Open Books Challenge 2026: By a Muslim Author

The Open Books Reading Challenge is a year-long reading challenge for people interested in pushing the boundaries of their reading. For full details of the program, please check-out our page at: https://www.rplmn.org/books-more/discover-more/open-books-reading-challenge

These are some ideas that fit the 2026 category "By a Muslim author."

Happy Reading!

Updated December 31, 2025
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Martyr!
Akbar, Kaveh
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD * ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR * A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR * A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and...
Homeland elegies : a novel
Akhtar, Ayad
Paper Book
This "profound and provocative" work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Disgraced and American Dervish followsan immigrant father and his son as they search for belonging--in post-Trump America, and with each other (Kirkus Reviews). "Passionate, disturbing,...
Rich and pretty
Alam, Rumaan
Ebook
This irresistible debut, set in contemporary New York, provides a sharp, insightful look into how the relationship between two best friends changes when they are no longer coming of age but learning how to live adult lives. As close as sisters for twenty years, Sarah and Lauren have been...
Love from Mecca to Medina
Ali, S. K.
Paper Book
On the trip of a lifetime, Adam and Zayneb must find their way back to each other in this surprising and romantic sequel to the "bighearted, wildly charming" (Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author) Love from A to Z that's a "contemplative exploration of faith, love,...
Courting Samira : a novel
Awad, Amal
Audiobook
The city of brass
Chakraborty, S. A.
Paper Book
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Library Journal | Vulture | The Verge | SYFYWire Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty, an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings,...
Song of a captive bird
Darznik, Jasmin
Paper Book
LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER * A spellbinding debut novel about the trailblazing Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad, who defied society's expectations to find her voice and her destiny "A complex and beautiful rendering of [a] vanished country and its scattered...
A tempest of tea
Faizal, Hafsah
Paper Book
*An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller* "Brewed to perfection." --Rebecca Ross, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divine Rivals Now available in a deluxe paperback edition with gorgeous stenciled edges, Hafsah Faizal's deliciously...
Exit west
Hamid, Mohsin
Paper Book
One of The New York Times's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century FINALIST FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE & WINNER OF THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR FICTION and THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE "It was as if Hamid knew what was going to happen to America and the...
The girl and the ghost
Hanna Alkaf
Paper Book
* Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! * A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies. I am a dark spirit, the ...
The Jasad heir
Hashem, Sara
Ebook
"A remarkable, razor-sharp debut that cuts straight to the heart."―Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief A fugitive queen strikes a bargain with her greatest enemy that could resurrect her scorched kingdom or leave it in ashes forever in this...
The antiracist kitchen : 21 stories (and recipes)
Hohn, Nadia L.
An anthology featuring stories and recipes from racialized authors about food, culture and resistance What if talking about racism was as easy as baking a cake, frying plantains or cooking rice? The Antiracist Kitchen: 21 Stories (and Recipes) is a celebration of food, family, activism and...
The kite runner
Hosseini, Khaled.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestselling novel beloved by millions of readers the world over. "A vivid and engaging story that reminds us how long his people [of Afghanistan] have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence--forces that continue to threaten them even today...
Detective aunty : a novel
Jalaluddin, Uzma
As long as the lemon trees grow
Katouh, Zoulfa
Paper Book
A love letter to Syria and its people, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a speculative novel set amid the Syrian Revolution, burning with the fires of hope, love, and possibility. Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Salt to the Sea.
Like the moon loves the sky
Khan, Hena
Paper Book
Inshallah you are all that is gentle and good. Inshallah you feel safe, like all children should. Like The Moon Loves the Sky is Hena Khan's daily wish for her children. With lyrical lines, each based on a verse of the Quran, and narrative illustrations that trace the life of a child...
Thorn
Khanani, Intisar
Paper Book
Hunted meets The Wrath and the Dawn in this bold fairytale retelling--where court intrigue, false identities, and dark secrets will thrill fans of classic and contemporary fantasy alike. Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life, but when her mother...
The dream hotel : a novel
Lalami, Laila
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER ● READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY ● From Laila Lalami--the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist and a "maestra of literary fiction" (NPR)--comes a riveting and utterly original novel about one woman's fight for freedom, set in...
Furthermore
Mafi, Tahereh
Paper Book
This captivating and colorful adventure that reads like a modern day fairy tale, from the bestselling author of the Shatter Me series is the perfect gift! "Brimming with color and magic." --New York Times Book Review   ★...
This woven kingdom
Mafi, Tahereh
Paper Book
New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller from the acclaimed author of the Shatter Me series! Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people--Tahereh Mafi's first in an epic romantasy series inspired by Persian mythology. To...
The bad Muslim discount : a novel
Masood, Syed
Paper Book
Following two families from Pakistan and Iraq in the 1990s to San Francisco in 2016, The Bad Muslim Discount is an inclusive, comic novel about Muslim immigrants finding their way in modern America. "Masood's novel presents a stereoscopic, three-dimensional view of...
My friends : a novel
Matar, Hisham
Paper Book
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE * A "masterly" (The New York Times, Editors' Choice), "riveting" (The Atlantic) novel of friendship, family, and the unthinkable realities of exile, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Return ...
The boldest white : a story of hijab and community
Muhammad, Ibtihaj
Paper Book
In this call to bravery from Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad, Faizah learns to overcome her fears and stand in front of the crowd in this beautiful celebration of family, fencing, and community.   Faizah loves being part of the community at her mosque, and...
This is what America looks like : my journey from refugee to Congresswoman
Omar, Ilhan
Paper Book
Named a Best Political Book of the Year by The Atlantic "This Is What America Looks Like is the origin story of a leader who, finding no set path that would take a person like her to the places she wanted to go, was forced, and free, to chart her own." -The New York Times...
You truly assumed
Sabreen, Laila
Paper Book
"You Truly Assumed is a beautiful portrayal of the multitude of ways to be Black and Muslim while navigating our contemporary world. A must-read for everyone."--Adiba Jaigirdar, author of The Henna Wars   In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a...
Grounded
Saeed, Aisha
Paper Book
When a thunderstorm grounds all flights following a huge Muslim convention, four unlikely kids are thrown together. Feek is stuck babysitting his younger sister, but he'd rather be writing a poem that's good enough for his dad, a famous poet and rapper. Hanna is intent on finding a lost cat in the...
A thief among the trees
Tahir, Sabaa
Paper Book
Taking place years before the bestselling An Ember in the Ashes novel series, this standalone original graphic novel follows three young military recruits: Elias, Helene, and Tavi, during their brutal training as soldiers for the Martial Empire. WITHIN THE EMPIRE THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS, ONLY ORDERS....
Ms. Marvel. Vol. 1, The new mutant
Vellani, Iman
Paper Book
Kamala Khan is back - and she's an X-Man! Ms. Marvel bursts into the next phase of her life in an exciting adventure co-written by Iman Vellani, the MCU's own Kamala, and Sabir Pirzada of both DARK WEB- MS. MARVEL and her Disney+ series! That's right - the good news is that in the wake of her recent...
The bird king
Wilson, G. Willow
Paper Book
One of NPR's 50 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Decade: A fifteenth-century palace mapmaker must hide his powers in the time of the Inquisition . . . Award-winning author G. Willow Wilson's debut novel Alif the Unseen was an NPR and Washington Post Best...

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