Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H

5 reviews

auteaandtales's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Deportation

Minor: Genocide, Abandonment, Colonisation, Alcohol, Classism, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Gun violence

savvylit's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

Lamya H is an immensely skilled memoirist. Hijab Butch Blues is full of emotionally evocative remembrances and shrewd reflections in equal measure. I appreciated her unique perspective as a devout Muslim and queer woman. The ways that she strengthened her sense of self alongside her faith were fascinating to experience secondhand.

That being said - and this is entirely my personal preference - I did not love the amount of religious parables retold throughout this memoir. I think it worked for Lamya's narrative, but I sometimes felt like I wanted to just know her and not the prophets of yore. Perhaps it's because I was already familiar with many of these parables as they're the same as many Christian ones (Jesus, Moses, Jonah) and that was the faith in which I was raised. Or perhaps it's because I am an atheist and religious parables in general give me the ick. If not for the parables, this would have been a five-star memoir for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Islamophobia, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, and Xenophobia

maddramaqueen's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, and Sexism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gore, Classism, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Slavery, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Confinement, Body horror, and Biphobia

marigoldgem's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Bullying, Racism, Classism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia

Minor: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Emotional abuse

carriepond's review against another edition

inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

In Hijab Butch Blues, author Lamya H intermingles stories from the Quran and their own experiences growing up queer and Muslim, first in the Middle East and then, as an adult, in the United States after moving for college. 

This was a great memoir. The author very eloquently discusses the feeling that persisted throughout their life of not quite fitting-- not quite fitting in growing up in the Middle East with dark brown skin and less wealth than schoolmates, and not quite fitting with the queer communities and Muslim communities after moving for the United States. There are also a lot of great reflections on coming out, the risks and rewards of that decision, and whether queer people need to be out to live, as someone told the author, "an authentically gay life." And along with these great reflections, we hear Lamya's own story, which is earnest and honest. 

Recommend for folks who like memoirs, especially queer or coming-of-age memoirs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia

Moderate: Racism, Transphobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Infidelity