Reviews tagging 'Blood'

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

15 reviews

readandfindout's review

sad medium-paced

3.25

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 2 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Child abuse, Addiction, Grief, Bullying, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Sexual violence

voxrusso's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

I love all of Sabaa’s work, but I’m not much of a fan of the contemporary genre. Even so, I loved this book and it’s the quickest I’ve finished a book in over a year. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Grief, Islamophobia, Racism, Death, Child abuse, Addiction, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, and Drug abuse

Minor: Police brutality and Sexual assault

There is a list of trigger warnings contained within the first few pages of the book before the first chapter.

lawbooks600's review

dark emotional sad slow-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

3.0

Representation: Asian main characters, side Black and Brown characters
Score: Five points out of ten.

Man, this book wasn't great and to say it was sad wouldn't be the right words to describe this one. I added it to my list a few days ago at the time of writing this review and a few days later I picked it up from one of the two libraries I visited and finally read it. When I finished it, I thought the novel was too depressing (don't get me wrong, a book can be depressing and still be enjoyable but it needs a balance of depression and more positive emotions, but this one didn't have that.) Did I mention this novel circled my recommendations once? It starts with one story's main character Misbah Malik  living in Pakistan who is arranged to marry her predetermined partner when it cuts to the present day in Juniper, California with the other story's protagonists Noor (I initially pronounced it as Nore until she said it rhymes with lure so I switched to that) and Salahudin.

Another book similar to this I've read and enjoyed is Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed but I found that better than this one. I appreciate the author for writing this novel engagingly because of the outstanding descriptions of everything. Here is where the flaws surface; like other books I've read I could never fully connect to all the people who drive the story forward like Misbah, Noor or Salahudin and the plotline(s) were all over the place (I'll explain that later) making them disjointed and harder for me to read or enthral myself in. Now Noor and Salahudin had to get through the death of whom they call Misbah Auntie from kidney problems she refused to address properly (she'd use turmeric instead of going to the doctor) and already I felt miserable but the worst is yet to come. The past narrative told me that Noor's parents died in an earthquake in Pakistan and no one but another person, Chachu (her uncle) saved her with his bare hands which the book repeats sometimes to presumably drive it into my head. I don't understand why I had to look at Misbah's perspective in the past after she died in the present because it didn't add anything significant and distracted from the present perspective story. There are myriad issues the novel talks about much to its detriment as I felt it couldn't pick a single issue to focus on (like alcohol abuse, racism, child abuse and drug abuse) and instead it tried to concentrate on all of them but failed. Maybe if it picked one it could be better. 

Everything takes a turn for the worst when Noor applied for seven different universities but to no avail and she tries to pay off the bills without Misbah (whose life went on a downward spiral) to similar results while also dealing with racist attacks at her school and the rage as she calls it bottling inside her (shutting down feelings never works well especially when she physically punches Jamie, the culprit, in return.) Chachu uses a (destructive) coping strategy, alcohol to deal with all the struggles in his life which didn't go to plan as he abuses Noor so she runs away. At least Jamie got karma in the end, Noor got accepted to a university, both people in the present move on ending the book swiftly. I won't reread this but I might read An Ember in the Ashes and its succeeding instalments.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Grief, Racism, Confinement, Blood, Medical content, Drug use, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Full trigger warnings: Death of an aunt from an illness, parents from an earthquake and other people from electrocution in the past, racism, racist slurs, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault, injury and child abuse, abusive and alcohol abusing uncle, imprisonment of a child, hospitalisation, bullying, near-death experience from a drug overdose

marissasa's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book touches on so many things and does them all spectacularly. Life, love, loss, coming of age, trauma, bad choices, addiction, poverty, immigration, healing, faith, friendship, trust, hope, and forgiveness all wrapped in the harsh setting of a small town in the Southern California desert where two Pakistani teens try to find their place in an America Dream that wasn't made for them. The narration switching between Noor, Salahudin, and Misbah was a brilliant writing choice. Each character has such a clear voice and it makes you feel so much more deeply for each of them and their struggles. I loved how mature this YA book was and the way it never downplayed the harm that characters caused even when they were characters you had grown to love and root for. It gave so much weight and realism to the angst and emotions, and much more meaning to the ending and the story's messages of hope and redemption.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence

alexisgarcia's review

emotional 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? Yes

3.5

i really enjoyed this, it was a very full YA that tackled some heavier topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

caoimhe9876's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Spectacular 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Racism, Addiction, and Child abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Islamophobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Drug use

Minor: Cursing, Deportation, Car accident, Blood, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Medical content

courtnoodles's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Medical content, Death of parent, Drug use, Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Islamophobia, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood

Minor: Cancer and Suicidal thoughts

bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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

when i started this book, i wasn’t sure it would live up to its name, but it absolutely did. the writing is at turns lyrical and beautiful and at other times blunt and unyielding in its descriptions. i look that there were no perfect characters in this story, but plenty of people that try, fail sometimes, but grow and try to do better. a great read on forgiveness, compassion, and finding strength in yourself and others. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Physical abuse, Cursing, Racism, Classism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Confinement

annabulkowski's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Truly one of the best books I’ve ever read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

agnesbebon's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Heartbreaking and beautiful 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Addiction, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Racism, Death of parent, Death, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Drug abuse, Grief, and Racial slurs