Rukhsana Ali is a Muslim Bangladeshi-American girl living in Seattle, Washington. She enjoys most things about her Bengali culture, and has many white friends as well. However, one thing about Rukhsana is sure to cause problems: she's a lesbian with a white girlfriend, Ariana, whom she loves very much. Knowing her traditional parents won't approve of it, she keeps this a secret from them, hoping that she'll live openly with Ariana once they both go to Caltech after graduating from high school. However, when she's found out by her mother, her parents try all that they can to make Rukhsana live as they wish, no matter what. Rukhsana now must fight for her happiness against her own parents.
Examples:
- Abusive Parents: Once she's outed, Rukhsana's dad slaps her for not obeying about hiding her sexual orientation, which shocks her to the core as neither he nor her mom had ever done that until then. She gets blamed by her mother later over her dad collapsing while they were arguing over their plans to have her marry a man as well, deeply hurting Rukhsana. They then have Rukhsana come with them to Bangladesh visiting her sick grandmother, attempting to force her into an arranged marriage as well after drugging her so she can be held in place to get an "exorcism" as they believe that a djinn is making her this way. She only escapes by running away to the US.
- Against My Religion: Rukhsana's parents have a hard time accepting her as a lesbian as they're Muslims, with homosexuality traditionally being forbidden. On the same note, they're afraid that their family and friends will react poorly to her lesbianism too as a result.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: When Rukhsana's parents come around to accepting her lesbianism, she soon grows embarrassed by how much they start overcompensating (e.g. seeking out another Bengali lesbian for her, the way they'd done with guys earlier), though it's out of love.
- Arranged Marriage: A feature of the Bengali Muslim community. Rukhsana, a lesbian, is keen to avoid this, though even straight people can fall afoul of it when matched with people whom they have no feelings for.
- The Beard: Rukhsana and Sohail, a man whom she's matched with, decide to temporarily be this for each other. She's a lesbian, while he's gay, which their traditional families would never accept. Because of this, they agree to be engaged as a ploy to escape to the US on the eve of their wedding.
- Big Brother Instinct: Aamir is Rukhsana's younger brother, but he's nonetheless protective of her and this has been his way since childhood.
- But Not Too Black: Rukhsana is chided by an older Indian woman for going out in the sun more often than is fashionable, so that her skin is darker. It appears to be a common prejudice in Bengali culture, from what's said.
- Child by Rape: Rukhsana finds out that her mother and uncle were conceived because of her grandfather repeatedly raping her grandmother. Since he would let up temporarily when she was pregnant, her grandmother felt the happiest during her pregnancies.
- Closet Gay: Rukhsana hasn't come out to her parents as a lesbian at the start of the story, fearing their reaction. In Bangladesh she's matched with Sohail, who's ironically gay and closeted himself. Sohail thinks it's hilarious when they confide in each other. He says all gays in Bangladesh have to be closeted too since it's dangerous if they're out. He's proven sadly correct as extremists who learn of his sexuality murder him.
- Coming-Out Story: Rukhsana comes out to several people as a lesbian in the story, mostly her loved ones, with varying reactions-her parents are hostile at first, with the rest accepting.
- Cure Your Gays: Rukhsana's parents become convinced she's possessed by a djinn that made her attracted to girls and defy them. They hire an exorcist called a djinn-catcher, but of course the "exorcism" fails.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Rukhsana finds out from her diary that her sweet, loving grandmother had a traumatic past, with domestic abuse from her husband and his mother, along with regular rape at his hands. Then when he'd begun raping their daughter too (Rukhsana's mother) she couldn't stop him except by inspiring a friend to kill her husband. It also applies to Rukhsana's mother by the same token.
- Domestic Abuse: Rukhsana finds out that her grandmother suffered frequent beatings and once a burned hand by her mother-in-law or husband.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Rukhsana goes through rejection and abuse by her parents over being a lesbian, getting forcibly matched with a guy, breaking up with Ariana, her beloved girlfriend thinking it will never work out because of how they are then her gay friend/fiance Sohail killed by bigots too. She nonetheless manages to repair all this and her parents realize what they did, reconciling with her by accepting her lesbianism, with Ariana becoming her girlfriend again.
- Forced Out of the Closet: Rukhsana is outed when her mom catches her kissing her girlfriend Ariana.
- Homophobic Hate Crime: Sohail, a closeted gay man in Bangladesh who Rukhsana befriends and gets fake engaged to, is killed by extremists as a result of his sexuality.
- I Want Grandkids: Even after she's finally accepted Rukhsana being a lesbian, her mother still wants to have grandchildren someday, querying how that works for lesbians. Rukhsana puts that aside until another day.
- Killed Offscreen: Sohail is murdered by extremists over being gay. This isn't shown, with Rukhsana only learning about it later after he doesn't appear to fly off with her.
- Marital Rape License: Rukhsana's grandmother (a minor to begin with) had to suffer this often in her marriage, and was happy being pregnant since then her husband temporarily let up.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After Sohail's murder due to being gay, Rukhsana's parents come to realize it could have been her, and what they did with rejecting her. They apologize profusely, with a reconciliation because of this.
- Old Man Marrying a Child: Rukhsana's maternal grandmother was married off to her grandfather when she'd been very young (it's said she just reached menarche that year) and he was thirty five at the time.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Sohail's parents are utterly devastated by his murder, which helps knock sense into Rukhsana's parents, realizing the same thing could have happened with her too just for being a lesbian.
- Out of the Closet, Into the Fire: Rukhsana's mom reacts badly to finding her with her girlfriend. First she orders Ariana out after slapping her, then says Rukhsana disgusts her. When she tells Rukhsana's dad he blames it on them allowing her too much freedom then discusses conversion therapy. Rukhsana refuses to obey, and he slaps her, the first time either of them has ever laid a hand on their daughter.
- Rape as Backstory: Rukhsana learns to her horror of how both her grandmother and her mother had been raped repeatedly by her grandfather.
- Reality Has No Subtitles: There are many untranslated Bengali words in the text, although a lot of them can be understood through context even without looking up their meanings for non-speakers.
- Secret-Keeper:
- Rukhsana's brother Aamir knows about her being a lesbian and keeps her secret, knowing their parents would be displeased about it.
- Irfan later also discovers it, but also says he'll keep her secret.
- Rukhsana tells her cousin Shaila in Bangladesh, who also keeps it.
- Secretly Gay Activity: Rukhsana uses doing homework with Ariana as cover to make out with her to hide their relationship from her parents.
- Secret Relationship:
- Rukhsana and her girlfriend Ariana are secretly dating as Rukhsana's afraid of her parents' reaction. Ariana is unhappy with this, not wanting to be kept a secret.
- Irfan is secretly seeing a white girl, which his family wouldn't approve of either, and sympathizes with Rukhsana due to this.
- Rukhsana finds out that her cousin Shaila in Bangladesh is secretly dating a college classmate, and this isn't allowed by her parents who are planning her arranged marriage with someone rich.
- In Bangladesh meets Sohail, a closeted gay man who's secretly involved with a guy.
- Slipping a Mickey: Rukhsana's mother drugs her tea after she's disobeyed by trying to flee so she can escape an unwanted arranged marriage, and keeps her there that way.
