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ssinforshort's review against another edition
2.25
I had to finish the book quickly, because it made me so anxious.
Culturally, I may not understand a high school senior dating a college senior, but the power dynamics in a relationship like that aren't acceptable. I don't like that we are supposed to be okay with the MC dating a grown man. Even if he is young.
Besides that, some of the side characters are pretty flat.
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Islamophobia
Minor: Fatphobia
novella42's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
Moderate: Islamophobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Infidelity, Body shaming, Cursing, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Fatphobia
tahsintries's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Misogyny
llamallama527's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Classism, and Misogyny
Minor: Islamophobia, Cursing, Lesbophobia, and Sexism
marta_v's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
✨Fatima Tate es una adolescente musulmana negra que vive en Albuquerque, Estados Unidos, y a la que le apasiona hacer repostería. De primeras, la premisa del libro me gustó: Fatima conoce a Raheem, estudiante universitario, y se enamoran. Spoiler: Raheem no es quien dice ser, y amenaza revelar su relación a sus padres y a su comunidad si no se casa con él.
✨Creo que ha sido un libro en el que la trama se desarrolla muy rápido, y que se hubiese beneficiado de tener por lo menos 50-100 páginas más para poder contar mejor la historia, y que los personajes evolucionen un poco más, especialmente Fatima y su crecimiento emocional. Eso sí, me encantaría saber más sobre Zaynab, la mejor amiga de Fatima, y su historia con su novia :)
TW: luz de gas, abuso emocional, islamofobia, homofobia, clasismo
Moderate: Islamophobia
smartie_chan's review against another edition
- 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
CW: Emotional Abuse , Gaslighting, Mentions of Islamophobia, Slight Homophobia
5 / 5 Stars
THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!
Okay, now on to the actual review. As in, this was an amazing book & I'm reccomanding it to literally everyone out there.
While the blurb is kind of spoiler-y - which is why I won't repeat what it says - and you shouldn't expect plot twists left and right, I'd argue that a simple plot doesn't equal a simple book.
The characters are written amazingly. And yes, I'm aware that I used the word amazing like 3 times already. Try and stop me.
But it's true. Especially the antagonist.
Because of personal reasons, that I don't feel like talking about in some random review, I'm always especially sensitive to books that include emotional abuse. It's so easily overlooked because it leaves no visible scars. But the invisible ones, the ones that cut deeper than any fist ever could, those are the ones that need to be written with special care.
This book does an excellent job on that department.
My view lines of text are probably unable to tell you how well written I thought that part of the book to be.
Even though there are one or two - not more - scenes were I would have prefered the book to take a second & to let the scene breath.
Besides those 1-2 scenes, I don't have any complaints.
All the other characters are just as great. My personal favourit has to be Zaynab though. Her & Ambers inclusion meant a lot to me. I just fear that this book might suffer from some negative, homophobic reviews because of her. I've already seen a few were people hide their bigotry behind the mantle of religion, while the truth of the matter is: There is nothing in the Quran that justifies your hatred. (And no, Lot is not about queerness.)
What kind of god would make a whole army of people just so they can throw them in hell for the way he made them?
-> No god, that's who.
The book mentiones that a bit as well, but it's not really the main focus of things.
Final Thoughts:
Important, well written book. Can & will reccomand!
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Islamophobia, Homophobia, and Classism