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betwixt_the_pages 's review for:
Mirage
by Somaiya Daud
Rating: 4.75/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: aghhhh, my heart!; I kept forgetting this was set in a semi-futuristic world and was SUPER confused when the "listening device" was introduced; these characters give me life; I LOVELOVELOVE the concept!
I am so, SO glad I decided to pick this book up, Penguins! My grabby flippers and squeaky beak couldn't tear through these pages fast enough! (No, don't worry, I didn't ACTUALLY tear the pages--damaged books just don't go with my aesthetic, okay?!)
Somaiya Daud created such a beautifully complex, emotionally-driven read, I don't know where to even begin to describe my thoughts with this one! So let's start with this: I kept forgetting (maybe due to a slight lack of detailed descriptions?) that this book is set in a sort of futuristic, almost alien world. Because there's very little mention of things being "different" (i.e., we get just brief descriptions about the world, about the characters, etc), I had a very rough time visualizing the WORLD itself. Which I didn't really notice, honestly--I was so wrapped up in the beautiful language and the story falling apart around me, I didn't realize that I was reading basically blind. Don't get me wrong--there are gorgeously detailed scenes in this book! But I feel like I fell into a trap of thinking this was set in a sort of "pre-technology" place where really, there is quite a BIT of technology...it's just not mentioned much.
What Somaiya Daud DID do, and spectacularly at that, was weave a complex set of relationships. There was only a small amount of "girl hate"--and that more due to the differences in society between the two main women. As Amani and Maram waltz through their days--separate, but still somehow linked--it becomes apparent that there is more to Maram than meets the eye. Somaiya Daud did a beautiful job of penning a "villainous" character who is so complex, so enchanting, you can't help but fall in love with her--because beneath the surface, she's not so villainous after all. This really helped to remind me that what you see, just be looking, is often only a very small bit of what is actually there.
I thoroughly recommend this read to lovers of pretty-penned prose, rebellions in the making, and "cruel" characters you just can't help but feel empathy for or attempt to understand. Somaiya Daud's a master at weaving complicated tapestries, and I cannot WAIT to see what book two--when it's released--brings to this tale. Until next time, Penguins, and remember: even mirrors can tell secrets.
Quick Reasons: aghhhh, my heart!; I kept forgetting this was set in a semi-futuristic world and was SUPER confused when the "listening device" was introduced; these characters give me life; I LOVELOVELOVE the concept!
I am so, SO glad I decided to pick this book up, Penguins! My grabby flippers and squeaky beak couldn't tear through these pages fast enough! (No, don't worry, I didn't ACTUALLY tear the pages--damaged books just don't go with my aesthetic, okay?!)
She rested a hand on my arm. "Do you know what my grandmother said to me before I went to the Ziyaana?"
I shook my head.
"She told me, everyone in the Ziyaana will tell you to resign yourself to being crushed," she said. "Do not. Even your happiness is rebellion."
I couldn't stop myself from speaking. "Happiness may be rebellion, but it won't win the war."
Somaiya Daud created such a beautifully complex, emotionally-driven read, I don't know where to even begin to describe my thoughts with this one! So let's start with this: I kept forgetting (maybe due to a slight lack of detailed descriptions?) that this book is set in a sort of futuristic, almost alien world. Because there's very little mention of things being "different" (i.e., we get just brief descriptions about the world, about the characters, etc), I had a very rough time visualizing the WORLD itself. Which I didn't really notice, honestly--I was so wrapped up in the beautiful language and the story falling apart around me, I didn't realize that I was reading basically blind. Don't get me wrong--there are gorgeously detailed scenes in this book! But I feel like I fell into a trap of thinking this was set in a sort of "pre-technology" place where really, there is quite a BIT of technology...it's just not mentioned much.
What Somaiya Daud DID do, and spectacularly at that, was weave a complex set of relationships. There was only a small amount of "girl hate"--and that more due to the differences in society between the two main women. As Amani and Maram waltz through their days--separate, but still somehow linked--it becomes apparent that there is more to Maram than meets the eye. Somaiya Daud did a beautiful job of penning a "villainous" character who is so complex, so enchanting, you can't help but fall in love with her--because beneath the surface, she's not so villainous after all. This really helped to remind me that what you see, just be looking, is often only a very small bit of what is actually there.
Hope. Hard won, soaked in blood, a hope that burned as much as it lit her way. The opposite of what I'd nurtured while still on Cadiz. That had been a bright, gleaming thing, reflective like a moon in the sky. Harmless, but without its own warmth. Could I live my life knowing I'd never stepped close to such a flame? Could I exist in the Ziyaana knowing I had chosen my shadowed half life, had accepted a horrible changing in my soul, instead of reaching out with both hands with something that might remake me? Arinaas's flame might char my skin and break my bones, but in the end I would emerge remade, newer and stronger and a version of myself no one could snuff out.
I thoroughly recommend this read to lovers of pretty-penned prose, rebellions in the making, and "cruel" characters you just can't help but feel empathy for or attempt to understand. Somaiya Daud's a master at weaving complicated tapestries, and I cannot WAIT to see what book two--when it's released--brings to this tale. Until next time, Penguins, and remember: even mirrors can tell secrets.