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kristenjiannotti's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.5
Very interesting story and concept. We're following Firuzeh and her family as they escape from Afghanistan and will do anything to keep from going back. Suffering heartache, strife, poverty, and loss, the family goes through it all. I find the genres that the book has been placed in troubling - as the only 'fantasy' aspect is that Firuzeh speaks with her dead friend . That was it.. so anybody seeking this out for it's fantasy aspects or anybody staying away from this because of it's fantasy notation are both missing out. Mislabeled at best. However, I really enjoyed the family story - even with it's vague ending!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse
bookishcori's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Deportation
Moderate: Grief, Death, Suicide attempt, Blood, War, and Mental illness
laurareads87's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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? No
4.0
On Fragile Waves follows the lives of an Afghan family -- two parents and their two children -- as they journey from Afghanistan to Australia and find that the country is not welcoming and peaceful in the ways that they'd hoped or expected. From a precarious boat ride to immigration detention to sexual and racist harassment to the threat of deportation, the novel focuses on the precarity experienced by one family seeking safety and is not an easy read. I will say that I question the shelving of this book as 'fantasy,' and based on some of the reviews I expected a much more experimentally written book than I actually got. An infuriating and heartbreaking read; this doesn't read like a debut novel -- definitely recommend.
gender-based violence / intimate partner violence
gender-based violence / intimate partner violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, War, Child death, Death of parent, Suicide, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Death, and Confinement
Moderate: Domestic abuse
tree_branch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, War, and Racism
Minor: Domestic abuse and Cursing
larbster90's review
challenging
emotional
informative
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? No
5.0
I don't cry at a lot of books, but I cried at this one. Excellent storytelling style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child death, Police brutality, Violence, Death, and War
whatkathrynreads_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Racism
mandkips's review
challenging
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Racism
Moderate: Self harm, Death of parent, and Suicide
Minor: Death and Suicide attempt
mishys2's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
TW: Self harm, suicide
A beautifully written story about a family’s journey for survival. To escape a country that was no longer safe and tread across treacherous waters to a newfound land they could call home.
This story starts off hopeful but it’s far from it. We follow their journey from Pakistan, as they escape by boat to Nauru and finally to Australia. The real story is what happens in between. Their journey, their fight for survival, and all the risks they took to reach new land.
We are shown are side that’s not often talked about. What actually goes on in these refugee camps. How they are treated and if they even make it out alive.
That racism is real and alive in Australia. As much as it’s a multicultural country, we are far from the accepting and moving country we should be. The terrible treatment given to refugees, the zero support network, and reliant on volunteers to help.
Firuzeh and her family are faced with countless struggles from living on bread and dry chicken to rejection letters to the xenophobic and racist people they meet. They really are just trying to start a new life but people can be so cruel.
We also get a glimpse into the family dynamic of a family that praises their only son over their daughter. A son that gets to play soccer, have treats and hang with friends. While their daughter is stuck at home doing homework and chores.
The daughter who is haunted by her dead friend. The friend who didn’t make it across the waters. Who talks to her in her dreams and saves her from her nightmares.
The story itself was heartbreaking indeed. We see two parents struggling to make ends meet. The division they placed between brother and sister. The rage that was bubbling inside a little girl.
The lyrical prose is something to get used too, and the lack of quotations marks often left me confused with who was speaking. Aside from that, there were random chapters of side characters (that had quotation marks?) that didn’t really add anything to the rest of the story. However, I loved the setting of Melbourne and use of Aussie slang.
If you like poetic-like prose and a touch of magical realism. A story of a struggling family just trying to survive. Then this ones for you.
Thank you Netgalley and Erewhon Books for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.
A beautifully written story about a family’s journey for survival. To escape a country that was no longer safe and tread across treacherous waters to a newfound land they could call home.
This story starts off hopeful but it’s far from it. We follow their journey from Pakistan, as they escape by boat to Nauru and finally to Australia. The real story is what happens in between. Their journey, their fight for survival, and all the risks they took to reach new land.
We are shown are side that’s not often talked about. What actually goes on in these refugee camps. How they are treated and if they even make it out alive.
That racism is real and alive in Australia. As much as it’s a multicultural country, we are far from the accepting and moving country we should be. The terrible treatment given to refugees, the zero support network, and reliant on volunteers to help.
Firuzeh and her family are faced with countless struggles from living on bread and dry chicken to rejection letters to the xenophobic and racist people they meet. They really are just trying to start a new life but people can be so cruel.
We also get a glimpse into the family dynamic of a family that praises their only son over their daughter. A son that gets to play soccer, have treats and hang with friends. While their daughter is stuck at home doing homework and chores.
The daughter who is haunted by her dead friend. The friend who didn’t make it across the waters. Who talks to her in her dreams and saves her from her nightmares.
The story itself was heartbreaking indeed. We see two parents struggling to make ends meet. The division they placed between brother and sister. The rage that was bubbling inside a little girl.
The lyrical prose is something to get used too, and the lack of quotations marks often left me confused with who was speaking. Aside from that, there were random chapters of side characters (that had quotation marks?) that didn’t really add anything to the rest of the story. However, I loved the setting of Melbourne and use of Aussie slang.
If you like poetic-like prose and a touch of magical realism. A story of a struggling family just trying to survive. Then this ones for you.
Thank you Netgalley and Erewhon Books for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, and Self harm
claudiaswords's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
[I got to read this book ahead of its publication because I was provided an arc copy through NetGalley]
This book is a bit complex to review because as much as its characters may be fictional, the things that happen to them, the events that take place in its pages, are incredibly real. This book packs a punch, it is not long, but every single page of it is important. Every single page made me think about how lucky I am to have the life I have.
This book deals with a family that has to flee their home country (Afghanistan) and their arduous journey to Australia, where they hope to find a new home. It depicts the horrors of being a migrant, the difficulty and dangerousness of the trip but also what happens once you reach the place you struggled so much to get to.
There were many things in this book that were difficult to read, for me the hardest were the chapters in the detention camp, but like I said before, they are difficult to read because they are very real, and that makes it important for them to be read and known. I think, aside from the realness of this story, the thing that made my heart break the most was seeing the innocence leave Firuzeh and Nour little by little, hardship by hardship, but see them still fight, still hope. Because, after all, I think this book is also about that, about growing up and not believing in the stories of your childhood anymore but eventually realizing you need them to endure the injustices of life.
I really appreciated the chapters that changed perspectives, seeing how many people cared or at least thought of this family who seemed to be so alone against the world. E. Lily Yu's prose is enchanting and captivating (in some ways - the best ways- it reminded me of Helen Oyeyemi's), her characters are so real it made me think this was a true story. Firuzeh and Nour and Nasima and Abay and Atay and everyone else in this book are fictional but sadly there are many people in the world with stories too similar to theirs.
I think everyone should read this book, more so if you think it is easy being a migrant, or that the reason they come to your country is to steal your job or live off of your help. I think if you read this story and your heart doesn't break even the slightest bit for the real people behind it then that is because you don't have a heart and so it could never break.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm
phoebereads's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
On Fragile Waves is a stunning and thoughtful book that crosses oceans with its lyrical prose. It's a story of immigration, of pain, of love, of growing up, and of the stories we tell to others and to ourselves, set between Afghanistan and Australia. Yu's writing is stunning and her story is heart-wrenching and beautiful, weaving the tale of a family escaping war only to find new pain in the country they wish to call home. All the characters of this book are haunting and complex, and Firuzeh was an amazing main character to follow. I loved this book so much and it's definitely a story that will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend.
** Many thanks to Erewhon Books & NetGalley for providing me with an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
** Many thanks to Erewhon Books & NetGalley for providing me with an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Death
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