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booksojwhi's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Outing
Minor: Homophobia
noyastan's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Moderate: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Outing
Minor: Car accident
ribs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
the loophole takes on a coming of age narrative about a 17 year-old sayyed “sy” nizam who, after being accidentally outed as gay and got kicked out of a conventionally toxic asian household, traveled the world to find his missing ex-boyfriend (farouk) with nothing but an alcoholic djinn, reggie, as his company.
the groundbreaker of this book, aside from its modern-day aladdin plot, is the orpheus and eurydice parallels that kept going back and forth between reggie’s backstory and sy’s enthralling journey.
it was a fun ride reading this because i liked naz kutub’s storytelling but it’s too fast-paced for my liking; the characters, especially reggie, had inconsistencies—it was very hard to put my finger on her because her attitude kept going on opposites in every chapter. the chapters are short and even though the direction of where the story is going is well-paced, the destination is stale compared to the build up.
this book passably discussed the struggles felt by muslims and brown people. i did not like the fact that this book made it seem like its main brown character couldn’t care less about those struggles just because he had been sheltered by his parents from the conflicts his own people experience—not to mention, he had visible experiences of said struggles. there’s a scene, however, where he briefly acknowledged his privilege, but it was brushed off and the story focused on finding farouk again.
i felt like the ending bit was rushed and it could have been more detailed. i felt that this book had a shortage of putting enough details in a scene, which made them lack solidity and felt hollowed out when read.
overall, i did like the premise of this book. it was fine for a debut but the progression could’ve been better.
the groundbreaker of this book, aside from its modern-day aladdin plot, is the orpheus and eurydice parallels that kept going back and forth between reggie’s backstory and sy’s enthralling journey.
it was a fun ride reading this because i liked naz kutub’s storytelling but it’s too fast-paced for my liking; the characters, especially reggie, had inconsistencies—it was very hard to put my finger on her because her attitude kept going on opposites in every chapter. the chapters are short and even though the direction of where the story is going is well-paced, the destination is stale compared to the build up.
this book passably discussed the struggles felt by muslims and brown people. i did not like the fact that this book made it seem like its main brown character couldn’t care less about those struggles just because he had been sheltered by his parents from the conflicts his own people experience—not to mention, he had visible experiences of said struggles. there’s a scene, however, where he briefly acknowledged his privilege, but it was brushed off and the story focused on finding farouk again.
i felt like the ending bit was rushed and it could have been more detailed. i felt that this book had a shortage of putting enough details in a scene, which made them lack solidity and felt hollowed out when read.
overall, i did like the premise of this book. it was fine for a debut but the progression could’ve been better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Racism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Outing
lettuce_read's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Racism and Outing
booksdogsandcoffee's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
fast-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
3.5
Sy is reeling from a break up. Even though it’s 3 months he stil can’t seem to get over Farouk his ex boyfriend. His parents are over barring. Not letting him have his freedom until he finds a wife to bring home. His parents don’t know who he really is and Sy feels trapped. His only outlet was Farouk, but he is gone, broken off their relationship after Sy wouldn’t go with him to travel the world/fix the world. But now Sy has a second chance to get him back with the help of Reggie. A young woman who literally ran into his coffee shop and he saved. She offers him 3 wishes in return for saving her. Is she actually a djinn? Or just some trust fund baby who has cash to burn. This book took inspiration from Aladdin and the mythology of Orpheus and Eurydice, and turned it into a beautiful novel about found family, second chances and finding yourself.
I went into the loophole thinking it would be an epic love story, but was pleasantly surprised when that wasn’t the meat of the story. It touched on some very hard and difficult topics( done very well and with care) that are happening in the us and around the world.
Favorite quote:
“Being gay isn’t something I choose I just am”
Cw
Homophobia
Outing
Abusive parent
Beating
Religious trauma
Islamaphobia
Child abuse
I went into the loophole thinking it would be an epic love story, but was pleasantly surprised when that wasn’t the meat of the story. It touched on some very hard and difficult topics( done very well and with care) that are happening in the us and around the world.
Favorite quote:
“Being gay isn’t something I choose I just am”
Cw
Homophobia
Outing
Abusive parent
Beating
Religious trauma
Islamaphobia
Child abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Homophobia and Outing
pagesofbellerose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
Minor: Grief and Medical content
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