Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

162 reviews

khadfield13's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

morgasm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was on the verge on tears for essentially the entire book. Although the book is about Syria, I could not stop thinking about Palestine and the refugee crisis as well. Astounding book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Injury/Injury detail

multitalented_egg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

One of the most beautiful, thought-invoking books I've read in a while. It follows a young girl, Salama, through the horrors she faces during Syrian war, her guilt, her loss, the difficult decisions she has to make everyday, as well as the people she meets along the way. Reading this book evokes emotion from the first till the last page; whenever you think her story can't get more tragic, it does. 
It also shows how Salama suffers from PTSD, which materializes in the form of a man named Khawf - which literally translates to 'fear' in English. 
This story features the blooming of hope in a battered heart that believes hope is a luxury, and a brain that creates multiple coping mechanisms to help its owner keep up. 
But most of all, it shows the suffering of those who are ignored, whose lives are mere numbers, who are forgotten after the bullet goes through their skulls, and the rigid dichotomy between the suffering of the Palestinians and Syrians. 
With a halal romance subplot going on,  this book is a refreshing representation, and a perfect segue into educating ourselves more about the unfortunate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault and Torture

scarlettmay's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I have never had a piece of writing stick with me in the way that “As long as the lemon trees grow” has. This book has opened my eyes. It explores the revolution in Syria in a complex and beautiful way that we do not experience often in western media. With well fleshed out characters and a gripping plot- this book will shock you and take you on such a journey. I have recommended it to every person I have seen since I finished it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

lisewolters's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings

kirstenf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Vomit, Trafficking, and Murder

meg2009's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, and War

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Vomit and Trafficking

nbwalks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I think it's important to remember this is a YA book and so I am not the intended audience for this particular story. It's definitely something that needs to be read, as everyone should know Syria's story, it just wasn't something that I could connect to.

Salama's voice is very young and I didn't understand her relationship with Kenan, but perhaps that is the whole point being that in a war zone, every moment could be your last. She was also very contradicting and at times seemed to be yelling at Kenan for feeling the same way that she had been feeling just moments ago. It made no sense. Kenan was always apologizing to her and I didn't even know why. 

The timeline also felt a little all over the place and I felt the last chapters could have been expanded on. Majority of the book felt repetitive to me, it was all leading to the journey to safety, then that only lasts 2 small chapters. Pacing could have been improved for sure. I don't know, it was a decent read but nothing that stood out for me personally. Kind of feels like it's so highly rated because of the topic, not because of the execution.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and War

bookswithtaybai's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, and War

kia_y_k's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail