Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan

17 reviews

immaculori's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Bullying

courtknee__vn's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

This book really made me stop and think about my privilege how much I don’t have to think about daily being a white woman. Being in Texas, I see a lot about immigration and I’ve always thought it was so unfair that immigrants and people of different ethnicities and religions have to deal with so much discrimination on a daily basis but really diving into that experience from Zara’s perspective made me see it even more and it broke my heart and made me so angry. It’s not fair that she had to wake up every day with the weight of so much on her shoulders and constantly had to be on guard because of so many cruel people. I obviously don’t have the words to really express how important this book is but I think it’s such an eye opening and important read for every single person. Very very highly recommend!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Islamophobia, Violence, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Biphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Racism

zombiezami's review

3.75

What I most liked about this book were Zara as a character and her loving and mutually supportive relationship with her parents. I really loved how they were written. I also especially enjoy books where I can't predict what's going to happen next, and that was definitely the case with this one.

As far as my critiques, most of the characters did not feel especially developed. What activities does Priya enjoy? Why does Zara like Claire other than that Zara finds her pretty and they are both queer? At the end of the book, I didn't have a clear idea of how to answer those questions. Even with Zara, we open the book with her training in martial arts, but that barely gets brought up again after that first scene, despite the fact that she's been involved with it for most of her life.

Moreover, there were some plot points that were introduced but never really went anywhere. For example,

what happened with Maria after Zara intervened in the bullying and intimidation that was happening? It's implied that she might talk to the principal about how she was bullied, but we never hear about her after that incident. I was thinking she might become friends with Zara and her crew

. The ending felt rather abrupt, too.

There were also several instances where the characters acted as mouthpieces for the author's beliefs, sounding like they were reading Wikipedia pages about the DREAM Act and immigration reform. Although I agreed with what they were saying (fuck borders), I imagine there could have been a more organic way to present these ideas in the characters' own voices. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Grief, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Biphobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Death, and Outing

Minor: Death of parent, Cursing, Deportation, Colonisation, and Car accident

susanknights's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Deportation, Violence, War, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Biphobia

bitterseason's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Bullying, and Hate crime

Minor: Lesbophobia, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Homophobia, and Blood

sarah984's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

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

3.0

This book touches on a lot of important topics and I did like parts of it but overall it felt a little bland and superficial, more like a summary than its own novel. A lot of things happen really quickly and kind of get glossed over (the romance is SO fast) and the side characters don't have a lot of personality. I liked the way the book spotlighted problems with the immigration system that aren't as commonly addressed. However a lot of issues got solved way too easily -

the love interest’s homophobic Christian parents go to one therapy session and then they're okay with her Muslim girlfriend coming over for dinner, the way going to Canada is presented as an answer to every problem as if there are no racists here.

The food descriptions are great though, and I loved Zara’s relationship with her family.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Medical content, Xenophobia, and Racism

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Death of parent

amberinpieces's review

emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, and Islamophobia

Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, and Gun violence

clakyn's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Xenophobia, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, and Religious bigotry

venetiana's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was so good. I especially love how it didn't latch onto the "easiest" solution. The purpose of this book is definitely not to assuage white guilt, and I really appreciate that. 
Also, very lovable characters, great writing, and funny too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Racism

Moderate: Biphobia, Hate crime, Medical content, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Xenophobia, Vomit, Bullying, Death, Grief, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Violence

saadiasreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, and Islamophobia

Minor: Homophobia