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aheinicke27's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.75
This story is a terrifying and rage inducing look “15 minutes into the future” if the Trump presidency had increased persecution of Muslim people during his presidency. Drawing strong parallels to the Holocaust and the Japanese interment camps of WWII, the story is unsettling to read in a contemporary setting. Layla, the main character, is a brave, strong willed young woman who refuses to comply when her family is sent to a camp. While I appreciated Layla’s spirit for justice, she is also very much a frustrating high school girl at times who fails to think her actions through. (Like sneaking your high school boyfriend into an internment camp so you can make out for 5 minutes?? Seriously girl??? ). Layla grows a lot over the course of the book, but I wouldn’t say that growth happens until the very end. The beginning and middle of the book felt somewhat slow and drawn out, but the ending was really tense and page turning. Overall, this is an important book to read, as it is a very real possibility of what can happen when people lead with fear and hate in their hearts. Layla shows us the importance of using our voices and actions to combat this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Torture
whitedaylilies's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Islamophobia, Torture, Death, and Gaslighting
tddaffin's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Violence, Death, and Torture
kingrosereads's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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
4.0
I really liked this book. I thought it had a good premise, though the execution could’ve been worked on more. I think for a YA book it’s very informative and topical based on today’s current political climate. If anything this book is a great teaching tool and conversation starter for young people. I’ve seen reviews criticize Layla’s actions and obsession with her boyfriend which I find awfully critical and unnecessary. Layla’s a 17-year-old whose world was turn on its axis. She worries about the dirty dishes while her family is being removed from their home as an act of disassociating. Of course she’s going to choose something outside to focus on in this traumatic and ongoing experience. If you’ve ever read Anne Frank’s diary, you’d see that she also focused on mundane and seemingly unimportant things, and that’s just the reality of young people going through traumatic relocations whether is be seeing refuge or being put into camps. I also so some reviews belittling Layla’s experience and it not “being that bad”. All of it is bad regardless if Layla’s experience was exactly like the Japanese internment or not. And Layla’s experience in the camp reminded me of the accounts of life in early days of the Jewish ghettos. It’s also helpful to remember that the story doesn’t start off in a place where we’re able to take in all of the laws put into place to specifically oppress and police Muslims but we’re able to see that there were things going on prior to their removal.
I do see that Layla doesn’t have much of a personality or growth beyond the superficial level, but I think this could be on purpose to make it easier for the reader to slip into Layla’s shoes and try to imagine her experiences happening to them.
I do think that the book could’ve spent more time on life prior to the camps and more time in the camp.Their time there was short and it almost seemed to easy and clean for them to get out of the camp. Though that would be the ideal if something like this happened, it doesn’t seem realistic. I believe the government, if they went this far, would do anything they could to keep the camps running. Though I also believe they’d have a hard time getting every soldier on board with policing civilians, I can also see it taking a long time for them to have the courage to stand up to their superiors. I can also say that the death of Jake was unnecessary and I felt detached from it. I didn’t care for his relationship with Layla as he was her prison guard and it was definitely blurring the lines of appropriate behavior.
All-in-all it was a decent book about an important and topical subject that I think could be used in an educational setting successfully. Definitely give it a read, particularly if you’re a teacher looking for books for your students.
I do see that Layla doesn’t have much of a personality or growth beyond the superficial level, but I think this could be on purpose to make it easier for the reader to slip into Layla’s shoes and try to imagine her experiences happening to them.
I do think that the book could’ve spent more time on life prior to the camps and more time in the camp.
All-in-all it was a decent book about an important and topical subject that I think could be used in an educational setting successfully. Definitely give it a read, particularly if you’re a teacher looking for books for your students.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Torture, Murder, and Child abuse
Minor: Rape
bekah_belle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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? No
2.75
Such an important book and an important topic. However, the execution was flawed and didn’t always work for me. Disappointing as I was so hopeful for the powerful potential of a YA novel taking on fascism and racism in America.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia
Minor: Blood, Cursing, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Confinement, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racism, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Kidnapping
quinnpjd930's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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: Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, Islamophobia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Confinement, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Moderate: Racial slurs, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexism, and Hate crime
bookcaptivated's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, Death, Islamophobia, Child abuse, Violence, Torture, Blood, Xenophobia, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Minor: Hate crime, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Racial slurs, War, and Deportation
torijane's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Violence, Child abuse, and Racism
krys_kilz's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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
2.0
I didn't like this book at all. I really liked Ahmed's other novel, Hollow Fires, so I was disappointed that Internment didn’t measure up. The writing in this novel felt less focused and was heavy handed with an excessive use of metaphor. It really brought the book down for me because it took me out of the story and flattened the characters.
The politics in this book also felt really jumbled. The author critiqued liberals and yet the politics held by the characters and those resisting were essentially liberal. Very the system is broken rather than the system was structured to function this way.
It was full of tropes, an unnecessary love triangle, lots of filler, very little exploration of the conditions that led to the internment camp, everything being resolved way too easily and theatrically, and an unrealistically neatly wrapped up ending. The love triangle especially is so fucked up (hello age gap, weird white savior vibes, extreme power dynamics/imbalances).
It feels like a disservice to young adult readers because the concept behind this story was very strong and important. I wish it hadn't been so watered down and buried beneath all that fluff.
Please be mindful of the content warnings before reading.
The politics in this book also felt really jumbled. The author critiqued liberals and yet the politics held by the characters and those resisting were essentially liberal. Very the system is broken rather than the system was structured to function this way.
It was full of tropes, an unnecessary love triangle, lots of filler, very little exploration of the conditions that led to the internment camp, everything being resolved way too easily and theatrically, and an unrealistically neatly wrapped up ending. The love triangle especially is so fucked up (hello age gap, weird white savior vibes, extreme power dynamics/imbalances).
It feels like a disservice to young adult readers because the concept behind this story was very strong and important. I wish it hadn't been so watered down and buried beneath all that fluff.
Please be mindful of the content warnings before reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Confinement, Islamophobia, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Antisemitism and Blood
abby271's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia and Confinement
Moderate: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Police brutality
Minor: Torture