Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

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

18 reviews

neonskylite's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.75

Usually when I read books like this I find the romance to be a plot tumour and its the exact opposite this time -  I felt the pacing got very rushed at the ending and I barely had time to settle in with Razia's high school life and relationship with Angela before it started getting complicated, so I wasn't as upset or disturbed when it comes crashing down rather than a bit disoriented. I am going to miss Razia for a long time, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Outing, Xenophobia, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

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. 

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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

shugentobler's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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 pierced right through my heart and into my soul. That is all.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Physical abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Islamophobia, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse

ahayes15's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny 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? No

4.75

I thought this book and its main character were absolutely stunningly developed and the vignette-style chapters allowed me to devour this book quickly. Razia is a delight and I wish we could know more of her story. I only took off .25 stars because it was a tad slow in the middle (right before it got gay) but otherwise I loved every minute

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Islamophobia

eeemily666's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.75

Really enjoyed this and flew through it. About moms and daughters, duty, Islam, feeling like/being an outsider, friendship, girlhood, queerness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Animal death

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Xenophobia

Minor: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic

afriendwithfiction's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming and Homophobia

soffafa's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

this book was so sad but so good! it hits close to home when you struggle with both religious and homosexuality simultaneously. good read

spec_tacles's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Outing

Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Minor: Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

mmccombs's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

I really wanted to love this book but mostly didn’t connect with it at all. The writing didn’t do much for me, it got the job done but there wasn’t a consistent voice or tone that kept me engaged. I also just felt that this book focused on the wrong portion of Razia’s life. I felt much more interested in the story once she started at her new high school, Razia felt more real and complex at this point and the conflicts were much more compelling. I do think understanding her childhood encouraged later depth, but I think it could have been maybe 1/3 of the novel rather than an entire half.

I’m curious about what happened after she had to flee so suddenly, I think that could have made for some interesting character exploration and could have resolved the arc of this story slightly more.

I did really enjoy learning more about Islam, especially during the 80s in New York. I also loved how Razia remained deeply religious while also growing into herself as a queer young woman. I do think I’d recommend this book, especially for a bookclub, but I wish it was executed a bit better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Islamophobia and Animal cruelty