You Truly Assumed

• Book Title: You Truly Assumed
• Author: Laila Sabreen
• Genre: Young Adult Fiction
• Publication Date: February 8th, 2022
• Publisher: Inkyard Press
• Cover illustration: Alex Cabal
• Cover design: Gigi Lau

Dear White People meets Love, Hate, and Other Filters in this powerful, thought-provoking own-voices debut novel about three Black Muslim girls who create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths the country doesn’t see.

In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a terrorist attack rocks the country and anti-Islamic sentiment stirs, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths.

Sabriya has her whole summer planned out in color-coded glory, but those plans go out the window after a terrorist attack near her home. When the terrorist is assumed to be Muslim and Islamophobia grows, Sabriya turns to her online journal for comfort.

You Truly Assumed was never meant to be anything more than an outlet, but the blog goes viral as fellow Muslim teens around the country flock to it and find solace and a sense of community.

Soon two more teens, Zakat and Farah, join Bri to run You Truly Assumed and the three quickly form a strong friendship. But as the blog’s popularity grows, so do the pushback and hateful comments. When one of them is threatened, the search to find out who is behind it all begins, and their friendship is put to the test when all three must decide whether to shut down the blog and lose what they’ve worked for…or take a stand and risk everything to make their voices heard.

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Interview Questions

• Hello! If you had to design a playlist representing you, which songs will it have and what sort of vibe will it be?

Hi, thank you so much for having me! My music taste is pretty much all over the place, so I think the vibe would be a mix of pop, r&b, and rap. A couple of songs that would be on the playlist are Style by Taylor Swift and Footsteps by Kehlani. 

• What are some of your writing quirks? And do you prefer tea or coffee or none?

One of my writing quirks is that it’s hard for me to start working on an idea until it has an aesthetic and a playlist. Having both of those helps the idea start to take shape and feel real. Another writing quirk is that I pretty much always draft with music, but it has to have lyrics! Very rarely can I write in silence or to instrumental music. And I love both tea and coffee, so it’s hard to pick one over the other!

• Out of Sabriya, Zakat and Farah, who would you choose to spend time with in a park, in a library and at a theatre?

I love this question! I think I would choose to spend time with Sabriya at a theatre because she enjoys the performing arts and she would probably catch details that I wouldn’t. I’d choose to spend time with Zakat at a library because she’s also a booklover, so that would be a perfect place to hang out. And lastly, I would choose to spend time with Farah at a park because she’s into basketball, though she would probably challenge me to play 1 on 1.

• Did you always have the idea which themes you would have for your debut novel and were there WIPs that didn’t see the light of day?

I didn’t know that You Truly Assumed was going to be the book that would end up being my debut novel! But I did know that I wanted to explore the theme of friendship in the book since before I started drafting it. In terms of WIPs that didn’t see the light of day, there are a lot! Back in middle school and the beginning of my high school years, I actually wrote a lot of sci-fi and fantasy books. You Truly Assumed is only the second contemporary book that I’ve written!

• How was your experience writing “You Truly Assumed”? Which character do you connect to the most in the book?

In terms of my experience with writing You Truly Assumed, it was one that I really enjoyed. I started off by writing the first draft, and I was telling myself the story and getting to know each of the characters. In subsequent drafts, and through edits, I worked to make sure that each POV character’s individual arc worked well with the others and came together cohesively.

And it’s hard to pick just one character that I connect to the most because there are parts of me in all three POV characters. I used to do ballet and Sabriya’s passion is ballet. I’ve always been interested in art, so I got to explore that interest through Zakat’s character. And Farah and I are both huge Lakers fans!

• Would you like to share any deleted scenes from You Truly Assumed?

This was a hard question because I added way more than I deleted throughout all the rounds of revisions that You Truly Assumed went through! Something I noticed though is that the beginning paragraphs of Sabriya and Zakat’s opening chapters have remained pretty much the same since the beginning, but Farah’s is much different. So I’ll share the deleted opening of Farah’s first chapter:

I grasp the handles on the paper grocery bag, internally cursing as it tears. My fingers, stained red from the juice that leaked from the carton of strawberries and through the bottom of the bag, stick to the house key as I fumble it into the lock. This is what I get for splurging on strawberries instead of sticking with apples, which are always cheaper.

Now, the first paragraph of Farah’s first chapter is:

The beginning of summer break is a lot like scrambled code. The days start to blend

together similar to a string of random letters and symbols. But unlike in compsci class, there’s no hurry to figure out how to crack it because right now I have bigger things to worry about. Like how my boyfriend is leaving for college at the end of the summer, and I’m pretty sure that means I should break up with him.

• While you were researching ideas/information for the book, was there something that truly fascinated you but you couldn’t include it in the book?

I did a bit of research on different types of website security software when I was deep in edits. I didn’t go include much detail about that technology in You Truly Assumed, but it was interesting to learn how various software worked!

• What is your favourite(s) quote/scene/theme from You Truly Assumed?

One of my favorite quotes from You Truly Assumed is actually the opening line of Zakat’s first chapter: There’s something magical about the way art transforms chaos without apology.

• Is there something you are looking forward to these days? Any new releases you are excited about?

I’m really looking forward to reading and supporting my fellow 2022 debut authors! Some 2022 YA debut releases that I’m really excited for are Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman by Kristen R. Lee and Love Times Infinity by Lane Clarke. I’m also looking forward to reading Seoulmates by Susan Lee, Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie, and The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

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Author Info

• Laila Sabreen is a writer of young adult contemporary. Raised in the Washington, DC area, she currently attends Emory University and majors in English and Sociology. Her love of writing began as a love of reading when she fell in love with the Angelina Ballerina series. When she isn’t writing, she can be found working on essays, creating playlists that are way too long, and watching This Is Us.

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