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belle2008's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, and Violence
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
spellboundchapters's review
- 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
She’d wanted to make every child feel they weren’t alone, to fan their potential into roaring flames of hope and promises to be fulfilled one day. Teaching gives her a sense of purpose and, unexpectedly, intoxicating independence. No matter what, she knows she’ll survive.
Afaf, a Palestinian-American, is the principal of an all-girl Muslim school. The book opens the day a shooter attacks the school. We then alternate between that day, and different stages of Afaf’s life, starting from when she was a little girl and her older sister disappeared.
For a book this short, it addresses a lot of different themes : untreated mental illness, racism, islamophobia, loss of a child, religion and faith, complicated mother-daughter relationships…
Maybe too many themes, because at moments it felt very superficial and I would’ve liked for it to be a little more dept.
I absolutely loved the writing style and how emotional it was! The characters were very well fleshed out and felt very real.
I cared a bit less about the present time events. The shooter’s POV was something I wasn’t expecting. I have to say, it kinda threw me off at first, but at the end I found it pretty interesting to see how fear and misinformation can turn someone into such a hateful and violent person.
My favourite thing about this book was probably witnessing Afaf’s relationship with religion develop, and seeing her finally find a community and a place to fit in.
In short, a book I won’t stop recommending to everyone!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Racism, and Suicide attempt
hannahrhian's review against another edition
- 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
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
ballgownsandbooks's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Racism, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Domestic abuse