Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

12 reviews

skye_era_books's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I don’t know that I have ever read a book more heart wrenching than this. My heart broke and put itself together again many times throughout this story. And the fact that this is the reality of many Syrians absolutely kills me. I beg that we someday see a Free Syria, Free Palestine, Free Sudan, Free Congo, and all those who are fighting for freedom. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Murder, Genocide, Child death, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Death, Gun violence, Body horror, Blood, Violence, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Torture, Islamophobia, Mental illness, and Misogyny

behindherpages's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

phenomenal. i truly have no words:

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Medical content, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Mental illness, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Islamophobia

libbyyjo's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Islamophobia, Rape, Torture, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, and War

marissaumble's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Emotional abuse, War, Child death, Genocide, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Death of parent

serena_andherstories's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

4.5

Gosh, this was such a beautiful and heartbreaking story 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Hate crime, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Child death, and Genocide

memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

this book was beautifully written; i highlighted so many passages. the story was beautiful as well, it told the reality for so many, and is a really important piece of modern literature as to the syrian war and the struggles of those who leave their homelands, everything they know, after countless unimaginable loss, living in inhumane conditions, seeing monstrous acts, living under the constant threat of death and worse, and then risking their lives and spending all they have, being taken advantage of for the chance of a safer life, only to often arrive in countries where they are seen as a nuisance.
this book is so important and everyone should read it!
aside from the real-world connotations, the fictional story was beautiful

i fell in love with salama and kenan and their loved ones. when we found out that layla wasn’t real: i have not been that shocked by a twist in i don’t know how long, i had not seen it coming at all and it was genuinely heart-wrenching. i appreciated that the ending was “happy” but it didn’t shy away from the long lasting effects of the everything they had been through

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Mental illness, Genocide, Child death, War, Islamophobia, Blood, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Torture

czoltak's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

“No matter what happens, you remember that this world is more than the agony it contains.”

🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙🍋💙

I am honestly speechless after this book. I am in shock over how many intense emotions I just experienced over the course of 400 pages. I want to start by saying first and foremost that this should absolutely be required reading in schools. People need to read this and understand a larger scope of the world. This book is so important for spreading the importance of how deeply a war destroys regardless of who’s shores it’s on. The messages and themes of survival, PTSD, and the loss of innocence were heartbreaking and yet so necessary especially in today’s world. For fans of ‘The Book Thief’ and ‘The Hunger Games’, As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow is an incredibly moving story about one girl’s journey to survive war torn Syria. Salama must find a way to save herself and her sanity while the world around her is torn apart and the life she has always known is completely obliterated. With a hallucinatory form of fear as one of her only constant companions, Salama struggles with the need to stay alive but also to stay true to her roots and her home country. Her strength and bravery is so deeply infectious, you’ll be unable to do anything other than root and hope for her over the course of the story. Much like ‘The Book Thief’, the personification of darker themes (death/fear) and the blunt descriptions of the destruction will draw you in and won’t let go even after you turn that final page. This book needs to be picked up and read by so many more. Please pick this up and spread its influence if you’re able. In today’s world this is the kind of literature we need and should be promoting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Hate crime, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Torture and Xenophobia

achazsa's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Islamophobia, and War

Minor: Rape, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Title: As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Author: Zoulfa Katouh
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: September 13, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Heartbreaking • Haunting • Hopeful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.

Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.

But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.

Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I'd seen a few people include As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow on their 'best of 2022' lists, so I instantly added it to my TBR. While YA isn't a genre I typically gravitate towards, I did have a sneaky suspicion I'd need to keep the Kleenex box handy with this one, and those suspicions were confirmed.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is so heartbreakingly devastating, making it hard to read at times, yet I felt the rawness of Zoulfa Katouh's love, pain, sorrow, and hope in every single word. Touching on loss, grief, trauma, and finding love in the most unexpected of places/times, it's also a story of hope. Each of the characters found a way to wiggle into my heart, particularly Salama. I felt empathetic for everything she'd endured and has to go through. At various points, I found myself contemplating what I'd do in her situation.

The writing was phenomenal! I just could not believe this is a debut novel, and there's no denying this author's raw talent. While the writing is incredibly accessible, something typical of many YA novels, the emotional depth and realness makes this standout above the rest. The structure is well thought out with several twists I didn't expect. I really wish I'd had the audio to go along with the book, as I know it would have added another layer of emotion.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is so raw and real that it shattered my heart and healed it time and time again. It opened my eyes to a better understanding of life in war-torn Syria - the reasons people flee, the reasons they choose to stay, and the things people will do for those they love. This is YA at it's absolute finest. There's no denying the incredible writer Zoulfa Katouh is and I'll be keeping an eye out for anything she writes in the future.

If you read one book this year, please let it be this one!

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• all readers!
• teens
• anyone looking for a strong female protagonist

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Might. What a word. It holds infinite possibilities of a life that could have been. So many options stacked one on top of the other, like cards waiting for a player to pick and choose."

"Survivor's skin is a remorse we are cursed to wear forever."

"Death is an excellent teacher." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Genocide, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Medical content, Grief, Torture, Medical trauma, War, and Vomit

Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Pregnancy

Minor: Islamophobia, Xenophobia, and Confinement

sibling death, death of partner

halfass_reviewer's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book broke my heart. It mended back, barely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Grief, Violence, Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Murder, War, Blood, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Kidnapping, and Forced institutionalization