Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah

24 reviews

emmawiechs's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Mass/school shootings, Islamophobia, and Hate crime

Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, and Sexual content

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

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

papayat's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Islamophobia

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

discarded_dust_jacket'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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Racism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Infidelity

Minor: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Vomit, and Pregnancy

lizreading's review against another edition

emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

A wonderful book, I couldn’t put it down. Although I am white I felt that I could relate to some of the experiences of Afaf during her childhood. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Hate crime

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

booklore_forevemore's review

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was such an incredible novel. There are multiple timelines: one is the present day during a school shooting, and the others are various period from the main character’s life from her childhood to early adulthood. I initially had to put this book down after about 20% because it was so dark, but I’m glad I picked it back up a few days ago. 

I HIGHLY recommend this book to absolutely everyone. A vast majority of the book is from the perspective of Afaf, who is currently the principal of a Muslim girls school in NYC. From the eyes of Afaf, the reader gets the sense of what it’s like to grow up as a Muslim Arab girl in the United States (“spoiler alert” - there’s a lot of Islamophobia). There are also short chapters from the perspective of the school shooter (i.e., terrorist), which are infuriating to say the least. I think part of the reason his perspective was so upsetting was that it was eerily familiar - I have heard so many of his Islamophobic thoughts echoed in the words of people I was around growing up. 

As I was reading, I kept forgetting this book is not a memoir. Everything felt so real and personal; probably because the scenario is 100% realistic and the author drew from her personal experience. This isn’t a genre I typically read, but it’s definitely a stand-out of the year. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Death

Minor: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

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.