Reviews

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman

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anastasiabookgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.25

samantha1960's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense 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

3.75

Rehman writes beautifully but I found the first half of the book quite difficult to follow. The second half get significantly more easy to read as it becomes chronological. Wish the first half had been done better.

Content Warnings

mnavarro_g's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

5.0

I adored this book. I fell in love with the characters and community from the first few pages and the vignettes about Raiza's expeiences were beautifuly captured. I loved and hated the ending--- hated because it was heartbreaking and ambiguous but loved because it left a lot of hope for Raiza to keep growing and actually felt authentic to the true unending certainty that people in that position feel.

alyssayuminelson's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Explores many themes- sexuality, coming of age, being the child of immigrants, loved the character and the story. Left on a cliffhanger.

siandee's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review

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emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

5.0

What a quietly beautiful and powerful coming of age novel set in 1980s Pakistani American community in the Corona neighbourhood of Queens, NY. Told in vignettes, the story follows Razia as she makes and loses friends, participates in family and community Muslim events, and eventually falls in love with Angela, a high school classmate. You can see the climax coming, which makes Razia's separation from her family, community, and only world she's ever known that much more heartbreaking, because you know them all so well. Highly recommended!