Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

20 reviews

lpdx's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Violence, Child death, Antisemitism, Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Racial slurs

Minor: Classism

krys_kilz's review

challenging emotional tense 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? No

4.5

This book had me holding my breath the entire time. It was very suspenseful and emotionally charged. Ahmed's social commentary was timely and razor sharp, which I really appreciated. The story was incredibly engaging without sensationalizing and thoroughly researched. I really loved the inclusion of court transcripts, Twitter feeds, news articles, etc. throughout the narrative - it made the reading experience more immersive.

As Sabaa Tahir's review put it: "With Hollow Fires, Samira Ahmed offers us an impossible-to-put-down thriller that is both spectacularly haunting and deeply thoughtful. Safiya and Jawad are not narrators we usually see, and their harrowing story is a wholly original commentary on perception, community, and the way society weighs one life against another."

At times, the story did feel a bit repetitive and predictable. Some of the metaphors were also heavy handed. But those were very minor things and did not prevent me from devouring this book. I really look forward to reading Ahmed's other work.

tw: Islamophobia, child death/murder, xenophobia, white supremacy/alt-right ideology and violence, antisemitism 

* Side Note: It did feel a little strange to read a novel set in the present with no mention of Covid-19. I know almost no books or media mention the pandemic - which is honestly a little eerie - but it felt particularly glaring given how rooted this book was in current events and the current political climate. Especially given the links between alt-right/fascist/white supremacist rhetoric and Covid-19 denial/conspiracy theories. *

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Islamophobia, Murder, Xenophobia, Child death, and Racism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Antisemitism

Minor: Car accident

waterbottle57's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Blood, Cursing, Violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, Murder, Death, Stalking, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death

Minor: Car accident and War

brokenbodybitch's review against another edition

5.0

I have so many feelings after finishing this. I’m angry, sad, frustrated but this book is nothing short of amazing. It jumps around many years, using multiple forms of media (think a good girls guide to murder with the podcasts, news outlets and such), it has so much going on, I know I can’t do it justice and I don’t even know where to start about how much I love this book.

I don’t know if I’d necessarily say it was an enjoyable reading experience because of the weight of the tw/cw in this book but it was beautifully written, with interesting and engaging formatting and dear god is it fucking accurate as all hell; I’m mixed/Arab and oh boy…I can’t count how many times someone has called me a terrorist, and like that is the tip of the shit iceberg Arab/middle eastern/bipoc people face on a daily basis and this book does not shy away from all of it and calling it out/talking about it; hence why it is such an anger inducing book but if you can take the tw’s and do not take them lightly at all! Really think if you can cope with it before you read but if you can then I cannnot recommend this book more

*⬆️ these are my initial thoughts ⬆️*

*full review to come*

⚠️DO NOT take TW/CW lightly! This book doesn’t shy away from the ugly, so really think about them and if you can cope with them before you read this book… but, if you think you can take them then I cannnot recommend this book more⚠️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, Islamophobia, Murder, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Antisemitism, and Misogyny

Minor: Rape and Stalking

amberinpieces's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Hate crime, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Misogyny

Minor: Blood, Car accident, Cursing, and Medical content

ao3simp's review

challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective fast-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

This was honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read. Truly it was book that spoke out against how truly racist America is. Every word in the book was worth reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Hate crime, and Death

fictionaladventures's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense

3.5

This book was really hard to read but definitely important. I was FURIOUS 90% of the time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, Bullying, and Child death

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

Honestly, the main reason this book is so heartbreaking is because 1) it's based on a true story, and 2) it's something you could see happening today. In fact, it's something you see happen in news a lot. Ahmed's writing is lyrical, descriptive, and emotional. It lends itself to this story, and Safiya's and Jawad's voices just make it all the more haunting.

I think the additional of the facts, lies, and alternative facts at the beginning of each chapter added that journalism element to the story and emphasized the main themes. This is definitely a heavy book, so know that going in. It's not something you read to escape, but something you read to help make these voices heard.

The only reason this isn't getting 5 stars is because I do think the big reveal was easy to spot about halfway through the story. I'm not sure if that was intended or not, and there are definitely some readers who might not see it coming. All in all, if you're looking for a dark thriller about getting justice for those without voices, I'd definitely recommend this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Hate crime, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Kidnapping, and Child death

Minor: Blood, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

lettuce_read's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Child death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Grief, Islamophobia, and Racial slurs

marywahlmeierbracciano's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Hollow Fires has arrived in the wake of the Trump era, in an environment of rampant misinformation and media bias, of white supremacist violence and “affluenza.”  This story follows Safiya, a Desi Muslim scholarship student and journalist-in-training at a private Chicago high school.  As editor-in-chief, she writes a social justice column for the school newspaper, but, as part of the school’s attempts to cover up a series of racist incidents in the community, she is being censored by the administration.  When a neighborhood Muslim boy goes missing, Safiya must race to piece together enough evidence to connect the dots and convince the police to do something, putting her own safety at risk.  Ahmed’s thriller illustrates diversity within Muslim communities, portrays the reality of police incompetence, and explores the nuances of modern white supremacy and hate crimes, for which there is no justice. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Violence, Child death, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Car accident, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Vomit, Murder, and Blood