Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah

7 reviews

bethsbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

5.0

A book that feels so new yet so familiar. I'll not forget it. Packed with heartache and brimming with hope, this novel tells the story of the powerful and resilient Afaf as she navigates a school shooting where she teaches while flashbacks of her past interrupt her thoughts. Her life has been punctuated by grief, self-discovery, loss, finding faith, being the victim of racism, and falling in love - yet it's all led to this moment. Will she survive the school shooting? Will her daughter, a student at the school, survive? How will her past help her in what could be, might be, her final moments? 

The writing in this novel is crisp, polished, yet lyrical. Each line flows from one to the next, each idea fluid as it weaves throughout her life, her mother's life, her father's, her sister's, and the school shooters. The author fills in every gap and every question you may have while still respecting the privacy of the characters when necessary. Ending on a poignant note, I don't think I have a bad word to say about this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Death, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Violence

borrowedbyaudrey's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Blood and Suicide attempt

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Mass/school shootings, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Infidelity, Child death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Vomit

Minor: Infertility, Sexual assault, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Dementia, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Terminal illness, War, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Xenophobia

Sandy hook mention, lynching mention, Nazis mention, 9/11, Vietnam, Battle of Karameh, dialysis.

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book and I'm disappointed that it hasn't been more circulated in social media book-centric circles! This was a story of a Palestinian-American who's life was not solely centralized around the occupation Palestine, which still took the time to take a firm stance against Israel's colonization of the West Bank. 

Afaf was a phenomenal character; her life story is so multi-faceted and strife with grief, but Mustafah weaves her story with grace, showing the life of a woman who's lost so much yet finds solace in community and religion. The portray of Islam and the various character's relationship with faith was a breath of fresh air, allowing nuance but ultimately showing the rewarding merits of organized religion, even amidst the aftermath of 9/11. 

The only facet of this book that I wasn't the biggest fan of were the chapters from the perspective of the school shooter. It was jarring having this bigot's life story humanized, even to a small degree, in the middle of Afaf's heart-wrenching story. Otherwise, this was a fantastic story for me, and I would recommend it to others though I would HIGHLY advise checking content warnings prior to reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Islamophobia, Gun violence, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Violence, Addiction, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Body horror, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity

Minor: Stalking

radfordmanor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Infidelity, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

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

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