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mgyannon's review
emotional
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Domestic abuse, and Rape
soyjenna's review
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Abortion, Sexual violence, and Misogyny
amarachireadss's review against another edition
4.25
This was a beautiful, emotional
, hopeful and sometimes hard to read book about friendships, family, love, faith and culture. This book is not perfect and it was in the 3rd person but it made me cry so it’s getting rounded up to a 5⭐️. There are 3 POVs and it follows Malak, Biliquis and Jenna who are best friends and Muslims in their life journeys and relationships.
Malak and Biliquis both are dating white non Muslim men and it was very interesting to see how they both went about that and how their families reacted to that. Jenna is struggling with loneliness and living up to cultural expectations of a non married woman and how people in the community viewed her.
It was heartbreaking to read some parts and I felt bad especially about the bad relationship one of the characters ended up in and with events that happened to other characters. Overall I really liked it and I think it’s a story that showed the different relationships these characters had with being Muslim and how it impacted their relationship with family and friends.
TW: rape, abusive relationship
, hopeful and sometimes hard to read book about friendships, family, love, faith and culture. This book is not perfect and it was in the 3rd person but it made me cry so it’s getting rounded up to a 5⭐️. There are 3 POVs and it follows Malak, Biliquis and Jenna who are best friends and Muslims in their life journeys and relationships.
Malak and Biliquis both are dating white non Muslim men and it was very interesting to see how they both went about that and how their families reacted to that. Jenna is struggling with loneliness and living up to cultural expectations of a non married woman and how people in the community viewed her.
It was heartbreaking to read some parts and I felt bad especially about the bad relationship one of the characters ended up in and with events that happened to other characters. Overall I really liked it and I think it’s a story that showed the different relationships these characters had with being Muslim and how it impacted their relationship with family and friends.
TW: rape, abusive relationship
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Rape
Minor: Physical abuse
znvisser's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.75
My expectations for this were high based on the ratings and that is always a tricky challenge to make true. For me, this novel consisted of two parts and the second half was definitely better.
The book starts out quite dialogue-heavy and at times it even felt like five year old twitter discourse in a novel. And - despite the obvious reasons for it which were in fact interesting and well-thought out - I felt Malak and Kees were too similar for too long (kept forgetting which details and man belonged to which woman) and their boyfriends were even harder to distinguish; in contrast, Jenna’s character stood out way more from the start, despite her more limited “screentime”. But while Malak and Kees’ stories do bounce off each other and dance together, Jenna is fairly seperated from them and mostly appearing as vehicle for some extra themes and subplots. Later on she is worked better into the overall story, but it still felt slightly disjointed and I feel she could’ve added more to this if the author were less busy drawing parallels.
Nevertheless, emotionally it picks up in the second half and that is where this story shines all along: the fights are often unhinged and always heartbreaking, and although mostly shown in glimpses, I loved the sibling relationships, and also the little pieces within chapters where we zoom out from the three friends and an omniscient narrator reveals a new emotional layer. Because of these strengths, this really was a a promising debut, making me curious to see what El-Wardany will come up with next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Rape, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abortion
Moderate: Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Minor: Islamophobia
wordssearched's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
Finding myself in a reading rut, I picked this up from the library's recommended reads shelf and it was exactly what I needed: a quick read with a compelling plot and frustratingly complex characters.
This story about the importance of female friendships and the way life can slowly unravel when your chosen family falls apart speaks specifically to the experience of Muslim women, but is also replete with moments of relatability for any woman trying to balance family, love and her own wishes and desires. Lifelong friends Jenna, Malak and Bilquis have a falling out as they begin their post-college life, and it's easy to judge their choices as they pull further away from each other and into life-altering mistakes. And I did, often. I took a while before I finally trusted that the author wasn't just putting these characters through the paces just for the sake of doing so, but somehow she does bring them (and me) back to their humanity. These women, like all women, go through some things. This isn't exactly a light read, but there is the light that only a friend who knows you inside and out can provide.
This story about the importance of female friendships and the way life can slowly unravel when your chosen family falls apart speaks specifically to the experience of Muslim women, but is also replete with moments of relatability for any woman trying to balance family, love and her own wishes and desires. Lifelong friends Jenna, Malak and Bilquis have a falling out as they begin their post-college life, and it's easy to judge their choices as they pull further away from each other and into life-altering mistakes. And I did, often. I took a while before I finally trusted that the author wasn't just putting these characters through the paces just for the sake of doing so, but somehow she does bring them (and me) back to their humanity. These women, like all women, go through some things. This isn't exactly a light read, but there is the light that only a friend who knows you inside and out can provide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
literarylaila's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Rape
leah_alexandra's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.0
This was a really frustrating read. I feel like it was sold as a book about female friendships, when it’s really more about romantic relationships, and abusive ones at that. The rift happens so early—we barely get time with the actual friendship, so it was hard to feel invested. And then the reconciliation at the end was so rushed and dramatic. There was hardly any emotional work put in to repair the friendship. To me it felt unrealistic. And the direct contrasting between the Muslim, non-white men being misogynistic and harmful, and the white men being perfect, gentle, and understanding was tough to read. At least the three girls’ fathers seemed like caring men—where were those traits in the younger men? My favorite parts were the descriptions of Cairo. That’s where I saw the author’s voice shine the most.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Rape, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
livlosiewicz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
5.0
Pros:
·I loved the characters and their relationships! Distinct, lovable, and flawed- the perfect combination
·I learned a lot about Muslim culture from this book- yes, I mean hard facts but mostly I mean the chance to step into the characters’ shoes and consider the nuances of their situations
Cons:
·I get why she did this from a plot/theme perspective, but it’s notable that the Muslim men love interests are mainly bad
Recommendation: I recommend this book to people who enjoy deep, relationship and character-based novels. I really liked meeting these characters and learning more about them and their cultures. Fans of A Woman is No Man should consider picking this one up. Content warning for intimate partner violence! Avoid if you want something fast-paced and more plot focused, or if you want something upbeat! I will note that while the content was heavy I did not find the book depressing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape and Abortion
pipbiz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Abortion, Rape, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Islamophobia
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
These Impossible Things looks at three British Muslim women from different ethnic backgrounds - Pakistani, Egyptian and Palestinian. Early on in the novel their friendship fractures and most of the book is spent with them individually dealing with various personal and relationship issues, until a crisis brings them together again. While I enjoyed my reading experience and found each woman’s story arc interesting if often heavy - rape, domestic abuse, unwanted pregnancy and the challenges of interfaith relationships - one major thing bothered me. The Muslim men were virtually all portrayed in a negative light - abusive, controlling, judgemental - while the white men were all very liberal, progressive, socially aware and - for want of a better term - woke. While I can partially understand why the book was written this way I wish there had been a little more balance and nuance - a white male exhibiting sexism, racism or Islamophobia; a Muslim man supporting his female friends or family by standing up to those who tried to restrict them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse