Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

8 reviews

ruc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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 abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Vomit, Trafficking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

booksanna's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Rarely do I ever start a book not because of its popularity or blurbs, but of the Acknowledgements page. This is one of them.
It takes tremendous amount of time and strength to write a well-written book, and seeing this author not only thank the people important in her life, but also thank all the other authors, creators, and artists that helped them on the way. All of these works of art really added to the story and truly made this book so beautiful.

I saw the BTS reference heheh, and the katniss and peeta

Firstly, I want to discuss how well-written the characters are. With unique personalities, interests, skills, and dreams. Layla with her personality, Knawf with his twisted ways of keeping Salama alive, Kenan with his joy, Hamza with his determination, and Salama with her strength. Life was breathing in all those characters(even the ones who were not alive). Even the villains had a depth of humanity to them that made me even more furious with them. 
The plot itself was beautifully written, although the author changed the timeline of the events, I really like how she tried to keep the depiction and the story of Syria as realistic as possible. Knowing that this fictional story has so much pain and truth makes it so much more than a story. But an urgent light of hope and strength. I also liked how mental health and its presence in the revolution was portrayed. The plot twists were very well-written, and some scenes left me sobbing with the beautiful (and terrifying) imagery.
I love this book. I hope its message spreads.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Rape, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm and Torture

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Torture, and Vomit

Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking

historyoftape's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad 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

I think this book will sit with me for a long time. From Salama, to Layla, to Kenan, Yusuf, Lama, even Khawf-all of them people, beautifully fleshed out, all of them brilliant stars agains the harsh reality that this book portrays. My heart goes out not only to them, but to the whole of Syria. To the men, women & children for whom this is not merely a story, but an echo of their own life. 

As long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die. This book has planted a seedling in my heart, and I am willing to see it grow.

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Now that it's been a few days, I'm ready to go into more detail on why I liked this so much. The characters all had strengths and flaws, grew and developed. There was no sugarcoating of what it means to live in a war zone.

the romance was cute & not annoying. The hallucinations were well written and believable.The twist with Layla was completely believable,but also I did not see it coming at all.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Trafficking and Pregnancy

This book is about the reality of living in a war zone. There is no sugarcoating what that means, and does to people. But that's why I think reading it is so important.

sydapel's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

If you read any YA book this year, let it be this one (A million blessings to that one person on TikTok who recommended this - sometimes the algorithm is good). For girls who hyper fixated on the Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, I am about to ruin your year. This is such an unflinchingly earnest book - from how it describes the realities of teenagers living under siege in Syria, the constant threat of death or worse and the inexorable remainder of hope and love and patriotism in spite of everything. I, like many white Americans, have not thought about Syria and its losses perhaps ever and this book singlehandedly changed that. Please read it, I promise you, despite the tears and the ache it leaves, you will thank me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

ddnreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

Bury me before I bury you.

I'm still incapable of forming the words that captivate my feelings perfectly after reading this book. I don't think my review would ever do the book justice. This is easily the best written story I read this year 😭🍋💛

When I go to heaven, I'll tell God everything.

A book about striving, surviving, loving, and sacrificing. A book about humanity with all its fractured souls and bones. Woven from the bloody Syrian soil, it captured sharply the trauma felt by the innocences, hospital buzzing with new victims everyday, and the inevitable choice between helping or leaving. Staying or trying to be alive.

In a historic city plagued by bombs, life has persisted.

Told through the eyes of a 18yo girl named Salama, the story evolved itself into her daily routine as a pharmacy student turned doctor. Her coping mechanism of losing. Her hallucinations. It was so often torn my heart in pieces. Admist all those, sassy jokes were thrown, an angel disguised doctor, and found a love meant to be. A possibility of new life. And it was blend perfectly.

There are enough people hurting you. Don't be one of them.

Lots of Ghibli references that I don't mind at all. A cute banter. An understanding heart. Halal romance at its best. Siblings love so strong it hurts.

This is a book of hope. It ripped my heart appart and stich it back together. I don't know what else to say than do yourself a favour and read this masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

faduma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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 abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

heartbrekker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

“It reminds me that as long as the lemon trees grow, hope will never die.”

On September 13, ALATLTG releases into the world, and I strongly urge all of you to pick it up immediately. It isn’t even out yet, and I’m certain it’ll be a classic for all the years and decades to come. Zoulfa created a poignant story about love and loss, violence and freedom, hope and strength.

"Empires have collapsed throughout history. They rise, they build, and they fall. Nothing lasts forever. Not even our pain."

Now Zoulfa is a genius when it comes to her raw prose and lyrical descriptions, which is even more impressive because this is her debut book! I can’t count the number of times I cried while reading, and the stark portrayal of grief, mental health, and—most importantly—hope is one of the most powerful that I have ever read. This entire book is simply a necessity for people to read. Her characters have to make some hard, upsetting decisions for their own survival, so it's going to be a tough book for readers to get through. Make sure you have a carton of tissues on standby. Don't be like me and think you can deal with your tears without a box.

"We are stripped from our choices, so we latch onto what will ensure our survival... The world is not sweet or kind. The ones outside are waiting to eat us and pick their teeth with our bones."

The novel follows Salama Kassab, an eighteen year old pharmacist turned doctor, during the Syrian Revolution. She lives with her pregnant sister-in-law/ best friend Layla because that’s the only family she has left. To make matters worse, a physical manifestation of her fear embodies an imagined figure named Khawf. He haunts her relentlessly, especially as the violence and bombs worsen around their household and the hospital, so Salama must decide whether to leave Syria as Khawf demands or stay to continue helping patients and fellow Syrians. Then a chance meet with a fateful boy may throw everything into chaos..

"Time is the best medicine to turn our bleeding wounds to scars, and our bodies might forget the trauma, our eyes might learn to see colors as they should be seen, but that cure doesn't extend to our souls."

I’m not going to say anything more because I do think this book is best told by its own words. Again, I urge you all to grab it on release day and read it.

Thank you to NOVL for sending me an ARC to review. I feel very honored that I got to review this book before release. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Self harm and Sexual assault