A review by thatvirgoreads
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

This book is incredible, heart-breaking, intimate, and honest. I really enjoyed this book. This book is also VERY sad. Yara’s mental and emotional journey is the plot. I would say this book is slow-paced. The novel is about a woman working through the many challenges, traumatic experiences, generational trauma that has been passed down, and cultural/gender expectations that feel restricting to her while ALSO trying to answer the questions many of us face— what am I doing with my life, is this all there is to my life, how can I take ahold of my wants and desires and make them my reality? 

I think the journey, even though it is fictional, that we get to go on with Yara is meaningful to anyone who has struggled mentally. My heart would ache and empathize with the pain, anger, and fear she was experiencing. I felt connected to Yara through the things she was learning about herself, and other times I just wanted to give her a hug and be there for her. 

This book was one that felt really important to me as a person. I would recommend this to people, but don’t tell me if you don’t like it haha. 
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