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vanessareadstoomuch's review against another edition
4.0
The book was absolutely heartbreaking. I loved the lyrical style in which this book was told. I felt like I couldn't put it down. The style makes this book so captivating. There are such interesting themes of sisterhood, family, gender, race, religion, and ethnicity in this book.
sarah_hubmann's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
clpaton's review
4.5
Gorgeous. Made me want to go hug my sister and never let go.
"Make it last, make it last, make it last, my heart whispers to itself. The three of us sit in a circle, quiet, looking at each other. The first to laugh is the first to lose. My sisters, my Gods, my mirrors. Make it last, make it last, make it last. This feeling. Aisha and Noreen looking at me. Their eyes soft. My heartbeat syncing with theirs."
sararm's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.
A fragmented tale, playing with form, full of poetry, of three sisters who raised each other after their parents died.
The relationships at the core of the novel broke my heart with such precision, and soon I found myself swept up in this delicate, continuous heartbreak. This is a book about orphans. It's about wanting to be someone's, making oneself small in order to be loved more easily, more neatly. It's about facing an enormous amount of guilt when you're too small to be guilty of anything.
Though fragmented and short, it manages to do a lot and to convey incredible complexity in the relationship between the sisters, and the sister and the uncle.
It also tries to include other themes (an example is gender identity struggles), but they're thrown in too sparingly to ever feel like they are part of the narration.
A fragmented tale, playing with form, full of poetry, of three sisters who raised each other after their parents died.
The relationships at the core of the novel broke my heart with such precision, and soon I found myself swept up in this delicate, continuous heartbreak. This is a book about orphans. It's about wanting to be someone's, making oneself small in order to be loved more easily, more neatly. It's about facing an enormous amount of guilt when you're too small to be guilty of anything.
Though fragmented and short, it manages to do a lot and to convey incredible complexity in the relationship between the sisters, and the sister and the uncle.
It also tries to include other themes (an example is gender identity struggles), but they're thrown in too sparingly to ever feel like they are part of the narration.
lyloster's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
katlev's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
mirandaleighhhh's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
This was as devastating as it was beautiful. The writing style is interesting and dynamic, it felt a bit like a diary, but more than that. Three resilient Muslim American sisters, steadfast in their bond, finding home within each other and within themselves as other "homes" crumble away.
"we belong to a people who love the moon / yes, a god too- Allah / and the trees as well / the fabric tied to their branches / their roots deep in the ground / their arms toward the sky / towards her"
"my little ones / my sticky children / at home the babysitter / annoyed I'm not back / inshallah / they'll know / love so much / the love leaks / out of me / dark red / on / pavement / all I can see the moon / my blood / she's full / the streetlamps twinkle"
"We're mothered by everything because we know how to look for the mothering, because we know a mother might leave us and we'll need another mother to step in and take it's place"
"My sisters, my Gods, my mirrors" OUCH OUCH OUCH
"My sister- mother, my other God... God of the night; God of the stars. God of the boombox. God of the wind in her hair"
"we belong to a people who love the moon / yes, a god too- Allah / and the trees as well / the fabric tied to their branches / their roots deep in the ground / their arms toward the sky / towards her"
"my little ones / my sticky children / at home the babysitter / annoyed I'm not back / inshallah / they'll know / love so much / the love leaks / out of me / dark red / on / pavement / all I can see the moon / my blood / she's full / the streetlamps twinkle"
"We're mothered by everything because we know how to look for the mothering, because we know a mother might leave us and we'll need another mother to step in and take it's place"
"My sisters, my Gods, my mirrors" OUCH OUCH OUCH
"My sister- mother, my other God... God of the night; God of the stars. God of the boombox. God of the wind in her hair"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Xenophobia, and Sexual assault
lsparrow's review
4.0
love this author's story telling. perhaps not usual novel format but it feels like a story of childhood with some memories so detailed and unexplained gaps in others. a story of sisters growing up through orphanhood.