Reviews

The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar

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maris0994's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

jennyluwho's review

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4.0

In the author’s note she writes that she ‘hopes that this book serves as a starting point for education and empathy’ on the Syrian refugee crisis. Mission accomplished.

meeshlev's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Interesting story but just felt a bit overworked with the metaphors and allegory of the the parallel journeys - skipped through all of the bits with Rawiya and didn't have a single impact on my comprehension of the story, which I think is testament to how necessary it was ...

Found I did not care at all about any of the characters but found the attention to detail brought the traumatic refugee journey to life and grounded something more often than not framed as statistics or shorthand policy slogans.

ad_92's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

tarweeda_reads's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

Beautiful storytelling about life, the faith of refugees, losing everything and then finding yourself, the pain that comes with leaving home, and the importance of family and friends along the way. This book is so well-written it makes you feel as though you are right there with the characters. It reminds us what is truly important in this life. Heartbreaking and yet powerful, I wish everyone could read this book.

gregory_glover's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.25

I like this book more than the rating suggests. However, it still did not grab me like some do, hence the lower rating. There’s nothing specifically wrong—and much that is great—about the book. If I were much younger, I think the book might have had a deeper emotional impact. I loved the descriptions and the weaving in of history. I am not big on fantasy, especially the “touch of fantasy“ in an otherwise straightforward novel. The neurodivergence was somewhat interesting, but again did not move me to love the book. Very solid. Very good. Worth reading for the cultural diversity.

Content Warnings