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laurahastoomanywips'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? Yes
4.0
It is told via flashback telling what the build up was to him deciding to attack the school and Afaf's life from childhood building up to that day. She is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, telling the difficulties she experienced being a from an immigrant family, her father's drinking and his conversion to Islam, her mother's mental breakdown after her older sister ran away from home and Afaf's own conversion to Islam, becoming a teacher, meeting her husband and dealing with the fallout from the 9/11 attacks.
Showcases the mental health issues and gun laws that allow things like this to happen and also how the "echochambers" on the Internet have a part to play in fueling the hatred of the "others" often given as an excuse for these acts.
Definitely a "current" issue given the attacks in Buffalo and Texas that occurred this month.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, and Racism
studiouspoppy'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Sexism, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Murder, Xenophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Death of parent, Death, Car accident, Bullying, Kidnapping, War, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Infidelity and Infertility
jades1520's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Miscarriage
sbeierle'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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, Racism, and Religious bigotry
cecireads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Islamophobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism
Minor: Infidelity
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
marbleous'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: Islamophobia and Mass/school shootings
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
read_a_lottie's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Mass/school shootings