Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

59 reviews

bluehairedlibrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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? No

4.0

This is a tough book to read. Two Middle Eastern teenagers - one who was taken to the states after an earthquake destroyed her village in Pakistan and another, who is the son of Middle Eastern immigrants - survive life in their small, California desert town by relying on each other. Or at least they did until a massive fight pulled them apart. Now they're trying to deal with their problems on their own, and having a hard time doing it. 

This book deals with so many hard issues - parental death, the lack of society safety nets, medical debt, physical familial abuse, drug use, and drug dealing. It's honestly a lot to pack into one story, but it works due to Tahir's use of language. The language is often beautiful enough to dull a little of the pain of living alongside these characters. As the two teens become friends again and everything goes even worse for them, it feels a little forced, but I enjoyed the flash forward and the promise of a relatively happy ending for these two.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, and Death of parent

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

5.0

This book was absolutely incredible. I loved it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Sexual assault

Salahudin was assaulted as a child and though he can’t remember as a teenager, the affects of the assault are seen/mentioned throughout.

Noor’s family is killed in an earthquake when she’s a child, she describes being trapped in a closet until she is rescued.

drraytay's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Islamophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual assault

megloveswords12's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-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: Violence, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Chronic illness

missbsbookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Grief, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Death of parent

kayladaila's review against another edition

This book is exactly as the title suggests. If you can’t or don’t want to handle the very heavy themes, skip this one. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Medical content, Racism, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Drug use and Rape

jmusil44's review against another edition

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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Racism, Addiction, Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Chronic illness, Sexual assault, and Medical content

drownedinfictionx's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is without a doubt my favorite book of 2021.. and hear me out I know it’s only February so that isn’t saying a lot but I can not fathom that changing. It will stay as a favorite for the year.

Sabaa- wow these characters truly had so much depth and feeling beyond what I could have imagined. I have never felt so transformed into another life as I did in this book. I had goosebumps so many times. I haven’t felt this emotional and moved by a book in I don’t know how long. I read truly I feel for emotion and this book was seeping emotion.

Ama, Sal, Abu, Noor they will live on in my heart. Every single thing was so phenomenally done I just felt like I was in Jupiter myself.

This is a heavy book- there are many difficult things to read - but they are done extremely well. Triggers such as - addiction, overdose, abuse, islamaphobia, racism, death, repressed sexual abuse.

Beyond this I don’t know if I can truly explain the feeling I’m left with. The experience of grief is heart shattering in this book.

this is it - you gotta read it!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Islamophobia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, and Drug abuse

foreverinastory's review against another edition

challenging 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

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Oh my god! Sabaa what have you done to me!! 😭😭😭 Forever crying over this.

All My Rage is a generational contemporary about a family of Pakistani Americans and Noor, a Pakistani refugee. The story centers on Noor, Salahudin and his mother, Misbah. We see Misbah in Pakistan as she starts her married life with Toufiq and they come to the United States. Noor and Salahudin were best friends, until The Fight. Now Sal spends his time trying to save the motel as his mother's health fails and his father is lost in his alcoholism. Noor balances working for her wrathful uncle while also going to school and trying to apply to college where she can finally be free of him and Juniper. But when Sal tries something desperate to save the motel, he and Noor face far reaching consequences than they knew to prepare for.

This book was fucking incredible. The way Sabaa has shaped the story of Misbah, Noor and Salahudin was amazing. The emotional journey we go through with these characters has caused maximum emotional damage. I wanted to rage, to cry, to scream, to fight and so much more for these characters. The way trauma is explored in this story is incredible, there's no other word for it truly.

There were times I felt so down with these characters I didn't think there was any hope left. But Sabaa weaves a tiny seed of hope throughout this whole story. So much is thrown at the protagonists and while they don't always make the smartest decisions, they persevere through it all. I love that we get to see them all grow and learn through their mistakes. Many times we only see a tiny bit of behavior changes, but All My Rage goes above and beyond that.

The ending made me cry. I loved it so much. It's bittersweet yet brimming with hope. This book is amazing. I am so glad I read it. Tahir has established herself as someone who can easily leap genres and craft a compelling story and characters. I cannot wait to see what comes next for her.

Rep: cishet Pakistani-American male MC with PTSD and touch aversion, cishet Muslim Pakistani refugee female MC with PTSD, cishet Muslim Pakistani-American female MC with chronic kidney disease, white cis bisexual female side character with a small child, various Muslim and Pakistani side characters, Black Muslim female side character, BIPOC male side character, WLW side couple.

CWs: Islamophobia, alcoholism, alcohol consumption, bullying, domestic abuse, physical abuse, racism, child abuse, drug use, drug abuse (non-fatal overdose), drug addiction, panic attacks, racial slurs, chronic illness, terminal illness, xenophobia, medical content, grief, death, death of parent, religious bigotry, mental illness (PTSD). Moderate: police brutality, emotional abuse and manipulation, past sexual assault/rape. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Grief, Islamophobia, Medical content, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Police brutality, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault