Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - These Impossible Things

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany

24 reviews

kat_ek's review against another edition

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4.5

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wordssearched's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

4.0

Finding myself in a reading rut, I picked this up from the library's recommended reads shelf and it was exactly what I needed: a quick read with a compelling plot and frustratingly complex characters.

This story about the importance of female friendships and the way life can slowly unravel when your chosen family falls apart speaks specifically to the experience of Muslim women, but is also replete with moments of relatability for any woman trying to balance family, love and her own wishes and desires. Lifelong friends Jenna, Malak and Bilquis have a falling out as they begin their post-college life, and it's easy to judge their choices as they pull further away from each other and into life-altering mistakes. And I did, often. I took a while before I finally trusted that the author wasn't just putting these characters through the paces just for the sake of doing so, but somehow she does bring them (and me) back to their humanity. These women, like all women, go through some things. This isn't exactly a light read, but there is the light that only a friend who knows you inside and out can provide.

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csleeds's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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leah_alexandra's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.0

This was a really frustrating read. I feel like it was sold as a book about female friendships, when it’s really more about romantic relationships, and abusive ones at that. The rift happens so early—we barely get time with the actual friendship, so it was hard to feel invested. And then the reconciliation at the end was so rushed and dramatic. There was hardly any emotional work put in to repair the friendship. To me it felt unrealistic. And the direct contrasting between the Muslim, non-white men being misogynistic and harmful, and the white men being perfect, gentle, and understanding was tough to read. At least the three girls’ fathers seemed like caring men—where were those traits in the younger men? My favorite parts were the descriptions of Cairo. That’s where I saw the author’s voice shine the most.

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neinselen's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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katrinarose's review

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emotional reflective 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? Yes

3.0

This was such a nuanced heartfelt book about friendship, family, religion, and finding yourself. I think this book has excellent representation for Muslim women diaspora and would hit extra hard for these readers. I really liked all the characters, they were all unique and well developed. However for a book sold on female friendship, it was disappointing that the majority of the book they were not friends. I understand that drove home the point of the book in the end and it was really impactful, but I missed the friendship. Also, this book was so sad; I almost cried several times. Overall would recommend if you like sad books with these themes.

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