Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

56 reviews

bluedesi's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

I sped through this book and I loved every page. I wanted to keep reading and reading about Noor and Salahudin if they make it. I think that’s what kept me reading - the hope I had for them to progress, not necessarily for them to get ‘better’ but for them to keep moving.

As a desi, I also loved multiple forms of representation that came with how immigrants assimilate completely and detest their culture and how some hold onto tradition. How it is necessary to have community too, to have this kinship with people like you.

First finished book in 2024, and it’s 5 stars💖

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, Bullying, Alcoholism, Addiction, Racism, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use

siebensommer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I think of the way denial can weave its way through a family, whisper gentle lies, and make itself at home.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Physical abuse, Medical content, Alcohol, Addiction, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Violence, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Islamophobia, Drug abuse, and Death

lawbooks600's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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? Yes

3.0

Representation: Asian main characters, side Black and Brown characters
Score: Five points out of ten.

Man, this book wasn't great and to say it was sad wouldn't be the right words to describe this one. I added it to my list a few days ago at the time of writing this review and a few days later I picked it up from one of the two libraries I visited and finally read it. When I finished it, I thought the novel was too depressing (don't get me wrong, a book can be depressing and still be enjoyable but it needs a balance of depression and more positive emotions, but this one didn't have that.) Did I mention this novel circled my recommendations once? It starts with one story's main character Misbah Malik  living in Pakistan who is arranged to marry her predetermined partner when it cuts to the present day in Juniper, California with the other story's protagonists Noor (I initially pronounced it as Nore until she said it rhymes with lure so I switched to that) and Salahudin.

Another book similar to this I've read and enjoyed is Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed but I found that better than this one. I appreciate the author for writing this novel engagingly because of the outstanding descriptions of everything. Here is where the flaws surface; like other books I've read I could never fully connect to all the people who drive the story forward like Misbah, Noor or Salahudin and the plotline(s) were all over the place (I'll explain that later) making them disjointed and harder for me to read or enthral myself in. Now Noor and Salahudin had to get through the death of whom they call Misbah Auntie from kidney problems she refused to address properly (she'd use turmeric instead of going to the doctor) and already I felt miserable but the worst is yet to come. The past narrative told me that Noor's parents died in an earthquake in Pakistan and no one but another person, Chachu (her uncle) saved her with his bare hands which the book repeats sometimes to presumably drive it into my head. I don't understand why I had to look at Misbah's perspective in the past after she died in the present because it didn't add anything significant and distracted from the present perspective story. There are myriad issues the novel talks about much to its detriment as I felt it couldn't pick a single issue to focus on (like alcohol abuse, racism, child abuse and drug abuse) and instead it tried to concentrate on all of them but failed. Maybe if it picked one it could be better. 

Everything takes a turn for the worst when Noor applied for seven different universities but to no avail and she tries to pay off the bills without Misbah (whose life went on a downward spiral) to similar results while also dealing with racist attacks at her school and the rage as she calls it bottling inside her (shutting down feelings never works well especially when she physically punches Jamie, the culprit, in return.) Chachu uses a (destructive) coping strategy, alcohol to deal with all the struggles in his life which didn't go to plan as he abuses Noor so she runs away. At least Jamie got karma in the end, Noor got accepted to a university, both people in the present move on ending the book swiftly. I won't reread this but I might read An Ember in the Ashes and its succeeding instalments.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Grief, Racism, Confinement, Blood, Medical content, Drug use, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Full trigger warnings: Death of an aunt from an illness, parents from an earthquake and other people from electrocution in the past, racism, racist slurs, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault, injury and child abuse, abusive and alcohol abusing uncle, imprisonment of a child, hospitalisation, bullying, near-death experience from a drug overdose

golesombol's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Islamophobia, and Xenophobia

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Medical content

fazington's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Racism, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, and Violence

honeybeewitched87's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Medical content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Misogyny

Minor: Violence, Cursing, and Deportation

tigger89's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a difficult book to rate, because I really liked many parts of this story, but others just rubbed me the wrong way. I'll start with the good. I loved the exploration of the immigrant experience, how it examined the American Dream without romanticizing it and all of the different perspectives on assimilation versus cultural independence. I also liked how the women were centered in the story, shown to hold and obtain power. Khadija was my favorite!

I think my favorite part was getting to know our two lead characters, watching them struggle and make completely believable mistakes in the face of adversity. As much as I want to armchair quarterback their bad decisions, I don't know that I would've done any better at seventeen. All three points of view — Sal, Noor, and Misbah — were equally compelling for me to read, and I appreciated the in-universe explanation at the end for why we were being given the historical chapters alongside the present day.

As for what I wasn't so much a fan of, the modern day romance put me off almost immediately. I wasn't prepared for it from the blurb on the cover, and "best friends to lovers" is a trope I loathe, especially when the romance falls apart and you just ruined a perfectly lovely platonic relationship for nothing. This is very much a me problem, but it's worth mentioning since I can't be the only one.

I was also rubbed the wrong way by how the plot where Sal seeks alternate income to avoid closing the motel was written. I was fine with his initial decision(see: realistic bad decisions), but everything from after that up until the scene in the car with Noor felt like a bad after-school special. It was a little bit too carefully-concocted to demonstrate the consequences of Sal's actions, and didn't ring as true as the rest of the book did. After the scene in the car it felt okay again, but for a while there I was rolling my eyes pretty hard.

I think in the end I'm going to have to go with four stars, because the parts that I liked were incredible. It was just a few glaring things dragging it down for me. I would certainly pick up another book by this author, especially if it didn't have a romance in it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

marissasa's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book touches on so many things and does them all spectacularly. Life, love, loss, coming of age, trauma, bad choices, addiction, poverty, immigration, healing, faith, friendship, trust, hope, and forgiveness all wrapped in the harsh setting of a small town in the Southern California desert where two Pakistani teens try to find their place in an America Dream that wasn't made for them. The narration switching between Noor, Salahudin, and Misbah was a brilliant writing choice. Each character has such a clear voice and it makes you feel so much more deeply for each of them and their struggles. I loved how mature this YA book was and the way it never downplayed the harm that characters caused even when they were characters you had grown to love and root for. It gave so much weight and realism to the angst and emotions, and much more meaning to the ending and the story's messages of hope and redemption.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

i really enjoyed this, it was a very full YA that tackled some heavier topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

caoimhe9876's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Spectacular 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Racism, Addiction, and Child abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Islamophobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Drug use

Minor: Cursing, Deportation, Car accident, Blood, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Medical content