Reviews tagging 'War'

De sterren boven Bagdad by Gina Wilkinson

6 reviews

ameliafr7's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Stalking, Sexism, Alcohol, Terminal illness, War, Death of parent, and Police brutality

Minor: Sexual violence

captaincocanutty's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This books tries to do too much, and yet doesn't do enough. There was a trend in historical fiction a few years ago to follow at least 2 or maybe 3 different main characters, and I think this is a product of that trend.

There are very immersive moments that make it worth reading, and it's clear the author spent time in Iraq during the end of the reign of Saddam. The beginning and ending of the novel had me invested in what happened to the characters, but I felt like in the middle the author was trying to make a 300 page count, because it dragged and I was definitely skimming in some parts. There were also a few paragraphs that reappeared word for word in a couple different chapters. 

The book is interesting enough, but I think some changes to the editing could have made it a lot more engaging.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, and Police brutality

Minor: War, Torture, and Rape

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I thought this book had really good tension, and I got really worried about the characters. It's written well. When I picked it up, I assumed that it was written by an Iraqi writer, but it's by a white woman who was a journalist in Iraq. And that just feels a little... exploitative? Her author's note just sounded gross and defensive, so that kind of soured the book for me. I probably won't read this writer again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Stalking, and Police brutality

Moderate: Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, War, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Death, and Gun violence

bleeaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Torture and War

Minor: Sexual violence

kelly11111's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Sexual harassment, War, and Death

pagesintranslation's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Sexual violence