Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah

15 reviews

cecireads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Islamophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism

Minor: Infidelity

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

This book was so heartbreaking in so many ways but such an incredible and important read. It explores finding Islam, experiences of Islamophobia, a hate crime, so much loss and grief. 
The only reason I felt like I really couldn't give it 5 stars was that the writing was a tad repetitive at times, and it would pull me out of the story. BUT I would argue that the story itself is 5 stars. 

We really need more people to read stories like this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship

bookreviewswithkb's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

[ 4.5/5 🌺🌺🌺🌺🌷 ] this book should have been longer. it’s a masterpiece but i wanted more

this is a book about what happens to us when we hold in our pain, when we refuse to let out the things that have hurt us. maybe it’s in the name of protecting others or of protecting ourselves. but in the end, it creates more pain. so many of us have only been taught it’s not okay to feel emotions, it’s not okay to have struggles with mental health, that it’s not okay to talk about the things that are bothering us, but look where that’s left us. i don’t have to name the many atrocities in our society occurring every single day; how many of them stem from our inability to be honest, to see the humanity in each other, to feel our feelings and express them in healthy ways, to heal from our past? 

maybe if Afaf’s mother received the care she needed for her depression, she wouldn’t have inflicted her pain onto those she loved most in the world. maybe if the shooter was able to talk about the wounds from his childhood, he wouldn’t have felt the need to unleash his anger on innocent Muslim students. maybe if Afaf could express what was happening to her at home, she wouldn’t have tried to seek comfort in white boys who saw her as a prize. 

what do we have to lose by turning towards our emotions?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Alcoholism, and Islamophobia

Minor: Child abuse

mfieldshalva's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Xenophobia, Violence, Murder, Alcoholism, Bullying, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Infidelity

Moderate: Infertility

Minor: Child abuse and Religious bigotry

hannahrhian's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit