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hilaryreadsbooks's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
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? No
4.0
(cw: death, sexual violence, xenophobia, violence)
"I am starving for my name, starving to feed to my children the things they've forgotten, starving to find the words to say that home was a green place once and will be again."
What is language? What is safety? What is home?
THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS explores these questions through the eyes of young Nour, a Syrian refugee searching for safe haven after being forced to flee with her family when their neighborhood is bombed. She clutches firmly to the stories her father used to tell her before he passed away from cancer—especially that of Rawiya, who, disguised as a young boy, embarks on a quest to map the world as apprentice to legendary mapmaker al-Idrisi. The girls journey together in parallel storylines, across multiple countries, bravely facing unknown challenges and violence, fiercely holding onto the power of the stars and the words passed to them from their loved ones. And as they press on, they begin to weave their own new notions of language, of home, of storytelling. As Rawiya says, "stories map the soul...in the guise of words."
There was something so beautiful and profoundly sad about the poems at the beginning of each section, words in the shape of each country the girls pass through. I love the moment when Nour discovers these words hidden on her mother's map, realizing that this is a different way to tell stories than how her father used to tell them, empowered then to begin telling her own. And yet there's a heavy ache from the realization that while the book emphasizes that home is where our loved ones are, there is still something about land as home. And for Nour, her family, and countless other refugees, this land has been lost, represented now only by words strung together into poetry.
Review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLaDAjaAiL0/
"I am starving for my name, starving to feed to my children the things they've forgotten, starving to find the words to say that home was a green place once and will be again."
What is language? What is safety? What is home?
THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS explores these questions through the eyes of young Nour, a Syrian refugee searching for safe haven after being forced to flee with her family when their neighborhood is bombed. She clutches firmly to the stories her father used to tell her before he passed away from cancer—especially that of Rawiya, who, disguised as a young boy, embarks on a quest to map the world as apprentice to legendary mapmaker al-Idrisi. The girls journey together in parallel storylines, across multiple countries, bravely facing unknown challenges and violence, fiercely holding onto the power of the stars and the words passed to them from their loved ones. And as they press on, they begin to weave their own new notions of language, of home, of storytelling. As Rawiya says, "stories map the soul...in the guise of words."
Review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLaDAjaAiL0/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Death
carolinewithane's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia
mstall_'s review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Sexual violence
alerasaul0's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Very good very sad and yet I am sure it's much happier then what many refugee families actually suffered through and continue to go through. Don't recommend reading during a pandemic when you are already suffering from depression and generalized anxiety disorder
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence and Violence
Minor: Blood
Very good very sad and yet I am sure it's much happier then what many refugee families actually suffered through and continue to go through. Don't recommend reading during a pandemic when you are already suffering from depression and generalized anxiety disorder
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