Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah

51 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

literautres's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

boiled me and wrecked me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Islamophobia, Hate crime, and Mass/school shootings

theravenflight's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Mental illness and Alcoholism

Minor: Vomit, Car accident, and Infidelity

tiakiwi's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

How to even describe this book. It goes back and forth from the past to the present showing the MC's life both the struggles and the joys. I finished this book in a few hours because you just wanted to know more. Very well written and definitely a must read for any one living on America.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Murder, and Religious bigotry

mxsunflower's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Racism, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Mental illness

marc's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Bullying

wchereads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

3.75

I am just a pool of tears

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Gun violence, Islamophobia, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, and Miscarriage

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

mostephanitely's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, and Gun violence

cjwitch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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

This book begins in Afaf's present day, where she is the principal of an Islamic girls school that is the target of a mass shooting. It then immediately jumps back in time to her early childhood. Most of the book is spent exploring Afaf's past, her childhood and her journey into adulthood, with flashes back to the shooting taking place between each major time period of her life. These flashes of the shooting are told mainly from the POV of the shooter and are both jarring and disturbing to read. 

Afaf's past is littered with pain and growth and eventually joy and love. This part of the story begins when Afaf is ten years old and her older sister goes missing. It follows the impact that this has on herself and her family, and focuses on how "other" Afaf feels both inside and outside of her home. For years Afaf's family is torn apart by loss and Afaf struggles with no sense of belonging, until her father first discovers and then introduces her to the Muslim community. It is through her newfound faith and community that Afaf finally connects with herself.

This book showcases the complexities of being a 1st generation immigrant, and of being both Arab and Muslim in a pre and post 9/11 world. The reader is emersed in Middle Eastern culture, foods and language and customs, in a way that is rich and welcoming, especially as Afaf begins to embrace her faith.  

The Beauty of Your Face is at times incredibly beautiful and often intensely painful. I think I cried through the entirety of the last 20% of it. It is so relevant to current times and however difficult this book may be, I urge you to pick to this up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Alcohol, and Car accident