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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
What a windfall of a read this is! There are two stories told in parallel divided by time. I was captivated by both but I was so invested in the characters in the contemporary storyline I was thinking about them all day until I could get back to reading the book later that night. Their journey was so harrowing that I found the the other "Arabian nights" like tale a welcomed relief, but was always keen to get back to the contemporary story.
This really is a must read for anyone from any country, which is a refuge for displaced people.
I think, I'll be affected by this story for a long time.
PS. I picked this novel up on a whim from the new books shelf at the library on the Head Librarian's recommendation. (How nice is it to be greeted in the entry by the head honcho herself!)
This really is a must read for anyone from any country, which is a refuge for displaced people.
I think, I'll be affected by this story for a long time.
PS. I picked this novel up on a whim from the new books shelf at the library on the Head Librarian's recommendation. (How nice is it to be greeted in the entry by the head honcho herself!)
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is beautiful. This refugee story is unique as this one is about a family that moves back to Syria from the US after the loss of their patriarch. They become refugees when their new home is bombed and they are forced to flee. We follow young Nour and her family from New York City to Syria, through the Middle East and into Northern Africa in search of safety.
Alternately we follow along with Rawiya, a young girl traveling the same path 800 years earlier in an attempted to map the world.
Rawiya's story was a tale told to Nour by her father when he was still alive, and it keeps her connected to him through the harrowing journey.
The descriptions of the places traveled are so vivid and beautifully written. The connection between Nour and Rawiya's journeys flow elegantly despite 800 years between them.
I was quickly drawn into both stories. The magical elements of Rawiya's story, and the heartbreaking realism of Nour's, kept me engrossed until the very end.
Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, death, violence, war
Alternately we follow along with Rawiya, a young girl traveling the same path 800 years earlier in an attempted to map the world.
Rawiya's story was a tale told to Nour by her father when he was still alive, and it keeps her connected to him through the harrowing journey.
The descriptions of the places traveled are so vivid and beautifully written. The connection between Nour and Rawiya's journeys flow elegantly despite 800 years between them.
I was quickly drawn into both stories. The magical elements of Rawiya's story, and the heartbreaking realism of Nour's, kept me engrossed until the very end.
Trigger Warnings: sexual assault, death, violence, war
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Vomit
I thought about this book when I went to work, while I was in bed trying to sleep, when I was out walking my dog, and basically any time I couldn't be reading the book. I'm done with the book and I'm still thinking about it.
Some books with heavy imagery bog the reader down and drown them in overly-detailed scenes, but the author manages to be as detailed as a butterfly's wing and still as light as a hummingbird's touch. The whole book is a feast and so sumptuous.
The two intertwining stories balance one another so well, and I love the first story incorporates both real historical figures and events with mythological creatures and events while managing to not be over the top and at once keep the second story from being too bogged down in the seriousness of the subject matter. It is at once masterful and beautiful.
I'm still in awe of this book. It is a storyteller's map to a reader's heart.
Some books with heavy imagery bog the reader down and drown them in overly-detailed scenes, but the author manages to be as detailed as a butterfly's wing and still as light as a hummingbird's touch. The whole book is a feast and so sumptuous.
The two intertwining stories balance one another so well, and I love the first story incorporates both real historical figures and events with mythological creatures and events while managing to not be over the top and at once keep the second story from being too bogged down in the seriousness of the subject matter. It is at once masterful and beautiful.
I'm still in awe of this book. It is a storyteller's map to a reader's heart.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
This book is about 2 girls going on similar journeys, one is near modern-day and one is from a myth kind of story that her father used to tell her. Their stories are told in alternating chapters and sort of follow a similar path. The writing is very poetic and so it lost me a few times but it's also like pretty. One of these stories is about being a refugee but the other is more about a big adventure. I like the recurring idea of home being defined by your people rather than by a place. The book was a bit long for me, probably because of it having two separate stories in it.
Well, this was a stressful read to do during Snowpocalypse 2021. This is the story of Syrian refugees where literally everything goes wrong. Beautifully written, understandably stressful and I learned a lot.
I was so excited to pick up this book and sadly have been extremely disappointed. Having finished the book, I am left wondering who exactly the intended audience is and what exactly the purpose of the two alternating stories was.
To begin my review I’ll address the former of my complaints. This novel attempts to interweave two stories - one set centuries ago following a woman breaking traditional expectations for a more adventurous life. Another, set in modern times following a young girl who, after the death of her father, moves with her family to Syria and ends up in the middle of the civil war. The age of the main character in the modern story would imply that this would be a middle grade novel, while the age of the main character in the past story would imply this is a YA or adult novel. Because of these differences I find it difficult to tell what age range and audience this novel is actually intended for. I think some language was simplified enough to be considered middle grade and/or young adult audiences, yet the actual content would fall into adult fiction. It seemed like the author was trying to make the story accessible for all ages in some ways and in others had a very specific audience in mind which I didn’t really understand the purpose of.
Another issue I encountered was that initially I struggled with reading this book in physical format. I didn’t feel like the layout of the physical book was the best at separating the two stories as they were combined in each chapter just with the story set in the past starting the chapter off. Then, I switched to audiobook format where I enjoyed the narrator and finally started getting invested in the story, but there was even less distinction between the two different stories being told as the narrator barely paused and didn’t noticeably change her voice. Neither formatting was good at separating the stories and I think that is more to do with the layout of the stories than simply the layout of the novel. The way that the stories were divided up was somewhat disorganized; it felt like the author didn’t really know how to pace the stories together and so sometimes a story would stop and switch to the other story in the middle of a sequence of events. Then, when we would jump back to the story set in the past sometimes key information had occurred in the last chapter, or the story had jumped slightly ahead. It just wasn’t always cohesive. Also, one story was a fantasy adventure and the other was a serious and emotional contemporary - they didn’t go together in terms of content. While they did have similarities in regards to themes, these did not feel naturally integrated but rather forced to try and connect them. I can understand what the author was trying to do with the two stories, and with the themes chosen to attempt to connect them. However, because they didn’t naturally mesh well there was a bit of distance between the stories and the reader where I didn’t feel as attached to either story or their characters. It simply wasn’t working for me and I think both stories suffered for that.
Something else that confused me from he very beginning - and is never really fully understandable - is the family’s reasoning for moving from New York back to Syria. Initially, I thought that this novel was set right before the civil war broke out. However, from the discussions of characters at the beginning of the novel, it seems that the mother at least - as well as their relatives in Syria - knew the civil war was ongoing. This really undermined the story for me because while I can understand a widow wanting to move back to be closer to their family; I cannot understand a mother knowingly choosing to move their children back to a country in the midst of a civil war. It never really added up to me and, especially considering the chain of events throughout the novel, I continually questioned how the mother did not foresee the exact circumstances they ended up in from the beginning!
My final gripe is related to the writing, where I feel the author relied on style over substance. One odd stylistic choice was the author’s choice for the main character in the present story to describe things in relation to colors. Example: She describes someone’s laugh as pinks and purples, a verbal warning was red colored, etc. Initially, I thought this was indicating that the child might be on the autistic spectrum. However, this is not at all the case - as it is never addressed in such terms throughout the story - and frequently seems forgotten about over the course of the novel. It seemed to be used quite randomly and I am left wondering what was the point? Throughout the story, the author often over-described things comparing people to fruit, their expressions to different scenes of nature, and the very weird endless descriptions of sweat specifically stuck out. It felt like the author was just constantly trying to peddle metaphors to pass for poetry, yet the writing felt like rambling, disjointed and unnecessary. I think there was just too much going on in the writing that the author’s voice was coming through more than the characters themselves. It all felt artificial, too experimental, and just missed the mark for me.
Overall, I question if the author wanted two stories, but was just given the option to write one and thus, we have this product. Each of the two stories on their own were interesting and I think could have worked individually. Together, I think the connections just weren’t there for me and it felt like too much was trying to be done without attention to the quality of the story, character development, and writing.
To begin my review I’ll address the former of my complaints. This novel attempts to interweave two stories - one set centuries ago following a woman breaking traditional expectations for a more adventurous life. Another, set in modern times following a young girl who, after the death of her father, moves with her family to Syria and ends up in the middle of the civil war. The age of the main character in the modern story would imply that this would be a middle grade novel, while the age of the main character in the past story would imply this is a YA or adult novel. Because of these differences I find it difficult to tell what age range and audience this novel is actually intended for. I think some language was simplified enough to be considered middle grade and/or young adult audiences, yet the actual content would fall into adult fiction. It seemed like the author was trying to make the story accessible for all ages in some ways and in others had a very specific audience in mind which I didn’t really understand the purpose of.
Another issue I encountered was that initially I struggled with reading this book in physical format. I didn’t feel like the layout of the physical book was the best at separating the two stories as they were combined in each chapter just with the story set in the past starting the chapter off. Then, I switched to audiobook format where I enjoyed the narrator and finally started getting invested in the story, but there was even less distinction between the two different stories being told as the narrator barely paused and didn’t noticeably change her voice. Neither formatting was good at separating the stories and I think that is more to do with the layout of the stories than simply the layout of the novel. The way that the stories were divided up was somewhat disorganized; it felt like the author didn’t really know how to pace the stories together and so sometimes a story would stop and switch to the other story in the middle of a sequence of events. Then, when we would jump back to the story set in the past sometimes key information had occurred in the last chapter, or the story had jumped slightly ahead. It just wasn’t always cohesive. Also, one story was a fantasy adventure and the other was a serious and emotional contemporary - they didn’t go together in terms of content. While they did have similarities in regards to themes, these did not feel naturally integrated but rather forced to try and connect them. I can understand what the author was trying to do with the two stories, and with the themes chosen to attempt to connect them. However, because they didn’t naturally mesh well there was a bit of distance between the stories and the reader where I didn’t feel as attached to either story or their characters. It simply wasn’t working for me and I think both stories suffered for that.
Something else that confused me from he very beginning - and is never really fully understandable - is the family’s reasoning for moving from New York back to Syria. Initially, I thought that this novel was set right before the civil war broke out. However, from the discussions of characters at the beginning of the novel, it seems that the mother at least - as well as their relatives in Syria - knew the civil war was ongoing. This really undermined the story for me because while I can understand a widow wanting to move back to be closer to their family; I cannot understand a mother knowingly choosing to move their children back to a country in the midst of a civil war. It never really added up to me and, especially considering the chain of events throughout the novel, I continually questioned how the mother did not foresee the exact circumstances they ended up in from the beginning!
My final gripe is related to the writing, where I feel the author relied on style over substance. One odd stylistic choice was the author’s choice for the main character in the present story to describe things in relation to colors. Example: She describes someone’s laugh as pinks and purples, a verbal warning was red colored, etc. Initially, I thought this was indicating that the child might be on the autistic spectrum. However, this is not at all the case - as it is never addressed in such terms throughout the story - and frequently seems forgotten about over the course of the novel. It seemed to be used quite randomly and I am left wondering what was the point? Throughout the story, the author often over-described things comparing people to fruit, their expressions to different scenes of nature, and the very weird endless descriptions of sweat specifically stuck out. It felt like the author was just constantly trying to peddle metaphors to pass for poetry, yet the writing felt like rambling, disjointed and unnecessary. I think there was just too much going on in the writing that the author’s voice was coming through more than the characters themselves. It all felt artificial, too experimental, and just missed the mark for me.
Overall, I question if the author wanted two stories, but was just given the option to write one and thus, we have this product. Each of the two stories on their own were interesting and I think could have worked individually. Together, I think the connections just weren’t there for me and it felt like too much was trying to be done without attention to the quality of the story, character development, and writing.