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lyricalsoul's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
tanya_tate's review against another edition
4.0
Happy Book Publishing Day!!
Book Stats
Stars: 4.5 Stars
Start Date : 01/21/24
Ending Date: 02/02/24
Genre: YA Contemporary Poetry In-Verse Coming of Age
Form: Digital E-Arc
Page Count: 384
Publishing Date: 02/06/24
Point of View: 1st Person In Verse
Setting: Washington DC
My Blog: https://tanyasreading.wordpress.com/2024/02/06/bright-red-fruit-by-safia-elhillo/
StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/2bed7643-e8f2-4f21-8b8d-f6f623245fad?redirect=true
Thank you Netgalley for the E-Arc in exchange for a review.
Bright Red Fruit is a story about a Mother and Daughter who are trying to understand the other in the backdrop of a country where one is trying to blend into the culture and the other is trying to uphold the customs of the culture of the country they come from. Samira aka "Sam" is a 16 year Sundanese inspiring Poet who is living in Washington DC from Sudan. Her mom thinks she is " fast" because she is at the age where boys want to talk to her and she keeps hearing " rumors" about her from family members but never asks Sam herself about it or just trusts Sam. Sam also just wants to hang out with her friends, wear the same make up and wear cute clothes that are appropriate for her age. Her mother is so strict with her that she doesn't even want her to go to the movies with her friends. When she gets grounded for going to a party with her friends behind her mom's back, she starts posting her poetry on an online forum which gathers the attention of Horus. A poet who performs in local shops and national tours, who is getting national recognition but has a shady reputation and is also nine years her senior. Once she starts to share her poems with him, feelings she never had before start to develop.
This story is written in verse as you drive into the thoughts and Poems of Sam as she gets deeper in her lies she keeps from her mom and her friends about her new " friendship" with Horus. The author uses the myth of Hades and Persephone as imagery to explore and paint a tale between a mother's love for a daughter, a daughter who just wants to be understood, trusted, loved and found a first love, and the danger that first love happened to be.
I really wanted to give this book five stars since I loved it for the most part but for some reason I felt that Sam's character growth and the Mama as well was kind of underdeveloped. I felt like the conflict was too neatly resolved at the end which I felt Sam's character didn't fully learn a lesson. Especially the fact she wanted her mother to trust her and let up on her strictness and at the first big test that her mom did to show that she trusts her she failed big time. Granted, I know she's 16 and I am trying to give her the benefit of the doubt since she's still growing and she was also manipulated as well , but when they had such a good scene beforehand when both mother and daughter talked about their feelings and both feeling like being misunderstood from the other and the first step towards that was the mom showing trust towards you and you break it? Then I feel like you still didn't learn from it until you found out the guy was completely using you and manipulating you to get what he wanted.
I love the Hades and Persephone as imagery that is woven throughout the story with the different Poem from different poets to the parallels that Sam, her Mama and Horus are to Persephone, Demeter, and Hades. Also the play of the pomegranate with the name of the book . All and All I really enjoyed this one since I am a big fan of in verse books which this one is no expectation because it was written beautifully but I just wanted more character growth from our main character.
Book Stats
Stars: 4.5 Stars
Start Date : 01/21/24
Ending Date: 02/02/24
Genre: YA Contemporary Poetry In-Verse Coming of Age
Form: Digital E-Arc
Page Count: 384
Publishing Date: 02/06/24
Point of View: 1st Person In Verse
Setting: Washington DC
My Blog: https://tanyasreading.wordpress.com/2024/02/06/bright-red-fruit-by-safia-elhillo/
StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/2bed7643-e8f2-4f21-8b8d-f6f623245fad?redirect=true
Thank you Netgalley for the E-Arc in exchange for a review.
Bright Red Fruit is a story about a Mother and Daughter who are trying to understand the other in the backdrop of a country where one is trying to blend into the culture and the other is trying to uphold the customs of the culture of the country they come from. Samira aka "Sam" is a 16 year Sundanese inspiring Poet who is living in Washington DC from Sudan. Her mom thinks she is " fast" because she is at the age where boys want to talk to her and she keeps hearing " rumors" about her from family members but never asks Sam herself about it or just trusts Sam. Sam also just wants to hang out with her friends, wear the same make up and wear cute clothes that are appropriate for her age. Her mother is so strict with her that she doesn't even want her to go to the movies with her friends. When she gets grounded for going to a party with her friends behind her mom's back, she starts posting her poetry on an online forum which gathers the attention of Horus. A poet who performs in local shops and national tours, who is getting national recognition but has a shady reputation and is also nine years her senior. Once she starts to share her poems with him, feelings she never had before start to develop.
This story is written in verse as you drive into the thoughts and Poems of Sam as she gets deeper in her lies she keeps from her mom and her friends about her new " friendship" with Horus. The author uses the myth of Hades and Persephone as imagery to explore and paint a tale between a mother's love for a daughter, a daughter who just wants to be understood, trusted, loved and found a first love, and the danger that first love happened to be.
I really wanted to give this book five stars since I loved it for the most part but for some reason I felt that Sam's character growth and the Mama as well was kind of underdeveloped. I felt like the conflict was too neatly resolved at the end which I felt Sam's character didn't fully learn a lesson. Especially the fact she wanted her mother to trust her and let up on her strictness and at the first big test that her mom did to show that she trusts her she failed big time. Granted, I know she's 16 and I am trying to give her the benefit of the doubt since she's still growing and she was also manipulated as well , but when they had such a good scene beforehand when both mother and daughter talked about their feelings and both feeling like being misunderstood from the other and the first step towards that was the mom showing trust towards you and you break it? Then I feel like you still didn't learn from it until you found out the guy was completely using you and manipulating you to get what he wanted.
I love the Hades and Persephone as imagery that is woven throughout the story with the different Poem from different poets to the parallels that Sam, her Mama and Horus are to Persephone, Demeter, and Hades. Also the play of the pomegranate with the name of the book . All and All I really enjoyed this one since I am a big fan of in verse books which this one is no expectation because it was written beautifully but I just wanted more character growth from our main character.
mildrenreads's review against another edition
4.5
16 year old Sudanese American. Novel in verse. TW: grooming.
candelibri's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I’m going to need 7-10 business days to process this properly. In the meantime - READ. THIS. POST. HASTE.
incredible. my chest is still in a vise.
incredible. my chest is still in a vise.
teresafranceska's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
aishallnot's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
jfontaine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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? No
5.0
Safia Elhillo's latest, Bright Red Fruit, is an exquisite novel in verse. The main character, Samira, lives in DC with her mother. Her mother is from Sudan and she imposes on Samira many of the cultural pressures that she grew up enduring. The close-knit community at their church has decided that Samira is a bad girl, and she internalizes it so deeply that she doesn't know who to talk to about it. When she meets Horus, an older poet in an online forum, she finally feels seen. Tamadur and Lina are her dear friends, but she puts everything on the line for Horus, including their friendship. This story is an incredibly quick read, but it will linger with the reader for a long time. The characters are exceptionally depicted, the poetry is beautiful, and the story is heart-wrenching. It is very much a story about finding and using your voice.
herstoryunlocs's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
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? Yes
5.0
“ever since i was small i’ve wanted to be loved”
“here’s the story: in sixteen years my lips have never been kissed, but my name spends years kissed in every gossiping mouth, kissed with disapproving teeth, kissed by the threat of disgrace, of exile, my name kissed by every whisper, by shaken head while i sit inside it, untouched & full of wanting i cannot name, of something doused in gasoline & ready to catch”
An impeccable story, written in verse! It journeys through the life of 16-year old Samira, whose Sudanese-American culture ultimately shapes her experience as a young woman yearning for love, some good & some not so great. With a mom that just doesn’t understand the desires of a young girl at her age or truly gives her the autonomy to explore life in America, she begins to feel suffocated and needs an outlet. This outlet becomes poetry and of course, a guy she meets online.
This novel brings to light the ways young girls can be taken advantage of, objectified and their bodies hypersexualized all within the idea of “protectedness” by their own mothers, friends, community members, strangers, etc. While their thoughts and feelings could be seen as protective measures, it comes off extremely sexist and causes harmful stereotypes to be placed upon young girls at an early age. In this case, Samira feels forced to lie and keep things away from her loved ones in order to explore new places, people, and things.
At risk of disgrace, exile from her family, & recognized as the supposed “fast girl”, she has never even experienced a first kiss?! Make it make sense. Her desire for love is valid, especially when feeling the lack from her only parent. No one talks about the grief of losing a parent who is still in your presence once you begin to develop in age and they don’t begin to develop with you. Samira isn’t the little girl that does everything her mom wants her to do or is exactly the way her mom wants her to be, yet she is a young adult who seeks love, and friendship without judgement.
I found small facets of my younger self in Samira. Naive, very green, impressionable, easily manipulated. Yearning for love and not understanding how or what it looks like is a disaster waiting to happen. While her mom’s intention is to protect, she only ends up pushing her away into the very thing she’s trying to keep her away from. Oftentimes, parents feel the need to place all these rules on their kids, but it takes away from their experience of making mistakes and learning from them. With this neglect, it causes them to go through these experiences alone in a way where they feel it can only be done in a dishonest way. I remember feeling like I wanted to talk to my mom about things but because of the tabooness of the subject, I knew I wouldn’t be received or supported well.
Moral of the story, allow young girls to be young girls. Allow them to grow up in a way that isn’t stifling. Allow them to desire things they may not have while also teaching them to enjoy the present now. Teach them to explore new people, places and things without fear. Teach them that making mistakes is a part of life and it’s how you recover that’s important. Teach them that friends, family, and community are equally important. Teach them about love, how to love, and how to be loved. In that order.
keliseb's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
would be higher bc this is truly excellent but reading about the predatory relationship made me so uncomfy that it was a tough read at times. but very well done
paigereitz's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0