Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

7 reviews

passionatereader78's review against another edition

challenging informative 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

3.5

I don't like the writing style. I enjoyed the stories that were told. I didn't like the way the author jumped around and then explained why what happened in 3 pages ago was important. I love the mother in the book. The way she stayed strong and stood up for what she believed in was inspiring. I loved seeing the growth in Daniel as he tells the story from age 5. Interesting read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, and Addiction

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Hate crime

Minor: Racial slurs, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Vomit

n_degeorgia's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

a very important read! the first hand tale of what it's like to leave your home country and everything you love and are proud of there and be transplanted into another country where nobody understands you, is racist and violent, and you experience poverty - told through the voice and narration of a child. So good! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Violence, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Animal death, Islamophobia, and Animal cruelty

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Xenophobia, Classism, Excrement, Racism, Abandonment, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Blood, and Bullying

mdwsn27's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Blood, Classism, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Confinement

jo845's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Racial slurs

bookthia's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

4.25

What a beautiful funny moving creative memoir.  Told through the lens of memories of his 10 year old self, Daniel Nayeri is an Iranian refugee living in Oklahoma with his mother and sister.  His father remained behind in Iran.  The book is intended for a YA audience, as the multiple references to poop will reveal. But the themes are deep and meaningful as Daniel deals with bullying, discrimination, abusive relationships, etc while also receiving beautiful acts of generosity and kindness.  

On the surface, the book is a collection of stories, some true and some untrue, about Iranian life and culture, his childhood in Iran (where his name was Khosrou) his journey to America, and his experiences as an immigrant.   On a deeper level, Daniel is trying to weave a tapestry of narrative that mimics the oral storytelling history of his homeland.  

Highly recommend this one. I recommend that parents read first before giving to a child under 12. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Excrement, Vomit, and Blood

inkdrunkmoth's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

 

I was lucky to get both an eARC but also an ALC copy of this book. I ended up listening to the audiobook for this. I really did love this book. I have a soft spot for most middle grade books anyways, but I remembered seeing this one and it sticking out to me for some reason, maybe it was the beautiful cover, so when I saw it on Libro.fm I snatched up the arc of it and started listening to it right away. I’m not always a fan of authors reading their own books simply because they aren’t trained in it. Sometimes they struggle to get across emotions and will just give a flat performance. But that wasn’t the case for this book. If anything, Daniel brought with it his own memories of being this age, how he’d tell these stories and what level of excitement and sadness to bring to this. It was heart shattering and funny all at once. I can’t say enough good about this audiobook. This is all true, though names are different and some minor characters might have been combined. Which means Daniel really lived through all these things, the abuses of his stepfather, of being a religious refugee, of losing his father to distance. I loved the setup of this story. Daniel is telling us his story through a school report. Either its one report or multiple ones like a journal I’m not overly sure. He combines his current memories of living in Oklahoma and those of his early years in Iran. He explains how they end up as Christian refugees in Italy and Saudi Arabia before finally landing in the US. He explains his family stories and how that ties back to him and the importance of him remembering them now when he’s so far away from home. In this time more than ever we need the stories of immigrants and refugees and the treatment they receive. Daniel is bullied horribly by his classmates and even by adults. His mother keeps returning to her abusive ex because she feels she had no choice because she has no money to support her kids despite having been a doctor back in Iran. This story tells the hard truths that need to be known more now than ever and I think the author did it perfectly  by keeping the reader humored with jokes about poop and other things that pop up throughout the story and the hard truths of it all. I highly recommend this book to probably older middle grade students and older simply because it is a hard story due to the abuse and suffering. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Bullying, Violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Drug abuse and Medical content