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lorees_reading_nook's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
We are all familiar with refugees, with people who flee conflicts and revolutions to seek shelter in distant lands. But The Stray Cats Of Homs is not a story about refugees. It is a story about someone who decided to stay.
Sami and his family lived in the Syrian city of Homs. He led a fairly ordinary life, as ordinary a life as possible in Syria in the 1990 s and beyond. He went to school, he met his friends for ice cream, he went to University, much like any child or teenager in any other country would. But Syria is not just any country. It is a country controlled by a cruel regime and divided by civil war.
If you are looking for a story with a complicated plot and lots of convoluted twists, then this book isn't for you. But if you want an insight into the Syrian revolution and how it affected ordinary citizens, then please give this book a try. Some parts are definitely not for the squeamish but it's a book that definitely needs to be read, especially by people like me who rarely watch the news or read the papers. My instinct when things get bad 'out there' is to cocoon myself and stay firmly inside my comfort zone. This book pushed me right out of it. It was poignant, heart-breaking, and horrifying, made even more so by the knowledge that this conflict isn't over yet.
4.8 stars
Sami and his family lived in the Syrian city of Homs. He led a fairly ordinary life, as ordinary a life as possible in Syria in the 1990 s and beyond. He went to school, he met his friends for ice cream, he went to University, much like any child or teenager in any other country would. But Syria is not just any country. It is a country controlled by a cruel regime and divided by civil war.
If you are looking for a story with a complicated plot and lots of convoluted twists, then this book isn't for you. But if you want an insight into the Syrian revolution and how it affected ordinary citizens, then please give this book a try. Some parts are definitely not for the squeamish but it's a book that definitely needs to be read, especially by people like me who rarely watch the news or read the papers. My instinct when things get bad 'out there' is to cocoon myself and stay firmly inside my comfort zone. This book pushed me right out of it. It was poignant, heart-breaking, and horrifying, made even more so by the knowledge that this conflict isn't over yet.
4.8 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, War, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
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