A review by williamgideon
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

3.25

I really feel like the odd one out here since almost everyone has given this book a 5 star rating!
   While this book deals with a very important topic and I found myself learning a lot, I just didn't feel like it affected me that much? I think it's because of the characters, which didn't have much personality and didn't feel that real to me. The same was true for the romance. It's very sweet but I just didn't care, it felt too perfect I think. Another thing I didn't like was the writing. I usually don't enjoy YA writing, so I may very well be the problem here, but it felt a bit repetitive. And the way the narrator kept using anatomical terms all the time made me cringe. I get that it's because she's interested in that stuff but it's not very helpful for the average reader who doesn't know those terms.
   Still, the book had a compelling plot that made me want to keep reading. I think ultimately I'm just not the target audience for this since I'm not a big YA fan, but would recommend to those who are!
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