Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Bright Red Fruit

This is my second book by Safia Elhillo and once again, I am completely speechless. Books, poetry or otherwise, have a way of showing that the girl is at fault for engaging with an older person, usually a man, but in this book, we see it as a multitude people to blame. Her community, her peers, the expectations of being a girl in society, society's views on girlhood to womanhood, and the actual abuser. It brought me so much joy to see Horus taken down for being an abuser, for being a pedo, preying on young, talented girls and using them. I also loved seeing Samira evolve as time went on, reflected with her choices as well and realized we have all been there before, someway.

Though I am an adult, I remember wanting people to see me as an adult while I was a child and hating the dismissal of family and friends, who say it's to protect me but no one actually saying what they are protecting me from. So in this book, I teetered between wanting to shield Samira from this man and his manipulation--his thief of her youth--, and seeing myself in her. Knowing what it's like to not have your own parent defend you against people who's seeing from the outside in. Knowing what it's like to chase after love when no one else was giving it to you. Seeing her use her words to defend herself gave me relief; it healed parts of me I didn't know was broken.

Again, Safia does a great job of making you become one with her characters, through the ups and the downs. I will always be a fan of hers.

Content Warnings

theboricuabookworm's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

A lump in your throat, tears at your eyes the whole time kind of read. Samira just wants *more* out of her life and finds it through poetry. I know I will not have the words to properly explain or recommend this book other than intense and necessary. Bright Red Fruit expertly shows how the women in our lives that just want the best for us sometimes have a hard time showing up like we expect or want them to. While not Sudanese-American myself, I am a child of immigrants who many times felt crushed under the weight of being a disappointment or proving to my parents that all the sacrifice and care they put into my upbringing to make sure it was better than theirs was worth it. Even when I felt stifled. Even when I pushed back and kept secrets that would have been better shared was the right thing.

A must read.

Content Warnings

aalexander8's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-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

I'm on a marathon of novels in verse on audio, and I'm totally okay with that. Though not necessarily an easy read, this book was an in-depth look at the way some adult men prey on teenage girls. Looking at this situation from Samira's point of view, who has been constantly rejected by her community and is just looking for acceptance, the betrayal at the end is especially heartbreaking.

The way the Persephone myth is woven throughout this text works so well to drive that point home, that these men prey on teen girls because they're vulnerable and they find them to be easy targets. Elhillo's verse is also beautiful, and as always, I recommend listening to novels in verse, especially when they are read by the author. This is a quick read, but one that really packs a punch.

Content Warnings

katnortonwriter's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense 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

4.75

Here’s the thing: the end of this book feels like wish fulfillment, but d*mn did I need that ending. As someone who experienced something very similar to what Samira goes through, I was frustrated by refusal to see the truth… and found it relatable and genuine AF that she let this slimeball gaslight her for so long.

I thought I was going to sit down and enjoy a novel in verse this evening and now I’m mad because this story is all too common.

Content Warnings

thatblondiebookworm's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

Content Warnings

dannee_13's review

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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

4.0

Content Warnings

misanthropic_bibliophile's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-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

*thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book*

Safia Elhillo is one of my favorite poets and I absolutely love her other YA novel-in-verse Home is Not a Country. Thus, I hoped Bright Red Fruit would be just as good.

Have no fear, past me. IT IS JUST AS GOOD.

The story is very poignant and raw and I devoured it in one sitting. It’s about Samira, a young Sudanese-American girl who is a poet, navigating rumors spread about her being a “bad girl” and her strict mother when she meets a fellow poet who is not as he seems. She has to fight for her voice and her words, but risks losing some of the most important people in her life as a result. There are lots of references to Persephone and that motif is explored in a way I’ve never seen before and resonates through the story in a really cool way.

One of my favorite things about the book was Samira’s relationship with her mother. It was complex and emotional and extremely realistic. You could feel it shift and grow over the course of the book as both of the characters do the same. All of the character relationships in the book were very well-done, but that one was by far the best-crafted.

Samira herself is such a well-done and relatable main character. I watched her make questionable decisions but I couldn’t judge her for it because of the situations she was in. Elhillo portrays her without looking down upon her or shaming her for her choices. She is created with so much care and empathy. Her character arc is well done and the way it echoes through all of her relationships in the book (her friends, her mom, her aunt) makes it resounding and impactful.

And of course, the writing is absolutely breathtaking. There were so many lines that I had to just read over and over again to completely soak up the words. Safia Elhillo is such a master of her craft.

If you loved Home is Not a Country, you HAVE to read Bright Red Fruit. And if you’re a fan of books like The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo or Muted by Tami Charles, this book is definitely for you. And if you’re looking for a Sudanese author to support, it’s about time you read Safia Elhillo 🇸🇩

(I am adding content warnings below because this book deals with heavy topics)

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