Reviews

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

melbell016's review

emotional hopeful informative 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? No

5.0

I really enjoyed the life lessons weaved throughout the story, and the fun facts about nature. I especially enjoyed the fig tree as a narrator - it was a surprising element but it lended itself well to telling the story. I learned a lot in this book. 

zahraa_aj's review

challenging informative slow-paced

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

3.0

I'm so upset that I didn't enjoy this more! I love Shafak's writing, she can easily transport the reader to a different era with all of its small details in a single page.

Unfortunately, the plot didn't make much sense to me. The history of Cyprus and the symbolism of the fig tree in the story overshadowed characterisation. This is still a wonderful story to read and learn from but the characters are one-dimensional. 

annartyler's review

reflective 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

3.5

bibliobrandie's review

5.0

This was brilliant and I loved every minute of it.

hikeplayski's review against another edition

Abandoned at 30%. I really wanted to love this book, but I just could not get into it. The voices of the characters seemed cartoonish or exaggerated in the way YA novels sometimes are. There were some really beautiful passages, but I just could not get through it.

mja002's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

bribowser's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

4.75

Beautiful story filled with lyrical writing. I absolutely loved the mix of history, nature and mysticism. The view of the tree was like an old wise women sharing life’s knowledge, it was a great read!

ioana_diaconu's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad

4.25

mildwoman's review

challenging hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

cellastial's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0