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briaarnese's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Something about the poetic and stream of consciousness nature of this book hooked me. I’m a sucker for beautiful yet surreal imagery and metaphor, and the author wrote these beautifully.
Great storytelling packed into a short but well-developed narrative about grief & overcoming despite all odds.
Great storytelling packed into a short but well-developed narrative about grief & overcoming despite all odds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Sexism, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, and Cursing
jordynkw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
baileyk123's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Blood and Sexual violence
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I liked this for what it was, but I definitely prefer Fatimah Asghar's poetry collection to this.
I thought the relationship of the sisters with one another as well as to their uncle was well-written. Their living circumstances were tense and difficult to read about and kept me invested in their futures. I wanted to keep reading to see them out of this cramped, unhappy apartment. They look after themselves and each other and are quite disconnected from the outside world.
There was a lot that didn't seem to fit with the sisters' story though. While it's all written poetically, some portions felt too hard to connect to the greater story and that left me jarred out of the momentum of the narrative.
I'll keep my eyes open for more from this author who is seriously such a talented poet. This one was promising and while it didn't quite live up to my hopes, there was lots to admire and love in this novel.
I thought the relationship of the sisters with one another as well as to their uncle was well-written. Their living circumstances were tense and difficult to read about and kept me invested in their futures. I wanted to keep reading to see them out of this cramped, unhappy apartment. They look after themselves and each other and are quite disconnected from the outside world.
There was a lot that didn't seem to fit with the sisters' story though. While it's all written poetically, some portions felt too hard to connect to the greater story and that left me jarred out of the momentum of the narrative.
I'll keep my eyes open for more from this author who is seriously such a talented poet. This one was promising and while it didn't quite live up to my hopes, there was lots to admire and love in this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Islamophobia, Murder, and Racism
bookishbrenbren's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Kausar and her two older sisters are orphaned, stuck with an uncle who neglects them and keeps them in a shabby apartment, expecting them to care for themselves, despite their young age. Kausar grows up with a lot of feelings of guilt, worships her sisters who are more than sisters, sometimes mothers, sometimes brothers, sometimes whatever they need to be for each other.
A beautiful, heartbreaking story that fans of Safia Elhillo, Akwaeke Emezi, Ocean Vuong, books in verse, or novels written by poets, generally speaking. I love everything about this book - it's easily one of the best I've read this year. I hope this book will find the people who need it.
I especially love the fresh style of writing this story is told in, incorporating occasional verse, interview-type dialogue, and other things my simple novel-model-reader mind cannot name. The writing itself is excellent, growing more mature as the character ages, for example. At times, the length of the chapters adjusts to the length of the thoughts of Kausar, sentences growing shorter and choppier with panic and dreamy and fuzzy with episodes of dissociation. I didn't really understand the ending, I don't know that it fit well with the main character's arc, but it didn't lessen my appreciation for the story at all.
I also love so much the way the author captured the unique love-adoration-worship that younger sisters have for their older sisters - and the ways sisters/siblings are so open and vulnerable to each other that they also tend to be the ones who can harm us the most, the deepest, the worst, the quickest, the easiest. It's a relationship/connection that deserves to get more attention in literature.
My only complaint is that the pacing did feel a bit off, with the beginning (30%) feeling achingly slow (especially because it's such heartbreaking content) and the rest of the book flying. Secondly, the book is very sad, it's dark. That's not a critique as, obviously, some stories must be dark to be told at all, but beware if you tend to hate books that are not (sad + happy ending) or (sad + hopeful), but are just honest and open and sad (still, it's brilliant writing - keep that in mind) you may not enjoy this one.
A beautiful, heartbreaking story that fans of Safia Elhillo, Akwaeke Emezi, Ocean Vuong, books in verse, or novels written by poets, generally speaking. I love everything about this book - it's easily one of the best I've read this year. I hope this book will find the people who need it.
I especially love the fresh style of writing this story is told in, incorporating occasional verse, interview-type dialogue, and other things my simple novel-model-reader mind cannot name. The writing itself is excellent, growing more mature as the character ages, for example. At times, the length of the chapters adjusts to the length of the thoughts of Kausar, sentences growing shorter and choppier with panic and dreamy and fuzzy with episodes of dissociation. I didn't really understand the ending, I don't know that it fit well with the main character's arc, but it didn't lessen my appreciation for the story at all.
I also love so much the way the author captured the unique love-adoration-worship that younger sisters have for their older sisters - and the ways sisters/siblings are so open and vulnerable to each other that they also tend to be the ones who can harm us the most, the deepest, the worst, the quickest, the easiest. It's a relationship/connection that deserves to get more attention in literature.
My only complaint is that the pacing did feel a bit off, with the beginning (30%) feeling achingly slow (especially because it's such heartbreaking content) and the rest of the book flying. Secondly, the book is very sad, it's dark. That's not a critique as, obviously, some stories must be dark to be told at all, but beware if you tend to hate books that are not (sad + happy ending) or (sad + hopeful), but are just honest and open and sad (still, it's brilliant writing - keep that in mind) you may not enjoy this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Death of parent, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Cursing, and Animal death
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