Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany

12 reviews

clairebartholomew549's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I read this book in one sitting and found it incredibly compelling. Jenna, Kees, and Malak are easy to root for from the very beginning, and their reckoning with growing up and who they want to be feels very relatable and interesting. I adore books that talk about female friendship and how we support each other through huge life things, and every character's inner life felt vivid and detailed. I found myself absorbed and moved by this book, and the ending hit every note perfectly.

One thing that I find problematic, though - which other reviewers have extrapolated on far more eloquently than I will - was that the white love interests are depicted as "good feminists," while the Arab Muslim love interests are depicted as misogynistic, controlling, abusive, and all around awful men. Obviously everyone has their own experiences, and if that is the author's experience then I don't want to judge that or argue it is wrong. But I do think it's worth interrogating that juxtaposition, and the idea that every Muslim man - or at least most - are sexist and demeaning to their partners and writ large, especially given the raft of Islamophobia in the West and the persistent stereotypes about Muslim men and Muslim relationships. There are certainly many Muslim men who are not domineering and possessive; there are certainly many Muslim women who do not chafe at the societal and family expectations placed upon them (and we all have societal and family expectations thrust upon us, regardless of our religion, ethnicity, or nationality); and there are certainly Muslim families who do not subscribe to the mentality of the families in this book. It's not that I don't think narratives like this are meaningful - they are incredibly meaningful, and I get so much out of them. But there are a lot of books about chafing against Muslim expectations (as there are of chafing against any religion or culture, of course), and I wonder if that's a monolithic experience. Again, I am not Muslim, so I am not at all an authority on this - just wanted to name it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexism, Classism, and Domestic 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.

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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

jasmijn's review

emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Islamophobia

blubbflubbl's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion

grenoblegirl's review

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

samanfa's review

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Abandonment, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

sumi_the_polyglot's review

emotional sad tense 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

A coming of age tale of love religion and marriage 
Truly beautiful and heartbreaking

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abortion, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Domestic abuse

jennifershepherd's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring 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

The book o have enjoyed the most in a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Rape, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Religious bigotry, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Pregnancy

serenas_reads's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

iamnita's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-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

This book feels like a warm hug. I felt drawn in from the first chapter and I was rooting for all the characters. My heart broke at some of the sections, and I felt myself trying to will the characters into making different decisions. The eye-opening experience of Muslim women was wonderful to read about 'first-hand'. All this being said, my favourite thing about this book is that nothing was explicitly thrown in our faces: a lot came from what wasn't even said. Well well done. Really solid read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, and Alcohol

Minor: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Rape, Hate crime, Pregnancy, and Abortion