out, Muharrar's choice of interweaving flashbacks of Julia and Gabe to connect the reader with their history, their relationship, and their friendship was impactful. It became quickly less about knowing Gabe as a character, and more about knowing him through Julia, and her reflection and changing perception of their history after his death. Some could say dual timelines can detract from the pace, but here it felt more astute in building the memory of Gabe through Julia's reflection, versus him as an actual, participating character in the story.

One of the unexpected things I loved (heh) about this story was how women-focused it was. The death of Gabe brought these different women together. The ways in which Muharrar showed women at various points in their life, with different desires, dreams, families, and also in their grief and their action/inaction with it. Loved One passes the Bechdel Test as the overall story is less about a single man, and more about questioning if every choice is connected, and if not, how do we accept love and loss without understanding the purpose.