Reviews with content warning for Violence - Home Is Not a Country

In honour of Celebrate Teen Literature Day (13 April) I thought I’d read a YA book from my TBR. And since it’s also National Poetry month, Home is Not a Country, a YA novel in verse, was the obvious pick. It’s the story of Nima, a Sudanese-American girl who lives with her working class single mother in the suburbs. Thanks to racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia, plus good old teenage angst Nima often feels that she doesn’t belong and wonders what her life would be like if she wasn’t in America. A dash of magical realism allows her to find out, and possibly learn a little bit more about her family history than she might have cared to know. I’m not always a fan of magical realism but I think it worked really well here, allowing Nima to experience at least part of her parents’ past and to learn, in something akin to a first hand way, that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. The style and structure of this book provided a fresh look at some of my favourite themes including immigration, identity, family, friendship, community and mother-daughter relationships. The language managed to be both lush and urgent. Very glad to have read this one.

Content Warnings

bookbuyingwithkatie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

sun_hearth's review against another edition

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emotional 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? Yes

5.0

I can’t see myself rating this book anything less than 5 stars since I heavily relate to a lot of things talked about this book, especially when it comes to living in the US as the child of immigrant parents and having to deal with the racism and other things that comes with being POC, I can’t say much on the topic is Islamophobia since my family isn’t Muslim but mainly on the experiences of being an immigrant child in the US and trying your best to not disappoint your family and wanting to be better

Content Warnings