Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

21 reviews

sunnydale's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

what a delightful read. the world was so rich, i immediately wanted to learn more about the historical context, and fortunately the author provided a bibliography! the audiobook is very well-produced, with two voice actors, sound effects in the "present-day" chapters, and adjustments made to address listeners instead of readers. 

i love that the protagonist's faith is central to her character, and we're also able to see how it's developed throughout her life. her faith is sometimes messy, sometimes self-contradicting, but she also never doubts her core beliefs, and she's a more authentic character because of it.

irrelevant to the quality of the book, i noticed that "midnight" is the author's favorite adjective for anything dark. "midnight beach," "midnight ocean," "midnight fabric," etc. it felt like a scavenger hunt trying to find the word in each chapter, lol.

i would recommend this to fans of fantasy, especially those who are looking for non-western fantasy settings. i definitely recommend the audiobook, although you might want a print or ebook copy for the helpful bibliography.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Alcohol, and Violence

Minor: Cannibalism, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent

Violence and sexual content are at a PG-13 rating. There is a lot of swearing. The cat is fine.

miraileah's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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

5.0. I loved The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi. It was adventurous, thoughtful, and fun to read. The beginning did drag a touch, but I didn’t mind that at all listening to the audiobook. The performance of the audio was fantastic, and I found myself tearing up when I know I would not have just reading, due to the excellent vocal performances. The characters are absolutely where this book shines. I adored Amina, her crew, Jamal, and Marjana. Once I got to about the 40-50% mark, this book was captivating and I was thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

kappafrog's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative mysterious 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

4.25

The historical setting was 10/10. I loved how rich the details were and how immersed I felt in the world of the 12th century Indian Ocean. Amina was also a great protagonist, very complex and easy to root for. The choice of setting and characters was exciting and refreshing.

The book got too violent for my tastes at times. Some of the plot armour the main characters had got pretty convoluted. Still, I look forward to seeing more in this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Death, Gore, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Classism, Violence, Alcohol, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Grief, Genocide, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Vomit, and War

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Infidelity, and Sexual assault

edamamebean's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

I loved this book so much that without even realizing what I was doing, I kissed the very last page affectionately. No one writes fantasy like Shannon Chakraborty, and this book is no exception. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Death, Violence, War, Transphobia, and Vomit

Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, and Islamophobia

boglord's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, War, Kidnapping, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Ableism, Addiction, Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, and Trafficking

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Re-read for book club and loved it just as much the second time. Retired lady pirate gets the crew back together for one last job — shenanigans and legends ensue.  Perfection. No notes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Cannibalism, Torture, Colonisation, Blood, Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Slavery, Abandonment, Rape, Alcoholism, and Animal death

faduma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense slow-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, Violence, Alcohol, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Physical abuse

sarahyjackson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I am absolutely undone by how incandescently wonderful this book was: the prose, the characters, the setting, the narrative. I loved it dearly and cannot wait to take to the high seas with Amina again, soon!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, Sexual content, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Xenophobia and Transphobia

bethanycrowepowell's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

A rollicking woman-led Sinbad type adventure on glittering, lethal seas.

Amina al-Sarafi left her beloved ship for many good reasons. She’s pulled out of retirement not because those reasons are gone, but because one of her biggest regrets has come knocking. The chance at fabulous wealth (which was missing from her sudden flight to the hinterlands) doesn’t hurt. Amina’s swagger and cynicism captured my heart, while her regrets and maturity made this feel more weighty as a fabulous adventure.

Chakraborty’s skill at turning the screws of stakes and evoking marvelous but dangerous worlds clinch this as a new favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

Moderate: Torture, Alcohol, Death, Cursing, Violence, and Body horror

Minor: Transphobia, Xenophobia, Dysphoria, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

Everything "phobia" in these content warnings are not presented in a positive light. The graphic violence/gore are mainly in the last third of the book when dealing with a horrifying villain, but I was glad to be skimming text instead of listening by audio to that part!

bookaddictkatie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol and Colonisation

Minor: Transphobia, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Death

A great adventure in a book that is anti-colonialism, pro-Islam, and trans-supportive. The only thing I think people might find very triggering is the violence.