nuhafariha's reviews
1167 reviews

All Souls: Poems by Saskia Hamilton

challenging reflective slow-paced

2.75

Thank you Graywolf Press & Netgalley for this Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available!


The idea of poetic lineage shines bright in Saskia Hamilton's collection All Souls. I was greatly intrigued by the way Hamilton interrogated the source texts and created interesting ideas! I do wish the reader had more time to.digest some of the ideas or linger just a little longer with the complexity of.the peice.

Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

Thank you HarperVIA and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Told in innerconnected stories, Susan Muaddi Darraj's Behind You Is The Sea is an exploration into the lives, loves, and losses of Palestinian Americans. What I love most about this collection is the way it keeps spreading, casting a farther and farther net until.we finally end up back in the homeland. Each story builds on the last & it's so satisfying to see previous characters weave in and out of new chapters. I feel like I can read a whole collection about this specific community!

This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

2.75

Thanks Little Brown Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available May 7 2024.

Samira Ahmed's new novel This Book.Won't Burn is a timely tirade against facism and rising censorship in America. It left me feeling quite tired. I related to Noor, the eldest daughter of a South Asian family who finds herself to be an advocate for oppressed folks, especially when her family moves to a less diverse community in the suburbs of Illinois. What I wished for was more specificity. At some points, it felt like the book, while talking about the need to break stereotypes was full of them - the belligerent Principle, the benevolent white school librarian, the weird high school kids who turn out to be ok, the hot jock who turns out to.be kind of an asshole, the strict South Asian mom. As a disclaimer, I don't reach much YA which is maybe why this and the casual language (fashy??) stood out to me. As much as I loved the idea of this plot, the style wasn't my favorite. 

How to Baby: A No-Advice-Given Guide to Motherhood, with Drawings by Liana Finck

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

Thanks Dial Press & Netgalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available April 30th 2024.

Reading Liana Fink's "How to Baby" felt like someone was creating comics on my own life and thoughts. Fink captures the rollercoaster of emotions that is the first year(s) of motherhood with a graceful, comedic eye. I highly recommend this book for all new moms and those who may know them.

Moms by Yeong-shin Ma
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

I wasn't in the right frame of mind for this story and couldn't follow along the different timelines

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

4.25

Delightful and tender story of a queer couple navigating life. Sometimes our relationships come to natural tension points. In Lee Lai's Stone Fruit, the author gently combs through the aftermath and shows readers how to rebuild ourselves and how to define family. Visually, the story is told through small details, which I really enjoyed. Being a mother myself, I loved Amanda's multifaceted character.

Once More* *with footnotes by Terry Pratchett
Did not finish book.

Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story by Julia Wertz

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would at the beginning. Wertz's introspection & preserverance despite the odds is a winning combination. I'm also a sucker for a story with a (mostly) positive ending & the love of community 🥰

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the Reader's Copy!

Available now.

Whew, I cannot think of a better way of starting 2024 than with Lamya H's incandescent Hijab Butch Blues. I have never felt more seen, loved, or understood by a book as I did reading this coming of age story of a Pakistani by way of the Middle East queer Muslim. What I loved the most was reading Lamya's modern interpretation of stories from the Quaran. Figures like Maryam, Yunus, Nuh, and Hajar are revisited and brought to life as Lamya interrogates them with a modern set of values. I lauughed, I cried, I felt like I learned more than I did in therapy. Read this book ASAP!

The Golem of Brooklyn by Adam Mansbach

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for the Reader's Copy!

Now available.

A Golem, a Brooklyn art teacher & an ex-Hasidic lesbian walk into a novel & what do you get? Adam Mansbach's The Golem of Brooklyn aka one of the funnier books I've read this year. It's hard to define what exactly this book is about but for me the highlights were definiteky Mansbach's retelling of Jewish history with a keen eye and biting critique. I almost felt like the book could have kept going just a bit longer as it ended mid argument.