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jennswan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Islamophobia, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Moderate: Gore, Racial slurs, Rape, and Animal cruelty
josh_goetz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
“The heavy snow that blankets the city and surrounding hills looks so clean, so innocent; you might almost think that the war never happened. But I know the snow hides bombed buildings and cratered roads. It covers mass graves; there is blood in the Earth beneath all that frozen beauty. You can hide the past, cover it up with snow or lies or years, but those who were there do not forget”
“I am ashamed for my people, for the Serbs and for the human race. We have been humans for 200,000 years, we have had written language for 5,000 years, we have been to space, yet somehow we cannot learn not to hate each other.”
What an absolutely incredible and heartbreaking book. I feel embarrassed to have gone this long without learning about the Bosnian genocide and I am disgusted by the way in which the US so easily ignores and misdirects around global genocide in the name of protecting its own racist agendas.
It is impossible to read this book without drawing parallels to the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, and I fear that this genocide too will be covered up and brushed away like that of the Bosnian Muslims just three decades ago. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess’s story is one of perseverance and community, with specific emphasis on learning from the past and doing everything in our power to not repeat it. It is our greatest duty and responsibility to stick together and fight for those who do not have the power to fight for themselves.
Fighting against generations of corruption, greed, racism and hatred is a seemingly insurmountable task, but it is not an impossible task. As Tata said, “We always help people. Without question, without reward, we help. I don’t know where to start, but we have to start somewhere.”
“I am ashamed for my people, for the Serbs and for the human race. We have been humans for 200,000 years, we have had written language for 5,000 years, we have been to space, yet somehow we cannot learn not to hate each other.”
What an absolutely incredible and heartbreaking book. I feel embarrassed to have gone this long without learning about the Bosnian genocide and I am disgusted by the way in which the US so easily ignores and misdirects around global genocide in the name of protecting its own racist agendas.
It is impossible to read this book without drawing parallels to the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, and I fear that this genocide too will be covered up and brushed away like that of the Bosnian Muslims just three decades ago. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess’s story is one of perseverance and community, with specific emphasis on learning from the past and doing everything in our power to not repeat it. It is our greatest duty and responsibility to stick together and fight for those who do not have the power to fight for themselves.
Fighting against generations of corruption, greed, racism and hatred is a seemingly insurmountable task, but it is not an impossible task. As Tata said, “We always help people. Without question, without reward, we help. I don’t know where to start, but we have to start somewhere.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Racism, Gun violence, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Hate crime, and Gore
rebeshelton's review against another edition
5.0
I'm sobbing. SUCH a good memoir and the narration for the audio was amazing.
jesassa's review against another edition
5.0
Such an incredible account of a part of history but I didn’t know about, it was emotional it was powerful and so well-crafted . I know it will stick with me. Everyone, teen and adult, should read this.
bookenthusiast13's review against another edition
4.0
Powerful, moving, and downright heart retching.
mrs_bookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you Bloomsbury USA Children's Books and NetGalley for sharing this book in exchange for an honest review. I chose this book because it was a memoir of a place and event that I had not previously read about- Bosnia and the attacks on Muslims there in the '90s. This book was long in places that I thought could have been shortened, but overall it was a read that I will remember forever and that I will use to research more about this time period. Thank you for sharing!