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sheilareads_'s review
3.0
The ending in true YA fashion is a happy ending. Something I don’t really like. I know it’s fake/fiction but it’s just too cookie-cutter for me. I digress.
The book touches on a lot of issues. A LOT. I would’ve liked to have a more in depth character analysis on some of the characters. Like the matriarchs of the Ali family and their own traumas and how it relates back to the main protagonist’s own conflict with those around her. Some characters felt like footnotes in Rukhsana’s life. I wanted to know more about them.
Nonetheless, it’s a good book overall! I think a YA audience will really appreciate Rukhsana’s journey/ growth.
The book touches on a lot of issues. A LOT. I would’ve liked to have a more in depth character analysis on some of the characters. Like the matriarchs of the Ali family and their own traumas and how it relates back to the main protagonist’s own conflict with those around her. Some characters felt like footnotes in Rukhsana’s life. I wanted to know more about them.
Nonetheless, it’s a good book overall! I think a YA audience will really appreciate Rukhsana’s journey/ growth.
joana_stormblessed's review
3.0
Actual rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
This story made me feel uncomfortable and angry and it was the purpose. I felt sad and happy and all emotions. But in the end, everything wrapped up to quickly for me. We follow Rukhsana, a lesbian Bengali teen, whose parents completely lose it when they find out she's gay. Its about love, family, friendship and, more than anything, about acceptance and understanding .
This story made me feel uncomfortable and angry and it was the purpose. I felt sad and happy and all emotions. But in the end, everything wrapped up to quickly for me. We follow Rukhsana, a lesbian Bengali teen, whose parents completely lose it when they find out she's gay. Its about love, family, friendship and, more than anything, about acceptance and understanding .
blee98's review
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
specificity's review
5.0
I talk about how I sobbed or I cried at certain scenes in books or movies but usually those are just times when I've felt a phantom knife in my heart. I'm not a crier for media. In fact, I've only ever cried for three pieces of media before: The Bridge to Terabithia, Dead Poets Society, and The Book Thief.
This book made me cry harder, and burst into tears more times, than all three of those put together. I'm usually embarrassed to cry in front of my roommate, but this time I just burst into tears in my dorm room, shaking as I took in what happened.
It's an exceptional and very difficult read, but it's so, so worth it.
This book made me cry harder, and burst into tears more times, than all three of those put together. I'm usually embarrassed to cry in front of my roommate, but this time I just burst into tears in my dorm room, shaking as I took in what happened.
It's an exceptional and very difficult read, but it's so, so worth it.
lsparrow's review
4.0
YA novel about a young girl navigating through faith, tradition, systemic racism and homophobia
and trying to find a way to reconcile all the parts of herself.
and trying to find a way to reconcile all the parts of herself.
madeeznuts's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
dhishfish's review
4.0
WOW this book was good. It was very powerful and emotional and took me through a part of South Asian culture that I have never experienced before. Rukhsana's parents were very, very traditional parents, but what I loved about this book was that (mild spoiler):
This book was so heart-wrenching and great and a really good read.
Spoiler
her parents were able to grow and learn, and while they were villainized for quite a lot of the book, they became better people which is a hopeful message that many queer brown people probably needed to hearThis book was so heart-wrenching and great and a really good read.
mochipooja's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.0
I really wish I’d read this book when it first came out and I’d gotten it because this was kind of at that height of bringing more attention to South Asian representation. I absolutely loved the queer rep as well as the Bengali rep between the community and the culture. It’s not often that you see stories about South Asians that aren’t solely Indian so this was a nice change of pace. Also, the story itself can seem extreme and outlandish because of how it’s written. But the thing to understand is that this is a YA novel written in the perspective of a 17 year old girl. So it may seem exaggerated by the situation itself is not at all outlandish because some families do crazy things like what’s shown in the book. Also the grandmother’s backstory? HEART WRENCHING. Overall, a fast and easy read but incredibly emotional, culturally based, and is a story to keep you turning the page till the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
ariannemaya's review
4.0
J'ai beaucoup apprécié le personnage de Rukhsana et les relations qu'elle entretient avec les diverses personnes de son entourage. Les personnages ne sont pas des stéréotypes; même les parents ont des raisons de faire ce qu'ils font et croient fermement qu'ils agissent pour le bien de leur fille. Rukhsana se trouve aussi des alliés là où elle ne croyait pas du tout en avoir.
Le seul hic, c'est la copine de Rukhsana, pour qui je n'avais que très peu de compassion et qui, à certains moments, me tombait royalement sur les nerfs. Mettons que le fait que je ne souhaitais même pas que le couple principal finisse ensemble m'a enlevé un peu de mon plaisir de lecture.
Mais en tant que tel, c'était une très bonne histoire.
Le seul hic, c'est la copine de Rukhsana, pour qui je n'avais que très peu de compassion et qui, à certains moments, me tombait royalement sur les nerfs. Mettons que le fait que je ne souhaitais même pas que le couple principal finisse ensemble m'a enlevé un peu de mon plaisir de lecture.
Mais en tant que tel, c'était une très bonne histoire.
s_smiadak's review
5.0
This book was way heavier than I anticipated and even though I have never had the added burden coming out to my family, I completely related to the cultural expectations desi families hoist onto their children.