Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion: A Novel by Bushra Rehman

4 reviews

samantha1960's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense 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

3.75

Rehman writes beautifully but I found the first half of the book quite difficult to follow. The second half get significantly more easy to read as it becomes chronological. Wish the first half had been done better. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Child abuse, Grief, Racism, Violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Incest, Misogyny, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Outing, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, Colonisation, Murder, and Toxic friendship

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

Written with tenderness, Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a queer coming-of-age novel that gives the reader a glimpse into the life of a Pakistani American girl in New York City during the 1980s. Throughout this novel, the protagonist, Razia, is constantly at odds with her family's traditional values, especially when she starts to grapple with her queer identity. The novel is as much a novel about being queer as is it is a novel about being Muslim and being a part of the Pakistani diaspora. Rehman highlights the difficulties that many children of immigrant households face in trying to find themselves while dealing with clashes in culture, religion, and tradition. I found that Rehman did a wonderful job exploring the thorniness of it all, and the conflicted feelings that continued to grow in Razia as she grew older.

My main complaint about the novel is about the ending, which I thought was rather abrupt. I felt Rehman could have taken time to build up to the ending she presented, but it ended up being rushed and I felt like I was left hanging.

This was a really great exploration of what it means to be queer, Pakistani American, and Muslim, though, and while some of the characters (including Razia) got on my nerves, I found that I was mostly touched by the earnestness of the story.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Xenophobia

Minor: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic

wynnie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, Outing, Sexism, Bullying, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Incest, Hate crime, Pedophilia, and Animal death

carareadsthebooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Outing, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Religious bigotry, and Sexism