Reviewed by Jasmine Sov, age 17

It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi

Kiran Noorani thought she’d never have to see Deen Malik again after he ghosted her three years ago. Who would have known that Kiran’s sister Amira would fall in love with Deen’s brother Faisal? For the sake of playing nice for the happy couple, Kiran and Deen agree to keep their past relationship a secret. But Kiran has other plans. After her mom died, she swore to keep her family close—and when Amira tells her she might move across the country with Faisal, she vows to save Amira and end her rushed relationship. Meanwhile, Deen is delighted for his brother. This could be Faisal’s chance to start over, and Deen’s chance to finally put down his guilt for hurting Faisal in the past. But then Kiran finds out that there might have been another reason why Deen ghosted her back then: Faisal’s past. And Deen can’t let her find out the truth, especially if she tries to use it to ruin what Amira and Faisal have. Can Kiran and Deen mend bridges and give each other a chance?

“It All Comes Back to You” is advertised as an enemies-to-lovers rom-com, but is more of a coming-of-age story that tackles difficult themes like the loss of a parent, drug use, anxiety and guilt. The plot centers around Kiran’s knowledge of Faisal’s past and trying to destroy his relationship with Amira to “keep her family together.” Meanwhile, Deen tries to stop her while dealing with his own guilt and avoidance of conflict. Deen and Kiran are both appropriately morally gray characters given the respective events of their past—in fact, Deen strikes a good balance between his questionable actions and his subsequent guilt—but I felt that some of Kiran’s actions later in the book were over the line. Misunderstandings between the two are also a large driver of the plot. While “It All Comes Back to You” wasn’t as much of a rom-com as I thought it would be, it does offer strong character development and a thought-provoking exploration of trauma in young people.

3.5 stars of 5 stars

Find this book in our catalog: It All Comes Back to You

Catalog Number: YA FIC RISHI,F

418 pages