Reviews with content warning for Grief - Sparks Like Stars

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“Grief is nothing but the far brink of love. Love is the sun; grief is the shadow it casts. Love is an opera; grief is its echo. You cannot have one without the other. But if you follow that grief, you will find your way back to love.”

― Nadia Hashimi, Sparks Like Stars

Give all the stars to this incredible novel. My heart and soul are still moved by these poetic, unflinching, heartbreaking, yet hopeful, words. This book was recommended to me to read by one of my very dear former students. I'm so thankful for being guided to do so.

The synopsis is graciously intriguing, but the captivating plot and heartwarming character development was more than I anticipated once immersed. And then there was the writing. Hashimi is a new favourite author-hands down. I already have another of her books on my shelf and cannot wait to read it. For "Sparks Like Stars" I had a little trouble finding a physical copy, but was able to borrow it from the library on audiobook. I'm thankful that I did. The narrator, Mozhan Marno, did an excellent job breathing life into Sitara's voice. It was easy to get lost into the story and it allowed my tears to flow freely without ever having to stop reading.

Although, the storyline includes heartbreak, violence, and sorrow, there is also joy, love, and hope. If you enjoy stories by authors such as Khaled Hosseini, than this will be an effortless addition to your tbr. I wholeheartedly recommend this book!! 📚

Content Warnings

shadowtiff7's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.25

Content Warnings

laashpa's review

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challenging dark inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.0

Content Warnings

bookreviewswithkb's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“you need no one to confirm you. you are everything you believe yourself to be.”

i love this book so much. it is captivating in its prose and harrowing in its story. it’s about the lengths we go to protect ourselves from grief and the realization that the only way to truly live is to share our stories and to connect with every piece of who we are

and we learn about an important piece of Afghan history that deserves to be known. you should definitely read this book!

“that’s grief, and grief is nothing but the far brink of love. love is the sun, grief is the shadow it casts. love is an opera, grief is it’s echo. you cannot have one without the other. but if you follow that grief, you’ll find your way back to love. …grieve, so you can get back to love, because love is a better place to be.”

Content Warnings