Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman

13 reviews

neonskylite's review

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

siandee's review

emotional funny sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Racism

jayisreading's review

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

bookishcookiemonster's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I'm so happy to see more and more books about  Pakistani-American published.
I grew was born in the 90s, and reading about gatherings of the aunties, and the young girls escaping away from reading Qu'ran, transported me right back to my own childhood, doing the same things. 
And, Razia's constant fear of being sent to Pakistan and married off, also brought back the fear me and my friends had growing up too, while we did things our mothers didn't approve of. 
Razia's story is so beautiful, and heartwrenching, and most very important. Young, Muslims/South Asian Queer folk are in desperate need representation. And hope. 

Even though Razia's story wasn't really a happy ending, it was still hopeful. I like to imagine that she was able to find her way, and got to live her truth.

 
Thank you, Bushra Rehman, for writing this wonderful story.
I will be reading it again!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Vomit, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism

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

thissagreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

This novel was bittersweet. I loved and appreciated getting an inside look at the Muslim culture and religion in the 80’s. It was especially nice reading the journey and development of the main character, as she came into her own. But I found myself frustrated with the main character’s mother and cultural stifling the main character was experiencing. I wish there were less stories about her childhood and more more story as a teen, into adulthood. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, and Racism

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

gossamerchild's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense fast-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

3.0

4 stars for writing, 2 stars for enjoyment.  I think I just don't enjoy reading lit fic. It's mostly depressing, and this book was no exception. Don't get me wrong, it's extremely well-written and I could feel Razia's struggles. I guess stylistically my only complaint was the ending, which felt...unfulfilling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, and Sexism

litstyleguide's review against another edition

This read like a collection of essays and was hard to hold my attention. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Child abuse