Reviews with content warning for Violence - Hollow Fires

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

cvl_1103's review

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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revremishores's review

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challenging emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

What a fantastic read and timely story. This is our YA All Iowa Reads, and a perfect selection for this year. It deals with the online radicalization of teens into white supremacists through the lens of a murder-mystery thriller. It also delves into the nuances around truths, lies, facts, and alternative facts. The plot kept me engrossed and the social commentary was poignant.

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clawclawclaw's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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bookymac95's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0

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weatherd's review

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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warlocksarecool21's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Hollow Fires was a riveting and profound story about community and justice in the face of an unspeakable tragedy. I thought the format of this story was so interesting since it combined typical narration with articles, phone calls and video transcripts. I also thought the dual pov between Safiya and Jawad was well-done. We got to find out how Jawad’s past intertwined with Safiya’s and allowed readers to gain insight into what happened to Jawad while Safiya investigated. I thought Safiya was a good main character and I enjoyed her determination and sense of justice. I kind of guessed who killed Jawad (an ironic prediction turned out to be true 😭) but I was engaged in finding out how they would be revealed. The resolution of the mystery felt a little quick to me, but I think the overall plot was well-written. This is a powerful story about how fear and hatred can infest a country, and how the strength and resolve of a community can overcome it.

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corriejn's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

YA novel about a teen in Chicago dealing with racist and Islamophobic incidents in her community. A bit true crime/mystery, a bit of teen romance, peer drama, struggles at school, etc., and lots of contextualizing situations within both real and fictionalized events in the rise of open right wing and xenophobic sentiments in the U.S. and social media. Some points made a bit "on the nose" but didn't feel too out of place for the genre.

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frog_appreciator's review

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4.75

This is not an easy book to read but it’s an important one. Really well written. I enjoyed the inclusion of news articles, interviews, etc throughout the story. Ahmed illustrated real world issues in an accessible way for the fiction reader. Including Jawaad’s POV really tied everything together.

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