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sanjreadsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Domestic abuse
wchereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
4.5
I went through a rollercoaster worth of emotions reading this. I think it broke me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Racism
sgreising's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
- 4.5/5 a really beautiful novel about how generational childhood trauma can impact a persons adult hood, and how one woman breaks that cycle
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Mental illness
kdsmoove's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Mental illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Racism, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
stella_petit's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: War
mybestfriendisabook's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
read this in honor of read palestine week. too slow paced for my liking but stuck it out for this challenge and really wanted to see the outcome of Yara so i ended up finishing it in two dedicated days. about trauma, therapy, braveryโฆ i was rooting for her and felt sad at times for her. third person (usually not a fan) and stream of consciousness type.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
lifewithjoce's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Religious bigotry
brewdy_reader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
๐๐ช๐ต๐๐ช๐ค โข ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข โข โฃ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ โข ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค
"๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ."
Evil Eye is LitFic at its finest: it feels so real that it could be true, it could be someone's memoir, maybe someone close to you, maybe even yours, or mine. Every child of immigrants, every mother, every woman, anyone in any marginalized group, can find something relatable within these pages. Addressing Palestinian history, generational trauma, gender expectations and inequities, mental health and stigmas, shame and grief and guilt, Arab stereotypes, and lots of other tough topics, this is also a story of empowerment and how to heal.
Then there is the mouth-watering food. In fact, the only thing that Yara's husband Fadi and I see eye-to-eye on is her cooking: a gastronomic explosion of flavors. You will smell the aroma and taste the spices as you read. In fact I'm hungry now.
And Silas. ๐ฅน
There is also art and creating and Frida Kahlo. There's instagram versus reality and what it means to live an authentic life. There's the isolation of not fitting the mold, not fitting in. How to live a life true to yourself and not what someone else wants for you. How to see that you don't need to be fixed because you're not broken.
"๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ."
Evil Eye is LitFic at its finest: it feels so real that it could be true, it could be someone's memoir, maybe someone close to you, maybe even yours, or mine. Every child of immigrants, every mother, every woman, anyone in any marginalized group, can find something relatable within these pages. Addressing Palestinian history, generational trauma, gender expectations and inequities, mental health and stigmas, shame and grief and guilt, Arab stereotypes, and lots of other tough topics, this is also a story of empowerment and how to heal.
Then there is the mouth-watering food. In fact, the only thing that Yara's husband Fadi and I see eye-to-eye on is her cooking: a gastronomic explosion of flavors. You will smell the aroma and taste the spices as you read. In fact I'm hungry now.
And Silas. ๐ฅน
There is also art and creating and Frida Kahlo. There's instagram versus reality and what it means to live an authentic life. There's the isolation of not fitting the mold, not fitting in. How to live a life true to yourself and not what someone else wants for you. How to see that you don't need to be fixed because you're not broken.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
mmccombs's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Character-driven and deeply emotionally grounded, Evil Eye was a compelling narrative about motherhood, intergenerational trauma, and the expectations placed on Palestinian women. I enjoyed the journal entries which created strong connections to Yaraโs family and roots in Palestine. However, I did find this book to be quite repetitive and simplistic, the writing did not spark anything in me (Yaraโs hands shook and blood rushed in her ears in almost every chapter) and the dialogue was very wooden (somehow every character sounded like a therapist, it was kind of strange). Something kept me from fully connecting with Yara and this story, maybe something with the organization left me feeling emotionally distant from the true weight of Yaraโs past. I do think Iโd recommend this book especially if you love character-driven stories about women finding themselves and their voices, but I think I expected a bit more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Genocide and Suicidal thoughts
kvokolek's review against another edition
reflective
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts