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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
reflective
fast-paced
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC of this book! The author did a great job narrating the book, and I felt compelled to continue reading, which is why I finished this so quickly.
I will say there’s quite a bit of internalized ableism, racism, and classism, especially in the beginning of this book as NS reflects on her childhood. She discusses growing up on the Upper East Side and not even really recognizing that she was Palestinian-Lebanese or “different” until she was a teenager. I totally recognize the authenticity and vulnerability in sharing this naivety and sheltered perspective, but I almost wish she spent less time focusing on that, and more time reflecting on and investigating her adulthood as she came into her own and began to really connect to her cultural background.
Suffice to say, my favorite parts of the book were the last 20% of it because that’s where she finally shares more on her own experiences with learning about Gaza and the West Bank, Zionism, and apartheid. NS’s father was a prominent advocate for a free Palestine, which is why I find it so wild that NS really didn’t understand nor take interest in learning about this until she was a new adult. However, I of course give her grace, as we all have our own journeys. It’s just fascinating to me.
Anyway, it was an easy-to-listen-to audiobook, and I’m glad NS is using her privilege and position of influence to talk about Palestine.
Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC of this book! The author did a great job narrating the book, and I felt compelled to continue reading, which is why I finished this so quickly.
I will say there’s quite a bit of internalized ableism, racism, and classism, especially in the beginning of this book as NS reflects on her childhood. She discusses growing up on the Upper East Side and not even really recognizing that she was Palestinian-Lebanese or “different” until she was a teenager. I totally recognize the authenticity and vulnerability in sharing this naivety and sheltered perspective, but I almost wish she spent less time focusing on that, and more time reflecting on and investigating her adulthood as she came into her own and began to really connect to her cultural background.
Suffice to say, my favorite parts of the book were the last 20% of it because that’s where she finally shares more on her own experiences with learning about Gaza and the West Bank, Zionism, and apartheid. NS’s father was a prominent advocate for a free Palestine, which is why I find it so wild that NS really didn’t understand nor take interest in learning about this until she was a new adult. However, I of course give her grace, as we all have our own journeys. It’s just fascinating to me.
Anyway, it was an easy-to-listen-to audiobook, and I’m glad NS is using her privilege and position of influence to talk about Palestine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Eating disorder, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Genocide, Death of parent, Classism
I had such an in depth review that this stupid glitchy app deleted lol, but tldr; this was an ok book that perhaps meant more to the author than it does to the reader and also kind of made me feel less inspired by her father in the way that he has been made to be known by the Palestinian movement. It also sucks that much like the Arab world has a hierarchy of sorts, that hierarchy was ultimately reflected in this author’s own feelings about her identity with her feeling more proud of her Lebanese background and less inclined towards her Palestinian one but I guess thats makes sense since much like many people, she was never able to become close to it since she lost all ancestral ties to the region when her family left before the Nakba. Also, I think it can be a lot of pressure to be a daughter of such a prominent writer because then it unfortunately leads to increased scrutiny of your own work.