Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

44 reviews

larabroekhuijsen's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

bella613's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Highly recommend this book! 
I cried so hard. This one is a lot to handle but it's so worth it. I feel like I learned more from it as well- even though it's fictional, events that happen are based on real things. 
I picked up this book because I saw somewhere that Zoulfa Katouh is ARMY and that sparked my interest. The audiobook doesn't include her acknowledgments, and honestly I want to buy this book in print eventually because I want it in my personal library. 
This is a beautiful, heartfelt, raw work of art. I'm glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy

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

jules6469's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

The story of hope, faith, and love in this book makes it worth reading, hard as it may be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape

gabriellegoldenhour's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

jacss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

To say I enjoyed this book, may be a wrongful description. But I did appreciate it. It is a necessary book; both to make experiences of a war accessible, as well as humanizing people, and possibly especially teens and kids, in wartime. 

Considering accessible entry into a wartime book, I think that the author did a good job. It seems difficult to find middle ground between informing the masses about horrific events in a war, and at the same time creating characters that are lovable. It must be difficult to stay as true as possible to crimes of war, and not scaring off readers. In my opinion, this format works. Most people (maybe again, especially teens) will not likely pick up a history book on these wars. By making it into a wartime fiction, it becomes accessible, without it losing its power as a general source of information. For me, reading it while watching genocidal atrocities unfolding in Palestine, made it especially real. Although different places, and different wars, there are similarities in terms of desparation, and conveyed feeling of being alone. I also have to say that the description of the war crimes in the novel, were expected. It wouldn't feel true without to be honest. They aren't added for shock value; they fit expectations of war. 

The book was written from pov from traumatized child. About other teens and children in a war, having lost everyone. 

Also, I thought that the plot twist was great. I am hardly ever surprised by plot twists, but this one got me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Physical abuse

saycheeze37's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• 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? No

4.0

I thought the author did a fantastic job bringing light to the fight for freedom in Syria. Very tragic truths with a strong sense of hope. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Child death and Genocide

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, and Police brutality

skye_era_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I don’t know that I have ever read a book more heart wrenching than this. My heart broke and put itself together again many times throughout this story. And the fact that this is the reality of many Syrians absolutely kills me. I beg that we someday see a Free Syria, Free Palestine, Free Sudan, Free Congo, and all those who are fighting for freedom. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

smailliweiluj's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

While I agree with some criticism about the author's politics, I think this is a very important book. In the author's note Katouh writes that the world focuses on the numbers and politics of Syria, and that this book serves to focus on the emotion and the stories of the individuals. Because of that I think it would be wrong to judge this book simply because I do not agree with the political affiliation. What do I agree with? Surviving. I agree that the people matter far more than the politics. I agree that we need to know their stories and remember that despite global conflict, our lives matter. Nobody should be condemned to torture, murder, and banishment because they were born somewhere that another country wants to claim or exploit. History and politics are very important but we cannot lose sight of the fact that history is defined by the people, not numbers. We must never allow a civilization to be reduced to statistics because in doing so we are condemning them to suffer and forgetting their humanity, while also forgetting our own.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Physical abuse, Torture, Medical content, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and War

ashleereadsbooks692's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• 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: Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail