Reviews tagging 'Rape'

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

124 reviews

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

3.5

This unfortunately did not hit as I was expecting it to, and I think the primary reason is that I don't like how the character Khawf (hallucination/physical manifestation of Salama's fear) was utilized. For a majority of the book, but mainly the first half, he often felt like he was expressing Salama's fear in an overly cruel and aggressive way that felt more like fear-mongering rather than for survival. It got better at the very end when he popped up during crucial moments where Salama needed to make a decision or die (such as

when she suspected the bomb would drop on the hospital or when they had to jump into the water from the boat

). Another part of why I didn't really like Khawf's character is similar to why I didn't fully like I Fell in Love with Hope.

I was able to predict one of the main plot twists of the book pretty early on (

Layla already being dead

), so sometimes I was a bit impatient for it to be revealed, though I thought that the reveal was done well. After the halfway mark, not as much time was spent focused on the character the plot twist is based around (not in a bad way), so the reading experience got better.

I really liked the relationship between Salama and Kenan. It was very sweet, and their romance didn't feel unnecessary at all because the set-up was well done, and their chemistry made sense. I also like that all of Salama's secrets (apart from

Layla

, but she finds out when Kenan does, so it is done well) are revealed by her own volition and the conflicts between the two are resolved through healthy communication. I was surprised when Kenan

agreed to flee Syria with his siblings and Salama

, but I'm glad they got their version of a

happy ending

. I think that the references to Studio Ghibli usually felt randomly dropped in, except for references to Castle in the Sky, which were well-placed and reflected their relationship and circumstances well.

This book really does go into some brutal detail and makes the characters make tough decisions, each of which are done vividly and realistically. Overall, despite a couple details that I was nit-picky about, I would recommend this and could definitely picture myself rereading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Grief, and War

Moderate: Rape, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture

ellaa_aahhh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape and Torture

rebeccakoury's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

I am absolutely wrecked. I teared up for a bit but then at about 60% I started crying, which turned to sobbing, which turned to covering my eyes and mouth trying to not scream, turned to racing to my husband to get comfort, turned back to reading and crying for the rest of the book.

This story will stay with me forever. I am devastated but I feel honored to have read this story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, and Torture

chireadsandchill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

wyvernsandwords's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

frenandjen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

seregelda's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad 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

4.0

CW: war, death, hallucinations, r*pe mentions, bombs, injury descriptions, dead children, smoking, torture, mutilation, murder

In spite of all the horrible things in the CWs, it was a sweet story.  I didn't know what to expect at all, I just kept seeing it recommended on Tiktoks.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Rape

bobbyeight's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

Excuse me while I bawl my eyes out

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Torture

xenia1999's review against another edition

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

4.5

Dit boek heeft mij een beetje gebroken. Het heeft me beter doen begrijpen hoe beangstigend en verscheurend het is om in oorlog te leven, niet wetende of je familieleden aan het eind vd dag nog leven, niet wetende of je het zelf gaat overleven. Én, hoe moeilijk het is om te vluchten en wat voor een verschrikkelijke tocht het is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit