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abigailrsimard's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
lisa_hewett's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, Sexual harassment, and War
ellaa_aahhh's review against another edition
- 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
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
chireadsandchill's review against another edition
- 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
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
nehaanna's review against another edition
- 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
There is no amount of words for the grief this book inspires. I think I started crying when I read the words “I’ll tell God everything,” and I never stopped. Reading this about a month or so after the Assad regime fell in Syria and a few days into a tentative ceasefire in Palestine, I can only think of the war torn, the displaced, the refugees, the asylum seekers, the ones who fled their country of birth for the chance of life. And now they can return home, their hopes have come to fruition. This book is just one of many stories about so many Salama’s, Kenan’s, Layla’s, Hamza’s, Lama’s, Yousuf’s, Dr. Zaid, and so many more. May their hearts be at peace and their souls at rest.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
frenandjen's review against another edition
- 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
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
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
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Blood, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
xiekaili's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
cristina_02's review against another edition
- 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
This is a masterpiece of equal hope and devastation. Layla’s character may have actually changed my brain chemistry because THAT was not expected in the slightest, and yet she gave me goosebumps.
Salama is a wonderfully strong character, with relentless energy to fight for her dream of keeping her family as safe as possible. Her realistic, if fatalistic outlook on how the events would shape out basically kept her alive, and her relationship with Khawf was very interesting to read. How much power do we let fear have over us? How much is it working in our favour, versus limiting our exposure to risk?
Kenan was extremely heartwarming and idealistic, and I absolutely loved him for it. I loved his passion for animation, and the Studio Ghibli discourse was so cute and simultaneously discordant with the circumstances, that it managed to bring what’s most important about life in the forefront: love. His comic relief turned out not to be so comic after delivering some of the most heart wrenching quotes in this book, but this man ought to be protected at all costs.
Am was a fucking disgrace of a human being, and yet the fact that he could even act as a source for a getaway is technically better than the soldiers that simply molest and kill helpless civilians. As loaded and as complex the situation actually is in reality, the moral shades of grey become black when thinking about bombing places of refuge.
As a general point, it blows my mind that people critique refugees coming on boats or via any transport really, to allegedly get benefits or free perks that they wouldn’t get in their home country. No one in their right fucking mind would ever choose to flee their beloved homeland, having spent their life savings on a dangerous smuggle operation that may not even be successful and at worst, lethal; to THEN arrive in a country where people are needlessly hostile to foreigners. I appreciated the fact that this book did not shy away from the horrors of what civilians are put through in wars like this.
Also, I loved how it tackled complex feelings, such as survivor’s guilt, PTSD, and the desire to protect and cherish your loved ones, but being split in between honouring the memory of the dead and trying to escape for the living. How can you be forced to put a hierarchy on love? How can you allow yourself to feel happiness, when you know that loved ones are either dead or in extreme suffering? It was impossible not to feel the emotional and physical exhaustion Salama was feeling while working in the hospital, and also her guilt for not being perpetually emotionally present to help her loved ones.
Overall, I adore this book and the message of hope it sends, as well as the direct political overtone. I wish more people read this book, and will recommend it to anyone who will listen.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual harassment
gabsoulutely's review against another edition
- 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
It was such a difficult read because of how real the emotions and the challenges of the revolution were. I had to stay and listen because what else can I do, but learn.
Beautifully told.
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Genocide, Rape, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Death, Trafficking, and Death of parent