You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
4.75 colorful stars! This book is sometimes overly descriptive but beautiful and lyrical. I’m sad it’s over and it has left me wanting to read more about Syria, Libya or Ceuta.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
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:
No
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Beautifully written, reflective and emotional. Handled such a heavy topic with such care and empathy and didn’t sensationalize the tragic events (side-eyeing The Tortilla Curtain hard). You could tell the author had a lot of love for these characters. I loved reading this. It made me cry a lot. The parallel storytelling worked well. 8/10 would read again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
I listened to the audio version of this book, but still the first thing I want to say is that the cover is just gorgeous. It feels tragic, magical and mystical and that's the right feel for this book.
Listening to this, going through Nour's and Rawiya's stories, hearing about Syria, about all they endured, and about their searches for home, wasn't easy. Because there was pain and because there was grief and darkness but then there was also light and stars and hope.
I don't know how to describe the writing. Saying it was beautiful is not enough. Listening to this was like listening to a poem or maybe a piece of music. I think the writing alone is enough for reading this book even if you don't have a soft spot for "Stars" and "Stories".
Listening to this, going through Nour's and Rawiya's stories, hearing about Syria, about all they endured, and about their searches for home, wasn't easy. Because there was pain and because there was grief and darkness but then there was also light and stars and hope.
I don't know how to describe the writing. Saying it was beautiful is not enough. Listening to this was like listening to a poem or maybe a piece of music. I think the writing alone is enough for reading this book even if you don't have a soft spot for "Stars" and "Stories".
I want to like this book. I really do. The storyline mirroring an old folk story to a modern family's escape from the Syrian war, the clever back and forth, the topic itself shining a light on the refugee crisis...
And yet. The execution was cliched and saccharine, with our twelve year old narrator constantly pondering the ways of life, which makes sense given what she is going through but comes across.. eh.
And yet. The execution was cliched and saccharine, with our twelve year old narrator constantly pondering the ways of life, which makes sense given what she is going through but comes across.. eh.
The writing is so vivid. By using the young narrator's synesthesia to describe the settings, the framework is like nothing I've ever read.
This story is beautiful and devastating and hopeful and enlightening. Exploration of grief and culture and an immigrant's experience -- especially that of the 12-year-old narrator, Nour, who has no memories of her country of origin. The Syrian language isn't even her first language.
This is then followed by a refugee experience. When Nour's home is destroyed by a bomb, she and her sisters and their mother rush to escape Syria.
Reading stories like this are important. And there are so many powerful passages as the story unfolds: "He opens his palm, feeling the heft of the mended knife as though being broken isn't something that destroys you."
It doesn't take much exposure to empathize or sympathize with a refugee when you engage with stories like this; when you see others as human.
This book is a must-read.
This story is beautiful and devastating and hopeful and enlightening. Exploration of grief and culture and an immigrant's experience -- especially that of the 12-year-old narrator, Nour, who has no memories of her country of origin. The Syrian language isn't even her first language.
This is then followed by a refugee experience. When Nour's home is destroyed by a bomb, she and her sisters and their mother rush to escape Syria.
Reading stories like this are important. And there are so many powerful passages as the story unfolds: "He opens his palm, feeling the heft of the mended knife as though being broken isn't something that destroys you."
It doesn't take much exposure to empathize or sympathize with a refugee when you engage with stories like this; when you see others as human.
This book is a must-read.
This was a lovely mix of lots of genres. Historical mapmaking, contemporary refugee crisis, a dash of fantasy elements thrown in - it was one of the few dual-timeline books I can think of that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, perhaps because of the specific location connections they shared.
My favorite pieces of literature teach me about unfamiliar human stories or something new about familiar ones, often with a dose of melancholy about how little of life we control and how often circumstances challenge our ability to cope or adapt. The very best may also include a story filled with adventure or mystery or joie de vivre that give greater meaning to life even in the face of such circumstances. This novel presents two such adventures, told in alternating snapshots that trace a parallel geographic journey of young women and their companions through the Levant and North Africa. Though separated by centuries, Nour finds comfort in chaos from retracing the steps familiar to her through the legendary story’s tireless retelling by her father before he died.
Fleeing Syria on the cusp of civil war when violence emerges to perfunctorily erase their home, Nour and her family travel through Damascus, Amman, across the Red Sea to Cairo and Benghazi and beyond all in search of somewhere safe to call home. Throughout their journey we are treated to the thoughtful and creative way that Nour looks at her world, filled with beautifully-crafted metaphors fitting for a child seeking to make sense of the unfamiliar feelings and situations that life as a refugee presents. The prose is beautiful and stirring, evoking the familial bonds that secure Nour to the idea of home and also bringing the brave Rawia and her companions to life as they face down armies, snakes, and giant mythical birds of prey. Nour is shaped by her memories of her father and by the relationships she forms on the road, and her impressions are greatly influenced by her childlike understanding of the Arabic language - having grown up in Manhattan and only recently moved back to Homs. This fresh perspective is shared by most readers, who gain insight into her experiences through Nour’s fresh eyes.
This was a pleasure to read and travel with Nour as she grew into adulthood and learned about love, home, and cherishing moments of comfort and kindness. I very much hope Ms. Joukhadar gives us many more such stories.
Fleeing Syria on the cusp of civil war when violence emerges to perfunctorily erase their home, Nour and her family travel through Damascus, Amman, across the Red Sea to Cairo and Benghazi and beyond all in search of somewhere safe to call home. Throughout their journey we are treated to the thoughtful and creative way that Nour looks at her world, filled with beautifully-crafted metaphors fitting for a child seeking to make sense of the unfamiliar feelings and situations that life as a refugee presents. The prose is beautiful and stirring, evoking the familial bonds that secure Nour to the idea of home and also bringing the brave Rawia and her companions to life as they face down armies, snakes, and giant mythical birds of prey. Nour is shaped by her memories of her father and by the relationships she forms on the road, and her impressions are greatly influenced by her childlike understanding of the Arabic language - having grown up in Manhattan and only recently moved back to Homs. This fresh perspective is shared by most readers, who gain insight into her experiences through Nour’s fresh eyes.
This was a pleasure to read and travel with Nour as she grew into adulthood and learned about love, home, and cherishing moments of comfort and kindness. I very much hope Ms. Joukhadar gives us many more such stories.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Two epic journeys through the Middle East separated by more than 800 years. For me the contemporary experience of Nour and her family as they must leave war-torn Syria was the more compelling in this historical fiction. I loved how she told of her experiences through synesthesia, which enabled her to find her way to safety.